Jon Vaughan. I've never heard of the guy. He's got exactly one video on YouTube. He's a gifted player. He looks like a heavy metal guy; let that go, put on some headphones, and allow yourself to be impressed. If this guy asked me for a lesson, I'd ask him why.
And Jon, if you're a member here, congratulations. Your first video, as an audio recording, is one that younger harp guys--heck, older harp guys--should be copying. You take your time; this is exactly what people who know what that phrase means mean. I'd like to know more about how you learned to play like that.
Last Edited by on Sep 12, 2012 7:18 PM
@CarlA: You're right! Well, it's about damned time that we ignorant idiots in the USA paid some attention to him.
As for why it took him this long to post a video--i.e., to control the way in which he appears on YouTube, rather than allowing himself to be represented by distorted live videos that don't do him justice--that remains a mystery. I'm delighted, in any case, to have brought his very first YT video to the attention of this forum. Three cheers for Britain's best! Or one of them.
Last Edited by on Sep 12, 2012 7:52 PM
Joe_L 2040 posts Sep 12, 2012 8:09 PM It was good. Personally, I thought the air escaping loudly while he was exhaling every few seconds detracted from a very beautiful performance.
---------- The Blues Photo Gallery Last Edited on 12-Sep-2012 8:09 PM
According to many members on a previous thread discussing "noises" while playing, it is due most likely to "horrible" technique and "lack of breath control", or as one member eloquently commented, "horrible asthmatic sounds".
Gosh, and I thought I was delivering news to the masses.
"Hey, I just came across a video by a guy named Eric Clapton and he's REALLY worth paying attention to! He's every bit as good as Freddie King. He's really got talent. If he asked me for a guitar lesson, I'd scoff. He doesn't need lessons from anybody." Etc.
Well, I won't be ignorant in THAT way again.
By the way, there's a guy named Howard Levy who is REALLY doing some promising stuff on the harmonica. You heard it here first. :)
Last Edited by on Sep 12, 2012 8:21 PM
@CarlA - yeh, those sounds really reveal lousy technique and no breath control at all. I've always said those were Jason's biggest faults as a harp player. ---------- Matthew
He really's got that Little Walter tongue-blocked sound down! His tone is seriously up there with Kim Wilson (if I may be so bold).
Honestly folks, I could care less about the exhales, and I personally think bagging on his breath control is a load of crap (no offense). Yea, breath control may help with the technical aspects of playing and allow a player to play more notes without exhaling, but with slow blues like this the out breath gives a kind of phrasing to the licks.
I've been fortunate to know Jon personally over the past 4 years (we live in the same area of Bristol). Awesome player, and has been a huge inspiration to me. I have him to thank for getting me involved in the local blues scene - he introduced me to the blues jam where I cut my teeth as a performer, & still go pretty much every week (and many a time Jon has been kind enough to give me a lift back home!)
Sadly he's not playing out much at the moment due to injured band members, but we hope to see him out in force again soon.
Jon's a superb player and harp customiser, setting up Marine Band Deluxes. He has been mentioned on this forum as far back as 2009, at least, Oxharp has posted videos from the NHL (National Harmonica League) get togethers. There are also Youtube videos for The Mean Red Spiders featuring Jon.
@Harmonica Nick - "Here is a vid of Jon at a street party, filmed on my phone but the sound is pretty good..what a tone!!"
Well I certainly can't disagree regarding Jon's tone & playing, but I can't really agree about the recording quality...it's frankly a bit ropey ;-)
I could be accused of having a vested interest as Jon's using one of my amps in both of the last clips & the NHL 2010 clip is more representative.
@Joe L - It's possible (not saying it definitely is, just possible) that any compression in the recording software is limiting the harp & boosting the breath noise in quiet parts? Jon's playing isn't unusually breathy in "real life" :-) ----------
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Last Edited by on Sep 13, 2012 11:02 AM
Yup. That video has been saved in my 'To Study' folder on my Youtube account for quite some time now. ---------- Go ahead and play the blues if it'll make you happy. -Dan Castellaneta
That was a GREAT listen and a lot of cool things can be pointed out...What really struck me was the "meter" he used and though a slow blues it "swung" really hard...
vibrato is the word, you can play just the blues scale with good vibrato and sound more soulful than 10 cats with 10 scales. singing the song is what blues is all about...
OK 5F - tell us about the amp. The NHL video, taken with the first clip, shows what happens when you take someone with killer acoustic tone - then have him rip through a good amp.
Are those a hint of 'ghost notes' at 1:47 - 1:48 on the NHL video? I like em even if they are. ----------
Bdog...sounds like he is hittin a double stop - playing the 6 draw and adding some of the 7 draw which gives it that 'ring'
He plays it on the V chord...I think in the key of "C",,, so those notes on a "C" harp would be "A" and "B" respectively and are the 5th and 6th scale degrees of that chord - the major 6th giving it that cool ringing tone :)
Last Edited by on Sep 15, 2012 3:54 AM
"OK 5F - tell us about the amp. The NHL video, taken with the first clip, shows what happens when you take someone with killer acoustic tone - then have him rip through a good amp."
