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Dirty-South Blues Harp forum: wail on! >
Bending Overblows
Bending Overblows
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Grey Owl
430 posts
Dec 26, 2013
2:12 AM
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First of all I’d like to applaud Brendan/Zombor for the MB30. That’s quite a concept and engineering feat to fit those extra reeds in the MB. It will undoubtedly produce a slightly different sound with draw and blow bending across the harp to achieve the notes that are already available on a standard Richter harmonica with OB's and OD's and that is an intriguing prospect.
Subjectively, there may be improved tone or at least more consistent tone from note to note using Brendan’s system of blow and draw bending across the whole harp and it would be interesting to hear the differences between both harps when playing a standard piece that demands overblows.
In some ways overblows are easier than bent note techniques. In bending a note both blow and draw reeds are in action and cooperate in producing the required note and we all know how difficult it is to hit those pitch bends precisely and consistently.
On the other hand the straight hit overblow relies on one reed alone for producing the note, there is no trying to find it like on a pitch bend, it’s just there. Naturally if you bend an overblow some further micro changes in embouchure are required.
I’d like to post this example of Christelle playing a standard piece ‘Yesterday’.
In ballads such as this more accuracy is required in making all the notes sound sweet and in pitch and attention is drawn to the tone and accuracy of the overblows. (more so than in jazz and blues songs perhaps) Christelle makes these overblows sound very nice and of a very similar tone to standard notes even when inflection bending the OB’s. There is more difficulty in hitting that whole step 3 draw bend on pitch near the end than on any of the overblows.
As listening harmonica players I think we sometimes overlook the accuracy of pitch bending and just sort of accept it realising just how difficult they are to play.
I would like to hear Christelle play ‘Yesterday’ on an MB30 to hear the tonal differences. She’d still have to contend with those pesky low end bends though;)
As a side note it is interesting to see the amazing embouchure Christelle uses to produce the lovely tone she has.
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Grey Owl YouTube
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Frank
3556 posts
Dec 26, 2013
4:25 AM
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Is there a photo of the "note layout" of all 30 reeds for an MB30, X-Reed in the key of (C)? Thank you:)
Last Edited by Frank on Dec 26, 2013 4:26 AM
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Brendan Power
403 posts
Dec 26, 2013
6:48 AM
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Hi Frank, we're not revealing that just yet, but it will be open to all once the MB30 harps ship in February. It's our own invention, the same notes as the SUB 30 but in a different arrangement.
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Frank
3558 posts
Dec 26, 2013
7:06 AM
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Will folks who can work on their own harps, "change reeds etc"...Be able to fix the harps themselves when necessary, any barriers to working on them - or things that might bumfuzzle us? Thank you :)
Last Edited by Frank on Dec 26, 2013 7:12 AM
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rosco1
33 posts
Dec 26, 2013
7:15 AM
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Great insights and info from Brendan and Jason-two of my favorite harp players. I'd love to play as well as either one on any kind of harp. They both play amazing, beautiful lines with whatever harp they choose...because they are both great MUSICIANS. The harp of choice doesn't matter as much as the affinity between player and harp, and none of that matters if the player isn't saying anything new, fun, interesting, etc. I'm way to far down the road to overblow hell (or nirvana) to start into something new, but I think someone with apptitude who is just starting to get to what I'll call the 'musician' level on harmonica should try everything and see what they feel the best fit is. It might be more than one harp. There are plenty of players who excell on BOTH diatonic and chro, for instance. Anyway, if you do play OBs, then BENDING overblows (esp 6) and overdraws can add VERY cool colors to your palette.
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Brendan Power
404 posts
Dec 26, 2013
7:28 AM
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When the harps ship we'll include an info sheet with tuning layout and helpful tips on gapping etc. Any player who currently works on their harp will be able to tweak the MB30, including replace reeds.
