[Harp-L] The New Golden Melody and Overblow Harps from the factory

[John Kerkhoven]

I am enjoying this thread. Great to hear from different perspectives. I
forget where I heard it, but I have taken to heart the idea that a harp is
not "set up for overblows" - it is either well set up or not. If it is well
set up, it will play overblows. And it can be played hard. I have custom
harps that fit this bill, and I have taken the time and trouble to learn
how to set up harps that do both.

Hohner MB Deluxes and Crossovers are overblow-friendly out of the box.
Seydel 1847s too. I am greatly satisfied with the quality of
top-of-the-line harps we can buy these days.

One could argue that the big manufacturers could have a dedicated team or
department to satisfy the high-end demands of some players. But we have
access to customizers who do that work. And the resources are there --
tools and parts and information -- to learn to do the mods oneself.

I wish Hohner all the best with the new GM. I'm glad to know there is
another decent harmonica available on the market.

On a side-note, while overblowing has become a standard technique for
advanced players, there is also the world of alternate tunings that someone
like Brendan Power has devoted countless hours to exploring, not just for
the sake of note layout (as with the Paddy Richter) but for the sake of
exploiting the double-reed bending properties of the harmonica. What we, as
players, need are robust instruments that we can adapt to our interests and
preferences. And it seems to me that we have that.

John