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Stainless Steel Blues
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Greyowlphotoart
1113 posts
Feb 09, 2013
8:45 AM
Haven’t posted for a while but still login regularly on the Forum.

I have just bought my first ever Seydel and my first ever custom harmonica.

It’s an 1847 Betaharp X-tra by Ben Bouman in A and I’m well impressed. It projects well, bends easily and is set up for overblows on 4,5& 6 which it does with ease.

I have tried something a bit different from what I normally play and have used a slow blues backing track in the key of E.
If you get the chance to check it out let me know what you think. Thanks.



The backing track I’m using can be found here:-

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PnxH2FU3tw4

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Last Edited by Greyowlphotoart on Feb 10, 2013 8:11 AM
arnenym
110 posts
Feb 09, 2013
8:38 AM
Great playing !

Last Edited by arnenym on Feb 09, 2013 8:39 AM
nacoran
6487 posts
Feb 09, 2013
9:40 AM
Good to hear from you again. Nice playing, as always.

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Last Edited by nacoran on Feb 09, 2013 9:40 AM
tookatooka
3205 posts
Feb 09, 2013
1:14 PM
Good to hear your harp again GOPA.
jodanchudan
759 posts
Feb 09, 2013
2:05 PM
The harp - and playing - sounds great. Nice stuff!
Greyowlphotoart
1114 posts
Feb 09, 2013
11:50 PM
Thanks for taking the time to listen guys.
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Gipsy
4 posts
Feb 10, 2013
2:54 AM
I really enjoyed that. I've got a few harps from Ben and I'm very pleased with them. Here in the UK you can get one of his basic session steels for only a few pounds more than from the usual online sources, and they are great value. An out of the box harp correctly set up for a premium of only £3 or £4.
If you get a chance check out Ben's album I think it's called Let the Harmonica Begin. To my very untutored ear there appeared to be a sort of Seydel Steel sound on certain of the notes which seemed identifiable in your piece and were very similar to the tones Ben achieves. I wonder whether the stainless steel reeds might add their own unique character to the mix

Last Edited by Gipsy on Feb 10, 2013 2:57 AM
jiceblues
197 posts
Feb 10, 2013
3:16 AM
Sounds good , nice playing , as always !
I think you could do the same with an ootb MBDL...
Am i wrong ?
Aren't you bothered by the big holes ?
Frosty
121 posts
Feb 10, 2013
4:31 AM
Nicely played!

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harp-er
344 posts
Feb 10, 2013
7:34 AM
Love your playing, man. Mmmm, mmmmm!
messy ventura
49 posts
Feb 10, 2013
8:01 AM
Good stuff. Well done
Greyowlphotoart
1115 posts
Feb 10, 2013
11:38 AM
Thanks very much guys. I appreciate you listening and your feedback


@Gypsy I might have to try a Session Steel especially if there still priced like that. Just checked and they’re 50 euros (£42.30) for the mid custom (only 10 euro more than the basic.)

I’m in the UK also and I paid 87.50 Euros (£74.00) back in late October for the 1847 Beta-Xtra which is a very good price for a customised Seydel 1847.

This is the work he does on the harp according to the blurb:-

The Beta X-TRA is a mix of both worlds, it is very good for traditional tongue-blocked harmonica playing and the X-TRA is also overblow friendly. All reedslots are mildly embossed and the reeds are gapped/curved for easy bending and a very good response.


I have to say it does all that.

I’ve found it is not overdraw friendly but in fairness it’s not set up for that as you would have to pay 140 euros for the all singing all dancing Beta Harp X-treme.

I’ll check out Ben’s album.
*************************************************************************************************
@ Jiceblues
It’s nice to play a harp that’s set up so well and good to play from the get-go.

OOTB harps are always a bit of a lottery, you can get some great ones or bad ones

I have only got one MBD in D and it plays very well now but I had to work on it a lot to get it to OB well on 45&6 and play with more ease. But I guess you can always get unlucky with any harp and it hasn’t put me off them because I dig the tone.

Yeah funny thing with the holes, I noticed a slight difference at first, but then the other day after playing a Sp 20 for a while I switched to the 1847 and for a moment missed the holes I was aiming for higher up the harp. You do get used to it pretty quick though.

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Gipsy
5 posts
Feb 10, 2013
12:48 PM
@Greyowlphotoart. I'm still very much a beginner, no where near your standard, but I've got a couple of stage 1 session steels, and a couple of stage 2 1847 silvers. At my level I can do all I need to do on the stage one session steels. I'm sure you can do much more. I carry one in C with me everywhere. It's tough as old boots and the covers are very well supported. As I said for a few pounds more you can get an out of the box harp that is correctly set up and plays beautifully. If you want to know more about the capabilities of the harp why not email Ben. The link is on his site. He's a really nice guy, and I'm sure he'll discuss any issues with you.
Ps. I accidentally knackered the 2 draw reed on y A session steel, and he replaced it free of charge.