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Zombor Kovacs
9 posts
Dec 26, 2013
7:34 AM
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Jason:
Thanks for the "Business proposal" :-) I will send you the harps right after I figured out why would it be good for me. But apart from joking,could you send the toothpick trick to Hohner suggesting them to include this step in their manufacturing process? I don't know Hohner's cycle time for one harp - it is probably less than a minute - but if the time needed for the toothpick adjustment can be reduced under half a minute reliable out of the box overblow harmonicas could finally be mass produced. Sorry for joking with the toothpick, but it is not fully a joke. Production is always cost sensitive. On the long run the cheapest method stays alive if the quality can be kept on the same level. If its a toothpick, its a toothpick, if its another method to be invented its another method. The final result will matter. Today it seems, that the methods to get a harp play overblows well cannot be incorporated into mass production. I am not saying it will not change, but this is how it is today. Anybody is free to come up with something to change this!
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tmf714
2297 posts
Dec 26, 2013
7:56 AM
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From a harp-l post by Richard Sleigh-Questions about Bending #7 Blow in X reed or MB 30 harmonicas
In answer to the question about the MB-30 & MB-30 S harmonicas:
"Does hole hole 7 blow bend down a tone?
If not, I'm not interested."
RD
I have two answers to this question. The short answer is: You cannot bend hole 7 blow down a semitone in a 30 reed harmonica in the design of a SUB 30, or an MB 30, or MB 30 S.
If you want a harmonica in a Richter tuning that allows you to bend down hole 7, the XB 40 is the only one I know about that lets you do that.
If that is the only thing you are interested in, you can stop reading now….
For me, badass blues harp tone and my ability to shape that tone directly with my breath and my hands, is more important than having multiple options for playing chromatic runs.
Here is the rest of the story:
When it comes to choosing options for playing chromatically on the harmonica, there are 5 main things I can think of to focus on:
- the notes available and the techniques you need to play these notes
- the overall tone of the instrument
- the amount of control you have over bending notes and the shades of pitch you have available
- the amount of control you have over shaping the tone of the notes you are playing
- The complexity of the instrument - number of moving parts, and the amount of things that you need to tune, adjust and maintain
If the only thing you are interested in is the ability to bend all notes, the XB 40 allows you to do that. Because it has 40 reeds, and the pairs of reeds for bending blow notes and draw notes are completely separated, you can also tune the enabler reeds down to allow you to bend any note as far as you want to. So if you want to bend down 3 half steps everywhere, (or more) - you can do that.
The XB 40 has a mouthpiece that directs the air stream into a chamber that has valves that open or close pairs of reeds in additional separate chambers. It has 20 wind-saver valves, 2 for each hole. One valve directs the airstream into the blow reed chamber and the other valve directs the air stream through the draw reed chamber.
So instead of one chamber with all the reeds in it you have three chambers. One chamber that has the wind saver valves and two other chambers with pairs of reeds.
This system creates a different overall tone compared to the traditional diatonic harmonica.
My reference point for "the traditional diatonic harmonica tone" is the Marine Band harmonica. In other words, how much does the harmonica sound and feel like a Marine Band?
The XB 40 is a lot larger than a Marine Band, it feels a lot different and it sounds different. I can't control the hand effects as well as I can on a smaller harmonica, so I don't have the range of tone that I have on a Marine Band.
I play the XB 40 at times for Celtic Music and in some other situations.
But for stone blues, I play Marine Bands and Super 64x harmonicas 99% of the time.
Why can't you bend hole #7 blow down in a SUB 30 or MB 30?
First you need to understand that the SUB 30 and MB 30 have one chamber with three reeds. Two of the reeds are tuned like the standard richter tuning layout. The third reed is lower in pitch than the lowest of the other two reeds and allows you to bend that note down with the sound and control you use for double reed bends.
OK, time out, take a deep breath and then we will continue...
Last Edited by tmf714 on Dec 26, 2013 7:58 AM
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tmf714
2298 posts
Dec 26, 2013
7:57 AM
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In order to keep the rest of this article simple, I will describe a 30 reed, 20 valve harmonica. In other words, not a stock SUB 30. The stock SUB 30 uses reeds pushed into slots to make them resist playing when you don't want them to play. So you have two different ways to isolate pairs of reeds - valves and reeds pushed into slots.
A 30 reed 20 valve harmonica has more parts, but is easier to describe, because the pairs of reeds are isolated by the same thing: valves.
