HarpNinja
4067 posts
Apr 01, 2015
5:59 AM
|
I have never bonded with this key. It is mostly how the high end plays when I try to play fast. Oddly enough, I like Eb a lot and am fine with F (although it feels similar to E it doesn't feel as slow).
It isn't the tone - it is just how the harp feels. I've tried many E harp models from all sorts of manufacturers, including customs, and I just never really bond with it.
I also SWEAR that I can here an overtone an octave below coming from my head when playing in just that key. Can anyone relate?
----------
Mike
My Website
My Harmonica Effects Blog
|
HarpNinja
4068 posts
Apr 01, 2015
6:02 AM
|
Lol, I am explicitly stating harmonicas in the key of E that I play to make music!
----------
Mike
My Website
My Harmonica Effects Blog
|
eharp
2259 posts
Apr 01, 2015
6:06 AM
|
My bad.
Should have read the entire post.
Disregard the knock on your door in 10 minutes from my "colleagues".
|
arzajac
1621 posts
Apr 01, 2015
7:23 AM
|
When I took singing lessons, a lot of focus was put on "the mask". It's the range of points in your face where the resonance of the notes are strongest. I was taught to focus the sound on different areas to optimize my voice.
Everyone's mask is a little different with the points located in slightly different areas.
I think the pitch of the note B resonates in an uncomfortable spot in your mask which is why playing the tonic on an E harp is unpleasant. Do you experience the same sort of thing when you sing?
----------
Custom overblow harps. Harmonica service and repair.
|
Michael Rubin
1032 posts
Apr 01, 2015
7:29 AM
|
You're not alone. I hate E harps.
|
JInx
1020 posts
Apr 01, 2015
7:46 AM
|
Van Halen don't like E either. They're always down at Eb
----------
|
HarpNinja
4069 posts
Apr 01, 2015
7:56 AM
|
I do think E harps resonate in a maybe uncomfortable way for me. Ultimately, they always feel stiff to me. I mean, I can play them well enough, I just don't prefer that key at all, lol.
----------
Mike
My Website
My Harmonica Effects Blog
|
Martin
793 posts
Apr 01, 2015
8:45 AM
|
Interesting. While I´ve never found an F harp that I liked, the very opposite could almost be said for E.
I hold them dearly.
Play them mostly in 2, 1 and 11th positions.
Blues in B rings my bell very effectively.
They are also very durable, something I appreciate a lot.
|
Barley Nectar
732 posts
Apr 01, 2015
9:25 AM
|
I like E harps, fast player, great cut. I like F also but for some reason they don't hold up well for me.
Andrew might have something there, never heard of this mask thing?
|
mlefree
277 posts
Apr 01, 2015
10:36 AM
|
I don't care for keys above D. They are unpleasant to my ears and it's unpleasant for me to play 'em. That's why I like low key harps and why I am sill bummed that Hohner discontinued Low key Special 20's.
Michelle
----------
SilverWingLeather.com
email: mlefree@silverwingleather.com
|
Diggsblues
1753 posts
Apr 01, 2015
12:11 PM
|
I'm a big fan of the Eharp. My old band did some slow blues in Bmin that I loved to use it on.
I also like D and F.
----------
|
boris_plotnikov
1046 posts
Apr 01, 2015
4:28 PM
|
I like E harp, but I dislike A harp in 2-nd position, Bb, B, G are great, Ab is ok. But A is not as fat as Ab, but not yet as promininent as Bb. Just the way I hear. Bm or F#m or even A on A harp is ok, but please not E. Never choose this key and harp for my solo gig.
----------
Excuse my bad English.
My videos.
|
jbone
1919 posts
Apr 01, 2015
6:03 PM
|
Ninja, I don't know why. But I feel the same! I don't own on nor will I ever again.
