Harmonica Instruction and topics; dedicated to helping other harp players out there who are looking to find the answers I was looking for when I started.
I wish there was more examples and instructional for slow "back porch" blues. I think that's what makes the harmonica so perfect, you can pull it out and play something like this anywhere with no backing track.
Can you flip the slide but leave the button on the same end, and have a “flat slide” harp in C# ? I wish there was a 10-hole blues harp with the notes in the customary blues harp configuration, but with a slide to the same configuration a semitone LOWER
5:47 question of new tooling etc. Just bought new ones , and I was surprised : they rounded (chamfered ) the extremities of the reed plates and not sharp anymore !! That said … they are simply my favorite . So I tweak them all/ open them , file the comb to make them like crossovers (the Best of All time for me , but too expensive around my place ), gap the reeds sometimes, and mostly , shellac them the comb that is sticking on the lips like glue, and open the back of the covers .
I was given a D Noble by a buddy to have my well-known customizer do his magic because some reeds were a little sticky and one was completely stuck. My customizer, who's one of my best friends, opens it, and when he put on his magnifying lenses, he said someone already worked on it. He said to ask the harp's owner if somebody already worked on it, he said nope. So, it appears DaBell is trying to emboss without much skill. This was the summer of 2023. Fast forward to 3-16-24. I sort of knew this guy from another friend and turns out he's a DaBell rep. He never knew i played harp until that night. He asked if i wanted one and i said, hell yes! It was loud in the small club and i couldn't hear what name he was saying....it registered as a foreign name in my head. I said you have a LowF? He brings back a box full of harps and he's got one. Now, I had lost my reading glasses, so i had no idea what brand it was bc i couldn't read it. All i could make out was Contender. I started hittin' blow n draw octaves right up to the 6-10. All worked great for a LowF with nice response , except the 3 blow...a bit flat. That can be fixed. And ive found i can blow bend the low end on this LowF! Every harp i own is customized from Sp20s, Thunderbirds, MBs n Deluxes, and several LO, Harpmasters, and East Tops with Sp20 plates. So, I'll let my buddy open this up and see what he finds. That is "IF" he'll do it bc he didn't like what he found on the other one. Sometimes, he's a stubborn ole mule 😂. But, i think this LowF may be a keeper! Forgot to nention, the Contender i noticed immediately that it looks like a direct copy of Suzuki's Bluesmaster. However, the Bluesmaster sucks air and is thin-toned bc of the crappy reeds. This DaBell is much much thicker in tone 🤙. I dont even know if Suzuki makes them anymore. So, we'll see what happens.😮
Nice! I played the diatonic and tremolo back in high school before i wanted to move to a chromatic one. But they were super pricey and i didnt have much back then. So i was always looking for prices until i found a hohner super chromatica at 80 bucks and it said that it was brand new. But when it came, it obviously looked like the box was opened. And also the harmonica showed looked dirty and a little used (like the usual lips marks after playing). Had to disinfect it and the higher notes holes wouldnt even play unless i blowed reqlly hard :k
Thanks for the review. Do you think the neoprene smell and taste would go away if you aired it out for a few weeks somewhere? I don’t know much about neoprene.
Hi there, I tried leaving the out overnight and during the day in the sunshine, etc. and nothing seems to work. I think it is just the nature of the material
Nope the smell stays but I have seen another professional harmonica player showing off his collection of harmonicas. And I guess that he plays a harmonica and then DOSEN ‘T wipe or clean afterwards. He showed off many (25-30) rRUSTED and DRIED saliva covered harmonicas. Also he is a SMOKER and that smell had to be in all of his harmonica. And he stated that his harmonicas had been customized by some very well known gentlemen. $$$😢SO a smell of neoprene or vinyl wouldn’t bother these individuals. Hygiene is an absolute must with harmonica. And more so if you have allergies.
@@ikust007 Thank you so much! If you truly find my videos of value, I will seriously consider it. I have had others ask as well. I truly appreciate the support and kind words! Very kind.
I have all his CDs and he is a Monster Harmonica player. My friend knows him they were best friends and he was in his Aligator Records Release Party video at Lamars Records. Another guy we know knows him and his brother worked on William Clarke's green Chevy Panel Van and William Clarke would B.B.Q at his house. He said he has rare recordings that William Clarke gave to him and of his daughter Gina playing the Chromatic Harmonica when she was little. A guy my sister was dating is a Guitar player who jammed with him at La Vita Hot Springs in Palm Springs. William Clarke was so powerful you couldn't stop the guy. Here are some great Live recordings of William Clarke. 6th AEWB 1994 - William Clarke, Tiel, The Netherlands ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-tD0z_o3rl-w.html William Clarke Blues Band @ Levittown, USA (1990) ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-N28ZaeGZXFA.html William Clarke Blues Band @ Jazz Works Colorado, USA (1991) William Clarke ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-P7jDgBwAaAo.html William Clarke Live in Bremen 1988 ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-gmAxL6_haGc.html William Clarke Blues Band Europe 1988 ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-Td6ngglBy2M.html I hope you enjoy them. Thank You for sharing.