The new X reed harmonicas are 30 reed, 20 valve harmonicas. So are the MB 30 and MB 30 S.
so in hole 1 of a 3 reed harmonica in the key of C you have:
1. A reed tuned to D as the main draw reed
2. A reed tuned to C as the main blow reed.
3. A third reed tuned to Bb that is the "extra reed" that allows you to bend the C reed down to the note B.
4. Two wind saver valves that isolate pairs of reeds. When you play draw notes, you isolate the D and C reeds and can bend down to Db. When you play blow notes you isolate the C and Bb reeds and can bend down to B.
You are using the C reed when you blow or draw - it also allows you to bend down the D reed, and serves as the starting pitch for the blow note.
The C and D reeds are the notes in the main note layout. The Bb reed is the extra reed that allows the additional bend down from C.
You can re-tune the extra reed or third reed and change the bending range of the instrument without changing the note layout.
You can't change the other two reeds without changing the note layout of the instrument.
This is the reason why in a 30 reed richter tuned harmonica, you can't increase the bending range of blow 7 without changing the note layout of the instrument.
In that hole the extra reed or third reed changes the draw bend, not the blow bend.
You get the same bends that you can get in a standard Richter tuned 20 reed harmonica. If you want to change these traditional bends, you need to do the same thing you do with standard 20 reed diatonic: change the note layout.
You also get a series of bends that are not available on the standard 20 hole diatonic harmonica. You can change the range of these bands by re-tuning the extra reeds or third reeds, When you do this you DO NOT change the note layout.
To review:
If you want bad ass blues tone typical of the Marine Band, you need a harmonica that is as close to the design of a Marine Band as possible. The Marine Band has two reeds in one chamber for each hole.
The next closest thing to this that allows chromatic playing is three reeds in one chamber for each hole.
To completely isolate pairs of reeds for bending, you also need two valves in each hole.
There is one way to get an extended bending range for Blow 7 in a Marine Band type harmonica:
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tmf714
2299 posts
Dec 26, 2013
7:58 AM
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4 reeds with 4 valves for each hole. This is the only way I know of to completely isolate pairs of reeds in a single chamber. This design was originally patented by Rick Epping.
You could build your very own version of this harmonica with chromatic harmonica reed plates, Rick Epping's first patent as a map, and a good machine shop. You probably could do this in a couple years in your spare time for about the price of a complete set of MB-30 S harmonicas, less if you own the machine shop or you are really good at this sort of thing. This is just a guess...
So it is possible to build a diatonic harmonica with 4 reeds per single chamber per hole, but you now have 40 reeds and 40 valves.
So here are the options:
- standard 10 hole diatonic harmonica - 20 reeds 10 holes, no wind-saver valves.
- stock SUB 30 - 10 holes, 30 reeds, 10 wind-saver valves
- x reed SUB 30 - 10 holes, 30 reeds, 20 wind-saver valves
- MB 30, MB 30-S - 10 holes, 30 reeds, 20 wind-saver valves Plus reed plates from Marine Band harmonicas.
- The theoretical 40 reed 40 windsaver valve harmonica that does not exist yet because it would be a lot more expensive and complicated than any of the other options…..
To me, adding 10 more reeds and doubling the number of wind saver valves to be able to bend the blow note on hole 7 down a half step or more on a richter tuned diatonic is not worth it.
But I would love it if someone could prove me wrong on this point….
Thanks for your interest in this project!
Richard Sleigh
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Frank
3559 posts
Dec 26, 2013
8:36 AM
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What about this one - it does those things?
TurboSlide Session Steel: Custom Seydel Harmonica with Slide for Bending Notes
A Remarkable Upgrade to the Seydel Session Steel
Features our brilliant patent pending magnetic slide system
Harmonica slide system adjusts stiffness of stainless steel reeds
Smoothly bend one or all of the blow notes
It's like having a whammy bar for your harmonica!
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Todd Parrott
1170 posts
Dec 26, 2013
12:40 PM
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I love the concept of the X-Reed/MB30/SUB30 harps.... I'm for playing whatever works best for the song or style I'm trying to play, whether it's an alternate tuning, valved harp, different position, etc. There are some things you can do with an overblow/overdraw harp that you can't do on the X-Reed, and vice versa, at least not with the same exact expression. I love my custom overblow harps, and I also love the X-Reed design, though I don't own one yet. There is a particular song I'd like to record one day that simply works best on the X-Reed harp. I've tried everything else - valves, alternate tunings, all 12 positions, but nothing works better or more expressively than the X-Reed.
