I've started working on bends. I am able to execute a draw bend on hole 1 of my Marine Band. However, I am unable to bend on my HotMetal at all. Are there some harps that are just impossible to bend on?
As an OT aside, this thread was showing '1post' on the front page, so I thought my comment above must be in spamnet. But when I opened the thread, there were two posts...odd I think Edit: and when I posted the 3rd comment things came back into line. I still think it's odd
Last Edited by SuperBee on May 06, 2016 5:46 PM
Put it this way HotMetal... A good player sent me a box with dozens of his old broken harps...and I mean old, but not old enough to be treasure. 90s stuff mainly, terrible old blues harps and marine bands and early MS hohners mainly. Included were 2 hot metals. I included them with the broken combs and flaking rusted covers when I went through the box to clear out the utter rubbish from the stuff which held some glimmer of potential usefulness. Which is maybe a bit dramatic. I was interested in spare parts of course, for repair of harps...but no one gets those hot metals, silver star etc harps repaired, so to me they were not useful. And the reason no one gets them repaired is because they are generally not good to play. There are some exceptions. I've had a jambone harp which was quite good...but on the whole they are difficult, especially when it comes to advanced techniques like bending.
Hotmetal. When you get really good at bending and learn how to gap your harp, you may be able to get some bends out of the hot metal harp.
But basically (not trying to be harsh just real with you. ) the hot metal is crap. My first harp was a blues band. About the same quality. I still keep it because it was my first harp, i did learn single notes on it, and it has its sentimental value. But that's why i gave you the advice to get a different harp back when you first started posting.
So no big deal. But if you like the feel of the plastic comb on the hot metal vs the wood comb. The special 20 is basically the good version of the hot metal. If you get another harp i suggest a different key. Like A or D. A is much lower and Looser. D is higher and tighter. So they will play differently than C. Between the two, i prefer the A. But it'll give you a chance to try new models and to try new key.
But anyways. Have fun. Congrats on starting to bend. This is when the fun starts. ----------
Last Edited by Killa_Hertz on May 06, 2016 11:00 PM
When I first started I made the mistake of buying not just one but a SET of Bluesbands. I was learning to bend and I remember thinking that, while the low keys worked, the high ones e.g. D and F were essentially unplayable. And certainly unbendable. I did some reading up and switched to SP20s and the like. I put the Bluesbands in away, thinking they might be useful for spare screws etc.
Because you asked this, I took them and tried them just now. They are dreadful, but I can get bends out of them. I wouldn't have wanted to learn on them.
It's a problem describing the relative qualities of different instruments, but what you're hearing from the others is IMO the truth of it. The really cheap harps are really very bad, whereas even the medium priced ones are really very good. And they can be further improved by gapping and tweaking (all the things you'll read here).
Last Edited by MindTheGap on May 07, 2016 5:49 AM
Yea i would never call a harp crap unless it was. Like you said mtg even the lower medium priced harps like special 20,lee oskar, etc. Are just fine. With a lil custom work, even pretty great. You don't have to spend $100 on a harp. Our even $50. The $30 harps are good.
If your really on a tight budget ive heard good things about the Big River Harp. It's like a mix between a special 20 and a marine band so i hear. I've never played one, but they are a bit cheaper. Anything is better than those $10 harps. But you ll find all the better models are all a little different. So they are subjective as to which is better. You really have to try them all to see which is best for you.
But for now the special 20, lee oskar, big river, etc. Is a great place to start. Even if you move on to a different model later, you ll never regret buying them. I keep my special 20s in my car incase i forget to grab my harp case in the morning. I also bring them camping, on trips on the river and paves i wouldn't dare bring my crossovers or manjis. John Popper plays the special 20. So ... it's a great lil harp.
Anyhow. The hotmetal was good because it was a cheap way to let you see if you really liked the harp or not. Now you can make an investment in better ones and really start playing. So ... Have Fun. Let us know how bending is going. I can lead you to a couple good videos. But it's really hard thing to teach. It's a feeling that you just have to find. The bendometer app will show you if your bending to the right pitch. But i gotta run so .... keep up the good work
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Last Edited by Killa_Hertz on May 07, 2016 7:41 AM
Seriously though. Bending is tough. And no video is really going to teach you. Because it's so hard to describe. Is something you have to feel. And once you get the harp to bend a little bit your half way there.
Your best bet is really to have a way to hear the notes you can bend to.(keyboard, tuner, some type of tone generator app.) And see how far each hole can bend aswell as how far you are bending them,( bendometer app.) because some holes bend more than others. It's a bit of a long road, but you ll get it.
This is one of the many videos that helped me at first. JP Allen is the man. He was doing this stuff way back.
Now in the video he will say that you have to suck a little harder with the diaphragm. This is similar to what i refer to as backpressure. It doesnt mean that you need to suck more air or suck really hard in order to bend. I can bend with the same ammount of air as a normal note. He means that by drawing in with your diaphragm you will create a short of suction effect. But these are all things that you can refine later. Just do whatever you have to in order to get the bends. If you need to suck a little harder that's fine, but just know that is not necessary. 1 draw, 2 draw, and 4 draw are the easiest, i think. So stick with them. Get the bendometer app or a tuner that can show you what note your bending to. (Once you start to get it) Hope this helps. There are plenty of videos out there and maybe one will put it in a way that will make something click. But this one is pretty thorough. Good luck. Have fun.
