I tried playing along with this on a SP20 and it didnt work. Searched and found some talk of him using a a 365 MB tried it and a 364, still didnt sound right. Then I tried a Koch Chromatic, it was right on the money! The artist A-Z listing is gone now but i remember Horton used 10 hole diatonics ABbCDEFG and only went outside that using a Db or Ab, both of which could be Koch Chromatics. anyone here play christine on MB or 365 MB? i cant do it and get exact.
Yes I know its in G I could play it with a C tremolo harp if i wanted to. what I'm driving at is I can't counterfeit Horton exactly, playing along with him. unless I use the Koch C diatonic slide (called a chrome but isn't)harmonica.
I had originally read this- http://www.harmonicalessons.com/members/dcforum/DCForumID3/538.html
then i saw this pic http://www.shugarecords.com/images/products/large/38e07192-54b1-4420-9190-967bef997f95-0.JPG
It looks like a 364 Marine Band (its as thick as his eye)but i cant get the exact sound. The low sound of the Koch matches it exactly. And my guess is alot of these older tunes from before the 60s in Eb and Ab were played on Koch harps because only A Bb C D E F and G Marine Bands were available. The Koch C and G also work as low harps in G and D.
It's played on a standard C diatonic in second position. I just played along with it and it fits perfectly on a standard Marine Band. Are you tongue blocking? if you're not then you won't be able to play some of what Walter is playing.
I'd ignore the album cover picture. That won't tell you anything about what he's playing on that track. That's simply a promo shot.
Last Edited by Kingley on Mar 12, 2013 12:42 PM
No I tongue block. The Special 20 is too shrill, I tried a Marine Band and Old Standby same thing. The Koch is my new low C, I will keep the 365 for chugging.
As Kingobad stated. The song is played on a regular C diatonic. On the subject of the Koch harmonica. As far as I know there are no examples of Big Walter playing one. In fact off the top of my head I can't think of any examples of him playing a 365 either.
Ahh the Soloist. I have seen this harp on ebay it makes the rounds, something must be wrong with it nobody keeps it long. would be nice to get one. No the Koch is not low tuned, but it does sound deeper due to its size. one thing i have never understood is why the 364 G sounds higher than the Special 20 G.
"Christine" is definitely on a regular ol' C diatonic. You must pay close attention to Walter's bending and intonation on the lower part of the harp, then you will realize you do not need a "low" harp for this tune. It's a tribute to Horton's mastery that he is sometimes a bit of a puzzle to match exactly, especially for players like myself, still learning every day. I have a DVD of The American Folk Blues festival from the 60's and I believe (but not certain) Walter is playing a larger-type 365-style harp for a version of Walter's Boogie...it's just way too big a harp, as it peeks out from his hands. Anyone know this clip? A quick look on YouTube didn't work for me, but it used to be up there. He's playing against a background of the city, and the band is not in the clip. Just Walter and a mic stand.
Having personally seen him in action many times during the 70's as well as hanging out with him and befriending him, anything you hear that sounds like a chromatic is actually being played on the original version of the Marine Band Soloist (which was originally discontinued in 1975, and the replacement model 365S was a lousy substitute, but do NOT confuse it with the 365SBS, which is the Steve Baker tuning and something TOTALLY different).
I remember him saying that he stopped using a chromatic because it took too much wind for him, but knowing he was notorious for telling a ton of BS stories, I had discussions with two blues master musicians that he worked with, one of them being my old boss Jimmy Rogers and the other was the late, great Muddy Waters and BOTH of them told me flat out they never saw or heard him play a chromatic of any kind while he worked with either of them and also he never used any tremolo harps either and the tremelo effect you hear him play is when he's using a throat vibrato either on a single note or while playing chords or double stops and he often never played anywhere near as hard as the average player does.
I've seen him play Christine and he never used a chromatic of any kind, standard or Koch, period.
He has used a 364/365 in Low C on occasion.
Another thing to remember, from personally seeing him, he had extremely long fingers.
A HUGE requirement for doing anything of BW's stuff is that you absolutely MUST HAVE good breath control, and most players totally lack that.
Koch chromatics are tuned like a diatonic, not just in note layout, but also much like the way stock diatonics used to be tuned, tuned to 7 limit just intonation, and the Koch is a partially valved chromatic, which allows for bending of 1/2 step flat or more. I've NEVER seen him use on ever, and during the 70's, I saw him at least a dozen times over the years.
If you hear DB or Ab diatonics, it can only be a product of either of two things:
a.) the recording was released sped up so it would be 1/2 step sharp, or slowed to be 1/2 step flat, and it was not uncommon to see this happening at recording or mastering studios and,
b.) if one was listening on an old record turntable, the actual speed is not correct (a lot of top notch turntables have a variable pitch adjustment feature)> ---------- Sincerely, Barbeque Bob Maglinte Boston, MA http://www.barbequebob.com CD available at http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/bbmaglinte