----------
http://www.reverbnation.com/jawboneandjolene
https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100000386839482
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qbTwvU-EN1Q
|
groyster1
2762 posts
Apr 01, 2015
7:19 PM
|
F is my least favorite key...too screechy....E is not quite as bad....Bb is my favorite key followed by C&D....guess I like mid range keys
|
boris_plotnikov
1047 posts
Apr 02, 2015
12:22 AM
|
My favorite keys are Bb (and it was always my fav key no matter what brand) and B, LowF# and LowE (while dislike LowF and C!). Don't know why, possible it's because I like my harps in this keys more or it's my personnel resonance points, I don't know. G, Ab, Db, D, Eb, E, LowEb, LowD, LowDb and LowC are ok. Most of the time if I play along I practice Bb (because I have three of them and it's perfect customized), LowE, LowBb (I usually don't use it live, so I don't worry too much about wearing reeds but I have to practice breathing excercise), and if I wish to practice high harps (it's very useful too!) I always get E (as I have very well customized harmonica in E).
----------
Excuse my bad English.
My videos.
|
yonderwall
84 posts
Apr 02, 2015
4:53 AM
|
I really love the sound of (and playing) the lower registers on E & F harps. Once you get past hole 6, however, they rapidly become unpleasant to me.
|
nacoran
8383 posts
Apr 02, 2015
10:04 AM
|
Bb and D are my favorites. I can't think of a specific harp key that I don't like. Maybe Ab? But I think that's just that my Ab isn't terribly responsive.
----------
Nate
Facebook
Thread Organizer (A list of all sorts of useful threads)
First Post- May 8, 2009
|
Raven
32 posts
Apr 04, 2015
9:45 AM
|
Martin: Try a Low F, that might make a big difference in how you feel about the key.
Michelle: When Hohner dropped their lows in SP20 to try and force the Thunderbird market, I checked several sources to see if they had any lows left and bought whatever I could find.(Ended up with D, E, Eb, F#.) Only recently Suzuki introduced a few low registers to the Manji line, but if you want a low A you're stuck with either the Thunderbird or Seydel. I don't know if LO offers any other low keys besides F in the U.S.
|
harmonicanick
2206 posts
Apr 04, 2015
12:52 PM
|
Yeah absolutely my E harp sits in the case, I do like a low E however
|
ted burke
163 posts
Apr 04, 2015
3:11 PM
|
E's are just too hard to control, me thinks. I can do alright with an Eb and an F, but for some reason Es sound squeaky and combative. My preference is for C, D and Bb, with a strong presence of A and G in the mix.
----------
Ted Burke
__________________
ted-burke.com
tburke4@san.rr.com
|
Dr.Hoy
21 posts
Apr 04, 2015
4:06 PM
|
But if you have to play in B…
|
walterharp
1611 posts
Apr 05, 2015
10:31 AM
|
yeah mike, do you feel the same about low E?
|
walterharp
1612 posts
Apr 05, 2015
10:32 AM
|
the reason i ask is that andrew's idea about resonance should hold an octave lower...
|
Thievin' Heathen
515 posts
Apr 05, 2015
10:37 AM
|
I love all harmonicas equally. I hope that doesn't mean I'm tone deaf. That might be bad.
|
FilipJers
10 posts
Apr 06, 2015
1:13 AM
|
Good question!
I am also having tough time with E harmonicas. I think we all have different internal resonance that can sometime make some harps harder to play. Of course it also depends on the music and what harmonica style one plays.
@Boris - Bb is a great harp. I also really like Ab.
Which low Bb do you recommend?
|
Buzadero
1230 posts
Apr 06, 2015
4:41 AM
|
Wow. Bunch of elitists. Where is the tolerance? The inclusivity?
----------
~Buzadero
Underwater Janitor, Patriot
MBH poster since 11Nov2008
|
The Iceman
2361 posts
Apr 06, 2015
6:48 AM
|
Each key has its own color and characteristics.
It's not unusual that players will favor some tonal centers and others just don't resonate well.-
----------
The Iceman
|
Todd Parrott
1323 posts
Apr 06, 2015
8:05 AM
|
I love an E harmonica. Probably has more bite than any other key, which is what you want in the proper context.
|
bigd
569 posts
Apr 06, 2015
9:38 AM
|
I love them too - I think of it as the "Thrill is Gone" key in B where I always jump between A and E. Also the first song (still my favorite and IMO his blusiest) I ever heard from Todd was in E and "what a song!"...Now high F and F# - they scare me
----------
Facebook
|
FilipJers
11 posts
Apr 07, 2015
12:53 AM
|
I love the key of E, big and majestic sound, but I prefer low E harps instead of normal E harps. Just a preference.
|
