dougharps
1800 posts
Aug 03, 2018
12:36 PM
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I have been noticing for some time that my Manjis (and Olives) have significantly different tone from a player's point of hearing based on the pitch of the harp being played. Depending on which key harp I pick up, there is a difference in how muted or shrill a harp sounds to me as far as player audibility. Playing all Manjis there is wide variation, and the same applies to all Olives.
With open Manji covers the lower pitched Manji harps sound fine to me, but the higher pitched Manji harps seem shrill.
With closed Olive covers the lower pitched Olive harps seem muted to me, but the higher pitched Olives seem fine.
So I switched D Manji covers with Bb Olive covers and now they both sound fine to me! I have put open covers on my Ab and closed covers on my Db, too.
Has anyone else tried this, putting open covers on lower harps and closed covers on higher pitched harps?
There is likely little difference to the audience, but it matters to me how I hear what I play.
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Doug S.
Last Edited by dougharps on Aug 03, 2018 12:37 PM
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WinslowYerxa
1601 posts
Aug 03, 2018
4:09 PM
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Side vented covers are believed to let more high frequency information from a reed's escape, while closed overs holds it in. What you report sounds consistent with that perception.
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Last Edited by WinslowYerxa on Aug 03, 2018 4:10 PM
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Dox
196 posts
Aug 03, 2018
4:12 PM
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This make sense. The same happens with seydel 1847 silver/classic VS noble. Noble has vented cover and some differences can be heard, although, at amplification time, a lot of difference will be "flattened" by the amplification itself.
Last Edited by Dox on Aug 03, 2018 4:13 PM
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BnT
171 posts
Aug 07, 2018
11:58 PM
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I have mostly Manjis and like their open cover design - good air flow and volume. When a friend gave me six Olives, I switched them to Manji covers. My choice (plus having Gary Lehmann retune all my harps to compromised just tuning) for any key harp, is to use Manji covers.
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BnT
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hvyj
3615 posts
Aug 11, 2018
1:09 PM
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I agree that cover plate design definitely affects tone. Vented covers, unvented covers and full length covers all have different tonal chacteristics. How open the rear of the covers are also makes a difference. I have a set of custom GMs. The covers are opened on most of the set which increases volume, but I had the covers left unopened on the high keys (Eb, E and F) so they would not sound shrill. So, yeah, cover design does affect tone.
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J.A.Harmonicas
48 posts
Aug 11, 2018
1:23 PM
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hvyj mentioned "full length covers", this is a very interesting subject. As the volume/size under the cover affects the sound a lot, less volume/smaller chamber = brighter sound. Bigger volume/chamber = dull sound.
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Joel Andersson
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hvyj
3616 posts
Aug 11, 2018
4:34 PM
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@Joel: maybe it’s only a matter of semantics, but “dull” is not the adjective I would use—I would say that full length covers have a smoother, mellower, more focused sound. I happen to prefer full length covers, but that’s only a matter of personal preference/style.
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SuperBee
5547 posts
Aug 11, 2018
5:58 PM
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Perceptions and personal preference is an interesting thing.
I’ve worked on harps that I personally found very dull as a function of the covers. In one case I remember very keenly I was satisfied with the tuning and response but I did not really feel good about the harp because it just sounded so dull and muted to me. I’d done all I could though, for a $20 repair so I sent it back with the rest of the harps in the lot.
To my surprise, this was the harp which the owner chose to highlight in his social media post, praising the work I’d done. Had it been mine, I’d have fitted the covers with swivels and treble hooks but for him it was a prize harmonica.
I’m not much of a fan of full length covers, though I don’t mind the GM. An F MB is perhaps potentially shrill but then again, Mr Sonny Boy Williamson II recorded quite a few numbers with them and I can’t think of one which makes me duck for cover. Some players can make a G harp sound tinny.
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nacoran
9941 posts
Aug 14, 2018
4:12 PM
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I had an old set of Piedmonts from when I first started playing. Once the terrible taste of the paint coming off wears off the covers are actually really comfortable on the lips. I tried swapping them onto a Sp20. Dullest sound I've ever heard.
I actually wrote Hohner about their Piedmonts... complaining about the paint taste and telling them they needed to figure out a way to put Piedmont plastic on the outside of a cover plate that had metal on the inside to see if that would make a really comfortable cover that didn't mute the sound so much.
I think that the fact that it's so hard to make custom covers keeps people from playing with them as much as they could. I've noticed what Joel said about full length harmonicas, at least theoretically (I didn't have a way to test if that's actually what was causing it.) Like the Piedmont covers I love them for their comfort but kind of wish they had a brighter sound. I wonder if you CNC'd a cover so that it was solid in the end if you could get that brighter tone out of full length covers.
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Nate
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