Header Graphic
Dirty-South Blues Harp forum: wail on! > "Always Happy" Pipe Organ?
"Always Happy" Pipe Organ?
Login  |  Register
Page: 1

Old Hickory
14 posts
Jul 11, 2012
10:49 AM
I've worked as a stagehand at the Opry House for the last 30 years. In the hallways backstage there are several display cases full of memorabilia. I don't know why but I've never taken the time to actually stop and gander inside them but last night while doing the tuesday night Opry show this thing all of a sudden stuck out like a sore thumb to me. Anyway I thought it was very interesting and was wondering if anyone knew the history of these type harps. I tried google but nothing came up. The only info I could see was "Always Happy Pipe Organ" and "made in Germany". Is it a Hohner? I like the 5 little mini megaphones coming out the back of the covers.

Photobucket

Last Edited by on Jul 11, 2012 12:59 PM
STME58
213 posts
Jul 11, 2012
1:05 PM
Thanks for sharing this. As a brass player I like the idea of getting high volumes unamplified and had been wonreing what had been tried to get the harmonica to project befroe the advent of the amp.
Old Hickory
16 posts
Jul 11, 2012
1:23 PM
I think I read somewhere that Mr Bailey used to hold up a megaphone in one hand while playing the harp with the other but this is the first time I've ever seen a harmonica with built in "projectors".
belfast_harper
315 posts
Jul 11, 2012
1:54 PM
I don't know anything about that harp, but hohner do have similar designs. They have a harp called the trumpet call, but it is a lot bigger.

Ben has the trumpet call in this video, but he also has on that looks like the one in the picture.

Last Edited by on Jul 11, 2012 1:59 PM
Old Hickory
18 posts
Jul 11, 2012
3:06 PM
While I never did find anything on google about the particular harmonica I posted I did in fact find some other really interesting designs including the "Trumpet Call" mentioned above on the Alan G. Bates Harmonica Collection site. According to them the horns on that model and on another called the Trumpet Organ Harmonica by Andreas Koch were non functional and purely decorative. Oh well they look cool anyway. lol
nacoran
5956 posts
Jul 11, 2012
7:03 PM
Seydel has a model with a single cone running along the back for amplification. I think it's one of their tremolos.

----------
Nate
Facebook
Thread Organizer (A list of all sorts of useful threads)


Post a Message



(8192 Characters Left)


Modern Blues Harmonica supports

§The Jazz Foundation of America

and

§The Innocence Project

 

 

 

ADAM GUSSOW is an official endorser for HOHNER HARMONICAS