@@Pleasum I like anything I can learn from I like your product reviews I like thevideos you did on rocking rons .a review on the yonbergs would be cool
@@MunchiesMusicMadness ok! Well, it just so happens I have a Yonberg Typhoon I am customizing for a customer right now. They are pretty nice harps. Maybe I will get something out on that. Thanks so much for the kind words and I hope you are well!!
I think Parrott tunes his 7 draw a half step down to give the flat 3rd (6ob), and only has to play the 7od vs needing the 6ob too. Also, it helps to put a tiny amount of tape or wax on the foot of the reed by the rivet to stop the squeaking when you play ob/od’s.
Hey there @Norfolk N Whey, yes Todd does do that. I have done that with some of mine and like it ok for certain things. I overblow on my harps and don't use the wax or any of that stuff. I have found with the right gapping and technique, I don't seem to have that problem. I still don't have the overdraw thing incorporated because I haven't really needed it, but I overblow all the time. Problem is once you get used to having those notes available, I have had to adjust all my harps to to that. Not all stock harps are easy to overblow and some won't at all (unless your Howard Levy!) LOL! Thanks for the comments and take care!
@@Pleasum I’m in the same boat. I use overblows and can do so melodically, but I haven’t really found much use for overdraws except the flat 5 7od on occasion. I also messed up and learned how to setup the action and embossing, so now all of my harps have to be setup for me to be happy lol I can still crush a stock harp, but there’s nothing like a personally tuned one to play on!
@@norfolknwhey4787 LOL! Good to see I am not alone my friend! It's a blessing and a curse. Lucky we can work on our own harps. The alternative is pretty damn expensive! Take care!
And🤔? Are you doing the critic column hanging around on RU-vid blatantly & complaining about other's review & presentation? Still Immature & trolling around at your age it seems. 😅 Do you imagine that you're perfect in all aspects of aesthetics? You're a narcissistic loser & you better learn to mind your own concern. I must not give a sermon to a old Moses like yourself about it. Bloody hell! People like you are actually trouble makers & asking for it. While trying to get some attention somehow. But in the reality nothing. Otherwise you wouldn't have incoherently commented about his review. Good, bad or ugly🤣Nobody gives a damn but you.
Ha! It's always great to run into someone who'll accompany you (or you accompany THEM), and guitar players can usually play a progression in "E" (E, A, and G) so "A" is great to carry. But PIANO players aren't always into "E", they like C or G, so on and on it goes. ALSO, a guitar player may carry a "capo", making him VERY flexible for other keys. C, A, G, D, Bb; that covers about everything. Those little Seydel Big 6 are SO nifty!! You know what? If you're just carrying one harp, carry one in a key, a style, a genre, or even a SONG, that you've mastered! A "go to"; a favorite!! Spread the word about your love if that sound! Some will like it, a few won't! Keep harpin"!
I am a small-time customizer so I’d love the opportunity to talk to you about buying any of your old, beat-up, out of tune, etc Harps. I’m also looking to start playing some chromatic harp, so I’d take any recommendations for a good workhorse chromatic. I know this video is 6yr old, but I figured I would ask!
Check out the East Top chromatic harmonicas. They don’t need Reed savers and are a quality built Harp and a lot less expensive than others. They come highly recommended from Roguie Ray LaMontagne.
@@markieproductions22 that’s what I started with (forerunner 2), and ended up getting a CX12 once I got acclimated to the chromatic. Been into 3rd position blues using octaves on chromatic lately.
Fantastic.... I love the prewar marine band in it's cardboard box... You show the seydel saxony and acrylic Steel chromatic ..which IS the more sensible ? Speedy reactivity? Thks more
Cini mi se da propusta malo vise vazduha.Ako ispod glavne resetke nema podlosku vec slajd traka sa otvorima direktno klizi po resetki odozdo , to definitivno nije dobro tehnivko resenje kao i kod drugih harmonika.Zasto to niko ne govori od sviraca.Uvek je bolje zaptivanje ako slajd ploca sa otvorima prolazi i klizi izmedju dve fiksne dugacke ploce koje su sve ispid resetke.Nista se nije postilglo poboljsanje time sto je glavna livena resetka obuhvatila slajd plocu.Vazduh prolazi kroz okrugle rupe i ispod resetke prolazi ispod slajd ploce i tu se gubi zaptivanje.Jedina dobra stvar su okrukle rupe zaobljene tako da ne skidaju nista sa jezika kod nas kojo sviramo tehnikom tongue blocking.Za vas koji svirate usnom tehnikom na jedan ton odnosno jednoglasno i bez ritmike u isto vfeme, to nema znacaj.Propustanje vise vazduha na jedoj rupi kod jednoglasnog sviranja je mnogo manji problem nego kada ja sviram u dvoglasu i akord ritmici.Zato vi i ne osecate taj problem.Raspored otvora zactonove u okruglim rupama isto otezava ovakav nacin sviranja.Imam najnoviju Hohner 16/64 280 C key i jedva uspevam da odsviram iako se to ne primecuje kada se slusa.Jedva sviram koliko propusta vazduha.Realno po mom mislhenju nazadovanje sa tim novim tehnickim resenjima.Lakse je svirati kinesku Swan cromatik da okruglim rupama i starim rasporedom otvora i tri ploe idpid resetke.Pizdrav.
