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Dirty-South Blues Harp forum: wail on! >
Unwanted Sounds with Warbles and Double Stops
Unwanted Sounds with Warbles and Double Stops
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Arrick
1 post
May 04, 2016
11:14 AM
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I'm an intermediate who's struggling with three undesirable tones. They are present when I play acoustically, but exaggerated when I mic (I play Special20s into a vintage Turner mic with a hot NOS ceramic element into a LW delay into a restored Kalamazoo Model 1, but have tested with other harps/amps/mics to rule that out as the culprit.
1) When I warble, I hear an annoying "flop-flop' sound as I go from hole to hole. If I warble my mouth against the harp without drawing, it doesn't make the sound. If I draw a little, but not enough to engage the reeds, I can hear the sound even when no sound is coming from the harp. I'm convinced it's my technique and big lips, but can't find a recipe that makes it stop.
2) When I hit double stops acoustically, it's got a cool raspy/nasty honk to it, but when I do through my mic/amp, I get an undesirable distortion. I'm kind of hitting both holes with equal force. Almost sounds like a bad speaker, but I've tried on other mics/amps and get same result. I'm using Special 20 harps. Have considered upgrading as it has kind of a tinny sound when it happens. Best example is trying to play "Good Morning Little School Girl".
3) On my D harp (cross playing in A), when I do a full bend on the draw 2 and try to sustain it, I get a squeak. I notice it on my F harp too, but specifically the D is giving me fits. I bought another harp and this time got a regular Marine Band to see if it was unique to my Special20. I think it's a bit better, but still does it. I just can't hold that draw 2 bend without a squeak. Is that common? Any exercises you'd suggest.
I keep falling back to strong, clear single notes and octaves and shy away from my high-harps, but want to expand my range. I know it's possible to have smooth warbles and double stops, I just can't figure out what I'm doing wrong.
Thanks for any tips/advice!!!
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Arrick Garringer
Historic Farmland Indiana
Last Edited by Arrick on May 04, 2016 11:21 AM
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nacoran
9049 posts
May 04, 2016
3:16 PM
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I've got to reshoot a video I was playing around with. I used to tear my lips up when I warbled. I stumbled on a solution that might also work for your sound issue, depending on what is causing it. I started with a bit of information I learned from one of Adam's videos- Leave a small air gap between your top lip and the harp. Adam suggested it as a way to equalize the amount of air in your lungs (i.e. if you have only one blow note in a long string of draw notes it's a way to sneak a little extra air out without playing louder, or sneak a little air in on a draw without playing louder.) The next thing was relaxing my bottom lip. When I warble my bottom lip doesn't slide along the cover- it moves with the harp. It's kind of like a slow motion video of someone getting punched in the face!
I can't say for sure if that would help, not knowing for sure what's causing it, but it might at least help you eliminate possible causes.
As for the double stop rasp, if you are cupping the mic try opening the cup a little bit when you play them. Also make sure you do a basic anti-feedback checklist. If you have gain on your mic mess with the mix between your speaker volume and gain. My amp actually has two gain knobs and playing around with the mix gives me a lot of control. Make sure the speaker isn't pointing to directly at you. Hit a little bit less of the second note too.
For the squeak, one of the guys who does more reed work may have some suggestions. I haven't experienced that on draw notes myself.
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Nate
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Thievin' Heathen
749 posts
May 04, 2016
5:24 PM
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Take a tip from Doctor Hook, "Grease Your Lips"
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WinslowYerxa
1141 posts
May 04, 2016
5:51 PM
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The squeak is the easiest to diagnose. Basically you're forming your oral cavity in a way that achieves the bend but also causes the squeak. Some harps (notably Lee Oskars) are more likely to squeak on bends. Doesn't mean the harp is bad. Rather, it means it's more sensitive. You can eliminate the squeak by forming your mouth differently. You may find that better bending tone and control will come along with getting rid of the squeak.
The other problems are harder to diagnose without hearing them, but I suspect the rasp may be one of three things:
- Hitting too hard (solution: breathe more gently)
- Tongue forward in the mouth in such a way that it emphasizes the high frequency part of the sound (bright, harsh). Solution: lower your tongue in your mouth
- Pre-bending (bending the note when you don't intend to). This can be caused by tongue or throat obstructing air flow, or by lips pinching around the hole. Solutions are to open your throat, get your tongue out of the way, relax your lips and make a bigger opening to the harp.
The flop sound is a bit of a mystery. But the harp should be able to glide easily in your lips. Getting it well in your mouth to allow the moist inner lips to let the harp glide will make for smooth, silent motion. When I warble, the lips move only minimally; mostly it's the harp gliding in the lips. (I also mostly move the harp when I warble, and only sometimes move my head.)
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Winslow
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MindTheGap
1567 posts
May 04, 2016
11:48 PM
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On warbles, I had trouble with them until I tried some advice from here (Iceman I think) where you stick the harp on the lips, both lips, they DON'T glide at all, you just use the elasticity of the lips to work the divider with really quite a small movement.
So Winslow is full glide, Nacaron is half-glide, and Iceman (apologies if not the case) is no-glide.
Point is, different things to try. I reckon 'no-glide' suits the fuller lips :)
Last Edited by MindTheGap on May 04, 2016 11:50 PM
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Arrick
3 posts
May 05, 2016
3:16 PM
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Thanks everyone for the advice. I've got some new stuff to work with now.
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