I don't think there's one type of harp that is THE answer for every situation, but I think the X-Reed idea is a very much needed harp, and is certainly a better option than the XB-40 was.
As for the 7 blow topic, would it be possible to use a valve only on hole 7 of an X-Reed to allow someone to bend the 7 blow down a whole step if he/she wanted to? Being able to bend the 7 blow in this way would be a cool option to have for 1st position playing I suppose, in the same way that bending the 2 draw down a whole step works well in 2nd position, and is very expressive and bluesy sounding.
EDIT: Nevermind - I missed the part where Richard said, "You can re-tune the extra reed or third reed and change the bending range of the instrument without changing the note layout." Too much Eggnog. :)
Last Edited by Todd Parrott on Dec 26, 2013 9:21 PM
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CarlA
415 posts
Dec 26, 2013
3:29 PM
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Are any of the professional pro circuit harmonica players using these x-reed and sub 30 harps?
I am just asking out of ignorance!!
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Brendan Power
405 posts
Dec 26, 2013
5:07 PM
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That's an excellent analysis of the extra-reed concept from Richard Sleigh!
As he says, the x-reeds in the 30 reed harp can be re-tuned lower to give deeper bends on the low-pitched note of each hole, if that's what you want.
For example, you can de-tune the x-reed in hole 4 a semitone, to allow you to bend the C blow down to Bb. Or on hole 8 you could tune the x-reed down a semitone to allow you to bend the D draw down to C instead of C#.
There is a lot of flexibility with it, and we can do such alternate layouts for customers. I have done a few similar ones on the custom SUB30 for Marko Balland, because he likes the deeper bends.
But I think most players will prefer semitone bends for the easy chromaticism they offer. One of the criticisms of the XB40 was that the bends were too big, so it was hard to get in-tuned semitone bends.
Actually I love the XB40's big bends! I re-tuned a couple with even bigger bends for Chinese music; you can hear one on the opening track below. It makes the harp sound a bit like an electric guitar:
That's an altered XB-40 at 6:40 as well. Most of the other tracks are played on an x-reed harp made from a chromatic, an all draw instrument with no valves.
This album is an example of how the new x-reed harmonca concept can be adapted for many different music styles and tunings.
The Richter-tuned 30 reed like the MB30 is likely to be the most popular of them for the near future, but I can hear that changing over time as ethnic musicians from China, India, and he Arab countries adapt it for their beautiful and ancient music traditions.
It has the potential to make the harmonica a TRULY global instrument, not just one layed in largely Western music styles.
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Brendan Power
406 posts
Dec 26, 2013
5:17 PM
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@ Frank: The TurboSlide is very cool :-) It's in the same camp of mechanical alterations to the 10 hole harp as the Bahnson Overblow Slde, the Suzuki Overdrive, and even the original mechanical alteration, the Koch Richter chromatic.
As a way to achieve chromaticism the TurboSlide is a bit limited in Richter tuning as it can only act on the lower 6 blow notes, so you'd need to overdraw in the top octave.
But is has some fun effects, like a whammy-bar sound on bent chords, and allows you to get deeper bends on your draw notes too. I highlighted this in a video I did for Jim Antaki and Seydel a couple of years ago:
Jim Antaki is one of the most inventive guys around, and I love his daring approach to harmonica design. He's not too far off making a MIDI 10 hole harp, which would be pretty mind-blowing. He already has the optical pitch sensors working above the reeds, so it is just a matter of time - I hope!
Last Edited by Brendan Power on Dec 26, 2013 5:20 PM
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scojo
444 posts
Dec 26, 2013
5:55 PM
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Here is a recent live performance of mine at the Yellow Scarf (Cassandra Wilson's venue in Jackson, Mississippi). The song is "Ghost of a Chance"; Chalmers Davis is on piano. There are bent overblows all over this track.
For the record, I think there are many ways to skin a cat and am glad for Brendan's contribution with the X-Reed (as well as his many other musical and human contributions).
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Frank
3560 posts
Dec 26, 2013
6:44 PM
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Thanks Brendon - your videos are tremendously helpful :)
food for thought...