It uses BF Deluxe style transformers, the OT has 4&8ohm taps, so switching to the 8ohm speaker tap, with the 4ohm load, matches 6L6 as well (no other mods required) as the 6V6s that are in there now. No line out on that particular amp. 2x Eminence 1028K black frames. Just a volume control with a bright/dark switch...as simple as it gets for push-pull.
It started out as quite a different design, with a lot more parts so I used a 5E3 chassis...I would still do the same but split the preamp tube one triode each for V1 & V2.
When Jon took it away, it had a JAN Phillips 12AT7 preamp tubes in it...but shhhh! Don't tell anyone, I read recently they're no good as preamp tubes! ;-)
---------- www.myspace.com/markburness
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Last Edited by on Sep 18, 2012 6:17 AM
@Frank - ah so ! - that explains it -I'll have to try that at home. thanks.
@5F - Self split huh? This is new stuff for me. I can understand using both sides fo the preamp tube in a simple split as in your re-vision, but - Cathode from V1 feeding grid of V2. wow.
So there is inverted AC signal flowing to ground from the cathode - and you just tap it between the cathode bias resistor and ground ??
If there is an article on this type of design, please point me to it. I google it and your lone wolf posts show up ! Perhaps this should be carried on over there, or a new thread started. I wish this site would have topic division folders like Lone Wolf and others do. We wouldn't have to clog the place up with stuff non- valve heads find boring.
by the way - I love the way you do up your shcematics. I might have read it wrong - but it's still the simplest to follow I've seen.
The self split output (well this version anyway - there are versions that invert the signal from the first tube's plate, or the first tube's screen grid) works very much like a regular Long tail phase-inverter tube, it's a differential amp, the first tube is modulated by its grid, anything that shows up on that tube's plate also appears on the cathode. The second tube is modulated by it's cathode and you get perfect inversion...albeit at a cost of some W output. This system can't use a power tube bypass cap because that shunts the AC to ground and the amp just becomes single ended...then again, no problem doing this.
Self split has never been popular with the guitar amp crowd: low power, low gain, more popular with Hi fi. To my ear it gives great transparency & "enough" volume...
Swing on by my facebook page, there's more schems there - they have to be pretty simple, I mean, I have to understand them! ;-)
Anyhow, we're in danger of hi jacking the thread, so here's more Jon, with the Mean Red Spiders, using his "big" stage amp, a SJ410...
whether you like the breath sound or not, it is on purpose, so it is not classified as bad technique....he is using it and mouth sounds without the harp to create tension in his playing with a percussive sound and no note.
nice playing! last vid has shades of dennis gruenling, guess that is what one says these days when somebody swings slow blues real hard through a nice amp!
Last Edited by on Sep 15, 2012 3:32 PM
Jon Vaughan has amazing tone. It's one of the widest I've ever heard. Fat is can be. Did you ever think that his amazing super fat tone may have something to do with his breath, that everyone seems to be talking about? In the video taken by a cell phone, you can hear that this guy is crazy good and his sound comes through even in the worst recording. Thanks Adam for posting this unknown diamond!
Ljane, very perceptive...Whenever you hear "stand out" TONE, rest assured that it is the players keen sense of the precise [BREATH pressure] needed to maximize the tonal output of the harmonicas capabilities.
Most of the time- that breath pressure is going to be "light" while using certain dynamics, attack and technique to add the different dimensions of wideness,fatness and all colors available in between fat and wide :)
Players aware of the POWER of light breath control will usually give the impression to the audience or listener that he or she is graceful, relaxed and in control of their playing.
Last Edited by on Sep 16, 2012 8:24 AM
That is the most perfect example of less is more that i've heard in recent memory. Also, of what to play and what not to play. His sense of what i call empty rhythmic space is impeccable. BTW that 'space' is not empty, it is music too.
As i listened, i heard my own inner musical ideas of how i would play a slow blues invading. stuff like wanting to put a phrase here, a note there, etc. in other words, ruin it. Fantastic player!!! Cheers! ---------- MP affordable reed replacement and repairs.
"making the world a better place, one harmonica at a time"
click user name [MP] for info- repair videos on YouTube. you can reach me via Facebook. Mark Prados
First video really shows you have an internal sense of groove and attach to it what you play on the harmonica. Makes it very compelling. ---------- The Iceman
> Welcome, Jon. > First video really shows you have an internal sense of groove and attach to > it what you play on the harmonica. Makes it very compelling.
Thanks.
Playing solo with decent timing and groove took me a long time. It was listening to Dennis Gruenling's videos on the Harpgear site that made me realised how cool it could sound and how important it is to have that strong internal groove.
@tookatooka: "Hi Jon, like Adam said, "We'd like to know more about how you learned to play like that". Please. +1 for Gt Britain."
Usual story I think. Lots of listening, playing along to jam tracks / CDs, going to jam sessions, playing in bands, obsessing over details and tone a lot.
Biggest learning influence was Jerry Portnoy's 3 CD set which is great for explaining how to use tongue blocking and how to integrate rhythm playing within phrasing / melody lines.
I also went to some workshops by Joe Filisko / Dennis Gruenling relatively recently which convinced me to learn to tongue block as much as possible.
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