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Dirty-South Blues Harp forum: wail on! >
Mini review Folkmaster, big river
Mini review Folkmaster, big river
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Bluzmanze
2 posts
Aug 17, 2011
7:21 PM
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I had to purchase a couple of harps,I play drums in my band but we have been doing some quieter gigs lately so I have been playing some harp to add some variety to our sound.I have used mostly SP 20's Lee Oskars and have used MB's and a suzuki Blues master,I needed a new G in just tuning to replace a SP 20 and an F to replace a MIa SP 20.In my exp with ootb harps in the 20 to 35.00 range it can be a roll of the dice depending on maker and model and key.Because I had very good luck with a suzuki bluesmaster ootb I tried the folkmaster in F,and I am not impressed,to me it was tight and stiff,and not real responsive,the top 3 holes were real hard to play,the 6 draw would start ok for a few seconds and then bend flat,no matter what I did.so I tried my first attempt at gapping and got the first 5 holes playing ok,So anyway I don't think I will buying another,especially in a high key.Next the Hohner BR in G,after the folkmaster fiasco I decided to research the model online,and the reviews were mixed,and on this forum it seemed people either really liked it or hated it not much middle ground.GC has them locally so if I didn't like it I could take it back or exchange it so I gave it a shot.I found that I liked the brassy aggressive sound,maybe it is the open sides on the cover plates ,but it sounds similar to an MB in some ways,it seems to need a little more air and and power to bend on the low notes,but blow bends on the 8-10 holes are really nice and easy to play and I think it plays better than the G SP 20 that it
replaced,in the last two years I have bought an SP in A and F,and I loved those out of the box,but my lower key sp 20 g and b flat have always been sluggish.The tall and sharply sloped reed plates on the BR are taking a little getting used to,but I am adjusting to it and like the Big River more every day.
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shanester
421 posts
Aug 17, 2011
7:33 PM
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I think the Big Rivers are great harps, I like their slight chunkiness, but I haven't found many harps I don't like.
If you take off the covers and gently bend the little reeds to close the gap, the reeds will trigger easier, and you could get more out of all your harps.
I mess with the gaps until I can trigger the reed with very little breath force.
There is a ton of info on the web and experts on this forum that can provide more nuts and bolts insight and instruction.
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Shane,
"The Possum Whisperer"
Shane's Cloud
1shanester
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