"There are more ways to the Woods than one"
"There are more ways to skin a dog than one"
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arzajac
1230 posts
Dec 26, 2013
7:34 PM
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"That's an excellent analysis of the extra-reed concept from Richard Sleigh!
As he says, the x-reeds in the 30 reed harp can be re-tuned lower to give deeper bends on the low-pitched note of each hole, if that's what you want.
...
But I think most players will prefer semitone bends for the easy chromaticism they offer. One of the criticisms of the XB40 was that the bends were too big, so it was hard to get in-tuned semitone bends."
That's truly fascinating! And there is a parallel there with "overblow" harps; some prefer playing overblows as passing notes only while others prefer steep (six-semitone or much more!) bends.
The setup and playing style for either type of overblow is very different from the other. Players chose one over the other for very much the same reasons you mention.
But with steep overbends comes a greater compromise where you must play normal notes with light breath force in favor of enabling those steep bent overblows. There is much less of a compromise if the harp is just set for the overbends to pop (no bend, or barely a semitone).
But for an x-reed harp, I assume deepening the bend would have no effect on the required breath force. There just would be more bend available when you reach for it.
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Custom overblow harps. Harmonica service and repair.
Last Edited by arzajac on Dec 26, 2013 7:37 PM
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Jehosaphat
635 posts
Dec 26, 2013
8:26 PM
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Sorry i have no insights to add to the discussion..the last time i tried to overblow i ruined a good reed.
But this thread has to of set some kinda record!
69 posts and
A)it is still on topic!
B) no one has mentioned that is not the Amp..
C)it has been an intelligent and civil discussion..
We should be proud of ourselves.Kudos to the participants.
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Gnarly
846 posts
Dec 26, 2013
10:48 PM
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@CarlA Bill Barrett is using XB-40 harps.
He's a pro, used to play with Hazmat Modine until he developed an allergy to Wade Schuman.
Last Edited by Gnarly on Dec 26, 2013 10:49 PM
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Zombor Kovacs
11 posts
Dec 27, 2013
3:47 AM
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I see one thing from this discussion. Neither overblow harps, nor x-reed harps seem to satisfy everybody. Certainly there are people, who haven't even tried an extra reed harp, they already don't like it because they don't even like the idea that there is something potentially better (and I did not say better). This tells me, that I have to think on and try to make a harp some day which does everything. What is everything? As far as I can see, it needs to
- have all straight notes of a normal chromatic harmonica
- needs to be bendable on EVERY single one of these notes, potentially a tone to make everyone happy
- and it must have the ability to give us the chords we have on the diatonic.
- it should be as close to the size of a diatonic as possible with as similar a hole spacing as possible
- it should sound like a 20 reed diatonic (as much as possible)
- and it should not cost as much as a jet fighter
Anything else to add to the wishlist for next Christmas?
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eebadeeb
50 posts
Dec 27, 2013
6:15 AM
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Anything else to add to the wishlist for next Christmas?
All notes bend up too
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blingty
10 posts
Dec 27, 2013
9:29 AM
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It's been a fascinating discussion. Jason's overblows sound very good - thanks for making that video and contributing to/starting the discussion. It does indeed seem like one type of harmonica isn't going to suit everyone - and no matter which diatonic Richter-based harmonica you choose, you still have to learn to play all those bends in the first few holes in pitch - and that's as difficult or more so than overblowing or bending notes in holes 4, 5, 6.
I must say that the extra reed harps seem great, really the holy grail of blues harp. One thing though that others have alluded to is that it could be a significant investment to go down this route fully, with 12 keys, and 12 keys in natural minor or other tunings and spare harmonicas for when one jams up on a gig or recording. And then servicing of these harps; what happens if the x-reed company ever goes down a different direction? I'd love to see wider adoption by the major manufacturers, as Brendan has said. That would put paid to those concerns. Hmmmm, I think I might order one 30-reed harp to try it out!
Zombor, I know you're probably jokingly pointing out that there is no ideal harp and that all those characteristics may be unachievable in the one harmonica ... but I'd personally love a slide chromatic where you can also bend every note - as in, one that has the blow bends enabled by an auxillary reed in each chamber, and the regular half-valved reed bending possible by stripping off the outer valve. I would not mind chromatic-sized hole spacing in this case!! :-) This would be my dream harmonica.