Last Edited by Gipsy on Feb 10, 2013 12:50 PM
Greyowlphotoart
1116 posts
Feb 12, 2013
9:21 AM
@ Gypsy

Cheers, I think I'll give the Stage 2 Session Steel's a try. Checking back on the Forum Search they seem to be quite well liked (except some don't like the orange comb!)
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rainman
61 posts
Feb 12, 2013
4:10 PM
I just ordered a Session Steel from Hetrick Harmonica that has been optimized for $20.00 over the regular price ($79.00 shipped) The optimized features are:

1) Flattened reedplates to eliminate common leak/performance issues
2) Reedwork/custom gapping to make for easier bending
3) Recently enhanced reedslot embossing on all 20 slots
4) Re-tuning/pitch correction to fix beating octaves or other minor tuning issues
5) Two extra reedplate screws added for more airtight play
6) Seydel brass coverplates (heavier than stock)
7) Brand new optimized session reedplates (all new parts, never used)
8) Black stock Seydel recessed comb

It's in the key of F which I needed for a song I'm performing and I'm anxious to see how it plays. I would think that would be a good price for a near custom steel harp.

Last Edited by rainman on Feb 12, 2013 4:11 PM
Greyowlphotoart
1117 posts
Feb 13, 2013
1:13 AM
@Rainman. That looks like a pretty good price for the spec. Shipping to the UK might work out costly for me though.
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rainman
62 posts
Feb 13, 2013
5:11 AM
They say they can usually ship USPS for $3 to $5 Internationally which is very reasonable. I'll be sure to post my findings if that would be helpful, but I've not had any previous experience with an un-optimized Session Steel so I'm not going to be able to comment on much other than my overall impression. I have a worked over Marine Band in F that I can compare too. I don't see any listed now for sale at that price I mentioned just fully optimized with OB's for $99 but you could contact them and request one without the OB's and they would probably find one for you.
Gipsy
6 posts
Feb 13, 2013
12:38 PM
Sounds like a very good deal, but there will also be tax to pay on importing goods into the UK. I recently bought some powder coated cover plates from Blue Moon Harmonicas, just over the 100 dollar mark, and I had to pay £18 locally to collect them.
Ps. The powder coated cover plates are so comfortable to play, and Tom is a great guy to deal with.

Last Edited by Gipsy on Feb 13, 2013 12:41 PM
ReedSqueal
363 posts
Feb 13, 2013
2:44 PM
Very tasty.
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Go ahead and play the blues if it'll make you happy.
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rainman
66 posts
Feb 21, 2013
9:51 AM
I would like to take back my recommendation to consider buying a Session Steel From Hetrick Harmonica and leave it at that.

Last Edited by rainman on Feb 21, 2013 2:15 PM
Greyowlphotoart
1127 posts
Feb 21, 2013
10:11 AM
Thanks Reedsqueal and Gypsy

@rainman. Thanks a lot for that info. I checked out your recommendation which was tempting.

Since then I have discovered that Ben Bouman will fit a grey comb (my preference over the orange one) to his mid custom xtra session steel (set-up for OB's) for £58.52 delivered so I'm probably going to go with that this time.

He also offers an unlimited guarantee and service.

I'll let you know how it works out.
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Last Edited by Greyowlphotoart on Feb 21, 2013 10:22 AM
rainman
67 posts
Feb 21, 2013
10:32 AM
GreyOwl, That's great, I think I'll stick with Crossovers! :) Really enjoy your video's keep 'em coming!
9000
147 posts
Feb 21, 2013
1:27 PM
I've recently bought an optimized Session Steel from Hetrick harps and found it to be such a great harp, especially, for the money that I ordered 2 Optimized 1847s. I like them all really well and expect to order more in the future. I'm just a blues guy but these harps give up the 6OB so easily that I've already worked it into my playing and I'm going to start exploring some other overblows/overdraws. Matthew is a great communicator and David Payne's work on the harps is outstanding. I'm grateful to have some options for harps that have been massaged a bit.
All the best to everyone on your journey!
Jay
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Gipsy
8 posts
Feb 21, 2013
9:55 PM
@greyowlphotoart.
Hope you enjoy the harp. I'd be very interested in your opinion of it when you have the opportunity.

Last Edited by Gipsy on Feb 21, 2013 9:56 PM


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