The Lucky 13 (and its predecessor, the Steve Baker Special - all props to Steve!) offers a particular advantage for a type of blues riff that's common on guitar but on 10-hole harmonica requires a compromise.
The riff in question (I'm calling it the Diving Riff) starts on the home note of the key, and descends down one octave, landing on the home note an octave below. Here's what it sounds like without harmonica:
The coolest place to start this riff in second position is in Draw 2. The problem is, that you run out of notes before you get to the last part of the riff and you have to double back to Draw 3, sort of folding the riff in half instead of letting it stretch out to its full, majestic length, as heard here:
You can start it on Blow 6 to play the complete riff without folding. This works but doesn't quite sound as cool, as played here (all examples played on a pre-release Lucky 13 in C):
(Notice that I used a few of the low Lucky 13 notes anyway at the very end - sorry; couldn't help myself.)
But with the Lucky 13 you can start on Draw 2 (actually Draw 5) and carry the riff all the way to the bottom, which I do here. Notice how at the end I played a standard riff in the "normal" part of the harp and then carried it down fluidly into the low register. Doing this is very intuitive, as the low register just mirrors the regular first 3 holes.
I recorded directly into the built-in mic in my MacBook Pro laptop, using Logic Pro X. Looking at the harmonica effects pre-loaded into my blues band template, I see that I've got "Creamy Tube" overdrive, some compression, and some reverb (although at least some of what you hear is room sound). =========== Winslow
This is a miniature versionof what happens at harmonica festivals. Two great harp players trading riffs, tips, tricks - and me - a fly on the wall soaking it all in. Thanks Winslow. ---------- Tom Halchak www.BlueMoonHarmonicas.com
correct me if i am wrong but, wouldn't born under a bad sign riff also enjoy the same benefit by using the lucky 13. if i remember correctly i have to jump around to make it work. ---------- .
@1847 - You're absolutely right. The version of the diving riff I used is only one of many that are fairly common. Rollin' and Tumblin' is another one, and I'm sure there are more. =========== Winslow
What a brilliant idea: The Lucky 13 I've got to get one of these.
I'm thinking the lower harps would be cool with the added low end, but the higher tuned harps would benefit even more. Especially the F harp. If ever there was a need to combine two harps into one, the F harp would surely get my vote!
@ 1847: The Lucky 13 only comes in Richter Extended. I do hope to offer it in PowerDraw and PowerBender in future but for now it's a customisation job.
To answer your question about which tuning is more popular: about equal I'd say. PowerDraw is the better choice for traditional Blues players (I assume most of those on this forum) as it is standard Richter holes 1-6, then gives you all draw bending holes 7-10. It's also better for octaves and tongue-blocking than PowerBender.