Well done all!
Last Edited by blingty on Dec 27, 2013 10:48 AM
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CarlA
416 posts
Dec 27, 2013
11:59 AM
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"Zombor Kovacs
11 posts
Dec 27, 2013
3:47 AM I see one thing from this discussion. Neither overblow harps, nor x-reed harps seem to satisfy everybody. Certainly there are people, who haven't even tried an extra reed harp, they already don't like it because they don't even like the idea that there is something potentially better (and I did not say better). This tells me, that I have to think on and try to make a harp some day which does everything. What is everything? As far as I can see, it needs to
- have all straight notes of a normal chromatic harmonica
- needs to be bendable on EVERY single one of these notes, potentially a tone to make everyone happy
- and it must have the ability to give us the chords we have on the diatonic.
- it should be as close to the size of a diatonic as possible with as similar a hole spacing as possible
- it should sound like a 20 reed diatonic (as much as possible)
- and it should not cost as much as a jet fighter
Anything else to add to the wishlist for next Christmas?"
Can you also make one that will cook and clean the house! Maybe one with a built in tax calculator, or GPS? That would be pretty useful. That way there is no getting lost on the way to new gigs. I think we may be on to something here.
This may end up justifying the cost for all those complaining about it;)
Last Edited by CarlA on Dec 27, 2013 11:59 AM
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Moon Cat
323 posts
Jan 01, 2014
8:20 AM
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Heres video 2 of 3 where Joe spires shows, explains and demos gapping reads to make a 10 hole short harp play better and over blow pretty easily. Watch all three videos it talks 30 minutes total and is priceless.
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Moon Cat
324 posts
Jan 01, 2014
8:33 AM
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Video 3 of 3 where the harp is "completed" with very little tweaking. Joe makes great points throughout this series not only on the subject, but on embossing, arcing, and manufacture errors etc that influence everything about how these things play. These are very simple videos but very important.
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Grey Owl
444 posts
Jan 01, 2014
8:54 AM
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I totally agree Mooncat. These vids were invaluable to me and helped me to adjust all my harps to be play OB's that were previously hit and miss.
The gapping technique might be the at the foothills of the mountain of harp customisation but I have found it to be the most helpful technique offering significant results with relatively little work required.
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Grey Owl YouTube
Grey Owl Abstract Photos
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Kingley
3356 posts
Jan 01, 2014
9:12 AM
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Joe's videos are the definitive guide on learning how to gap harmonicas. Gapping is the single most important thing you can do to make any harmonica play better. Very often you don't need to do anything else, as the mid range stock harmonicas now from Hohner, Suzuki and Seydel are pretty good out of the box. I'd urge every player to learn how to gap their own harps.
I'd also add that many people blame stock harps for not being able to do the things they want them to do and in many cases it's the players technique that is at fault.
Last Edited by Kingley on Jan 01, 2014 9:15 AM
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Zombor Kovacs
12 posts
Jan 03, 2014
2:50 PM
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blingty:
Such harmonicas exist, Brendan is playing them :-)
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Zombor Kovacs
13 posts
Jan 03, 2014
2:55 PM
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CarlA:
I haven't thought of the ones you mentioned, but I have been thinking about a mobile phone with a real built in harmonica (not just an app). Nothing has been done yet, maybe when I get old and have finished all other projects :-)
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Zombor Kovacs
14 posts
Jan 03, 2014
3:25 PM
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As I read the forum I find it hard to explain that I am not arguing with anyone that 30 dollar harmonicas cannot be set up for overblowing in a reasonable time up to an acceptable level. But I think this is not a true solution, it is - as we say - firefighting. A quick solution for an urgent problem. The true solution is if you go to a shop, buy a harmonica and all you need to do is play it. I am sure people would not mind forgetting about hand work to get their missing notes if they had a choice. No piano player would accept having to install extra keys at home because manufacturers are unable to make the instrument with all keys. This is what actually happens to the harmonica. People are forced to modify their harps and this has become accepted, moreover some people try to convince others that this is the only way and the best way. There is never only one single way, no matter what people say. Today it looks like overblowing will always require hand work and it has no real mass potential in the making process.
