[Harp-L] Will Scarlett's place in the history of overblows

[Gary Lehmann]

OB 6 is a pretty safe bet, in a cross harp context--no one expects the blue
thirds to be anything but wild (well, I don't anyway).
OB 5, used a lot in 12th, is a different matter.
My observance about the strange timbre of the whole step draw bend on hole
3 was answered (by a well known overblow player and Mooncat) with a quote
from (I think) Paul DeLay, "Why are you trying to make the harmonica sound
like anything but a harmonica?"
Artifacts can be overlooked and even celebrated, the ear of the behearer
you know . . .

On Thu, Feb 10, 2022 at 6:09 PM Rick Dempster <rickdempster33 at xxxxx>
wrote:

> I just think it sounds bad. Even from the very best practitioners (Filip
> Jers, to name one) it sounds out of sorts with the rest of the instrument.
> I have taken up chrom over the last several years, much as I prefer the
> sound of the diatonic.
> Of the diatonic, I now use Sub30s with added valves. All the notes bend and
> the sound is consistent, or at least as much as it can be on a regular
> harp.
> A single reed bend, played in it's 'conventional' direction (ie a blow red,
> blown, or a draw, drawn) as on a chromatic, sounds ok, if a little thin.
> A DOUBLE reed bend (ie a conventional bend) has the advantage of the
> sympathetic harmonics from the opposing reed, and sounds fuller, and more
> harmonically complex than the single reed.
> A SINGLE reed bend, played in reverse (ie an over blow or over draw) shares
> none of the advantages with the two former bend types described above,
> which is why it sounds so forced and strangled.
> The harmonica is a mass produced instrument that requires a lot of capital
> investment.
> If this technique is ever heard being used by someone of the stature of,
> say, Charlie McCoy, or even Bob Dylan, then it might take off. I doubt it.
> The innocent little diatonic will continue to be used and popularised
> largely by singers, who will care little for being able to play 'Giant
> Steps' on the tin sandwich.
> Like I said some time back, it reminds me of 'Esperanto', artificially
> created to make a 'universal' language.
> The only place it seems to have survived is with Esperanto enthusiasts.
> I think OB/OD technique will remain popular with devoted diatonic harp
> players, but that's it.
> I've been putting off saying this for years, but I'm getting old and have
> ceased to care!
> RD
>
>
>
> On Fri, 11 Feb 2022 at 09:25, Ronnie Schreiber <autothreads at xxxxx>
> wrote:
>
> > Rick,
> > It seems to me that as a technique to allow you to play all the notes in
> a
> > song accurately, to find notes missing on that particular harp,
> overblowing
> > makes more sense than if you're using it to play a diatonic fully
> > chromatically and get through a gig with a single diatonic, no matter the
> > key (for the record, I like Will Scarlett's playing with Hot Tuna).
> > Even Howard Levy uses different key harps for different songs so he can
> > get those cool blue notes we so love.
> >
> > Ronnie Schreiber
> > The Electric Harmonica Co.
> > http://www.harmonicaster.com
> >
> > On 2/10/2022 5:13 PM, Rick Dempster wrote:
> >
> > Sorry; wasn't referring to Will Scarlett particularly. I used OBs for
> > years. I think they sound awful, and ultimately will do nothing for
> > diatonic harmonica.
> > Just my opinion.
> > RD
> >
> > On Fri, 11 Feb 2022, 07:02 Gary Lehmann, <gnarlyheman at xxxxx> wrote:
> >
> >> Will sounds funky!
> >>
> >> Sent from my iPhone
> >>
> >> > On Feb 9, 2022, at 4:46 PM, Rick Dempster <rickdempster33 at xxxxx>
> >> wrote:
> >> >
> >> > Maybe it just took this long for people to get used to the awful
> sound.
> >> > RD
> >> >
> >>
> >
> >
>