Last Edited by Zombor Kovacs on Jan 04, 2014 4:57 AM
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Moon Cat
327 posts
Jan 03, 2014
4:01 PM
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Wow man, I'm almost speechless at this point. No one's installing extra reeds on the harp except for you guys. We are simply just talking about optimizing the harp for every type of playing! And no, piano players don't have to install extra keys but DO spend thousands of dollars (sometimes every year) having their action and tuning set just right to their tastes. Simply buying an instrument that is perfect from the get go, for everyone is an impossible task, manufactured or not, because real players require different things from their instrument but we have been over and over this here add nausea. My video is about bending over blows not why it's better than the x-reed or any other pursuit of chromaticism on the diatonic. AGAIN your harp does awesome stuff the straight 10 hole can't please start concentrating on those attributes Zombor (so you can sell more x-reeds if nothing else) and please stop using terms like "hacking" when referring to customizing a regular diatonic. Frankly it's kind of rude and I don't think Richard (your tech) who has written books on the subject of "hacking" would approve. Why even have him on board at x-reed: embossing, setting action, opening cover plates, reed shaping and more ON YOUR HARPS if you think all these techniques are a waste of time, antiquated and fall under such a crude term like "hacking". Did you miss the posts where we all talked about guitars, saxes, mouth pieces, strings, and everything else for other instruments? Did you miss the times we talked about the great things your x-reed CAN do that the diatonic cannot? I'm also pretty sure if I could convince a major harp company to charge 350.00 plus dollars for a diatonic, that together, we could find a way to make it overflow perfectly out of the box. Even then though the issue is NOT can it play chromatically the issue is HOW it plays period! Your harp is great man! Focus on that Sir, stop dissing people that care enough about harmonica to want it to play better than it already does bro. These are the same type of people (yourself included) that made your wonderful instrument a reality. I'm afraid you may be turning some people off rather than on at this point, Every one of Brendan's posts here were diplomatic, reasonable and full of playful and convincing points, acknowledgments and debates that I could understand even when we disagreed, your posts not so much man… -Jason Ricci
Last Edited by Moon Cat on Jan 03, 2014 10:18 PM
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Zombor Kovacs
15 posts
Jan 04, 2014
6:05 AM
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I do apologise. I did not want to offend anyone so I removed hacking and you are right, it was probably not fair to use the word. I was also despising my own efforts. Sometimes I am inclined to get too focussed on looking at things through my own glasses.
I want to make something good. Jason you say it is not possible to make something that is good for everybody. One still has to try, because that will give the most. It is damn hard I can tell you thats why not too many people are succeeding in it. Takes a lot of effort, despair, money giving up, restarting again etc.
We want to make the best we can, that is why we work with Richard. I never said it is a waste of time Jason. I don't know where did you read I said it was a waste of time. Hand work is expensive, not available to a lot of people. Customising is a sort of laboratory and if there are results which are suitable, they are transferred to mass production to deliver it to as many people as possible. So in no way is it a waste of time, or is it futile - I never said that – I am just not quite yet willing to accept certain barriers. If I did, I would have never created anything. I tried to talk about barriers because I percieve them as barriers and this apperently offended you but this was not the intention. This whole debate makes me seriously think and however ridiculous it may seem, sometimes my girlfriend is talking to me and I can’t hear what she is saying because I am thinking about harmonicas. Sometimes my friends talk to me and I can’t hear what they are saying because I can’t stop thinking about how to make THE harmonica and they ask „are you listening to me? „ and I am not. This whole overblow-x-reed debate is very interesting because it gives me a deeper insight in to what and how people think about the whole issue and I think I am learning a lot from it.
Thanks for your comments, thoughts and I wish everyone a great new year!
Last Edited by Zombor Kovacs on Jan 04, 2014 6:10 AM
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harmonicanick
2113 posts
Jan 04, 2014
6:43 AM
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Maybe you should listen to your girlfriend and your friends!!!!
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Moon Cat
328 posts
Jan 04, 2014
7:22 AM
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Zombor that was a very amazing response and garnered much respect from me. I too think about harmonicas too much. Your right you never did say it was a waste of time and I misquoted you Sir and for that I apologize. Thank you for your last post now I can watch Foot Ball.-Jason
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