Martin
586 posts
Jan 09, 2014
12:19 PM
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Blues harp tend to come in two varieties: acoustic or amplified. The last contains a great no. of instances but we have a rough idea.
I wonder if anyone has any examples of blues harp being played with effects ("modern") outside of distortion?
I´ve heard, Lee Oskar play blues with chorus (it wasn´t to my liking) but I can´t seem to recall a whole lot of such stuff around?
The background is that I´m putting down some solos on a project for a friend and he does a take on a Willie Dixon tune (something about "Peace", don´t recall the title right now) and I´m going to tell him this one needs a different approach. "Spacy" or whatever, as a contrast to the rest where I play with a more conservative sound. And I just did a demo with octaveing, compression and whatnot: fun and different.
He is going to object, I know that, but it would be interesting to point to other cases where someone´s tried a different sound approach, as a sort of persuasive stratagem.
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Rick Davis
2838 posts
Jan 09, 2014
1:14 PM
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Jason Ricci springs to mind...
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-Little Rick Davis
The Memphis Mini harp amp
The Blues Harp Amps Blog
The Mile High Blues Society
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HarpNinja
3680 posts
Jan 09, 2014
1:52 PM
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Carrey Bell used octave effects as well as rotary. Little Walter used various time based effects too.
I use a lot of effects, but not for blues. I use just delay, rotary, and ocatve down for blues stuff.
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Mike
My Website
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Gnarly
861 posts
Jan 09, 2014
2:05 PM
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There's always Chris Michalek . . .
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HawkeyeKane
2257 posts
Jan 09, 2014
2:18 PM
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I believe Magic Dick uses effects here and there...
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Hawkeye Kane
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Rarko
84 posts
Jan 09, 2014
2:25 PM
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Billy Branch uses boss octave pedal.
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Frank
3670 posts
Jan 09, 2014
2:31 PM
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Johnny Mars is an effect guru :)
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The Centipide Saloon
Tip Your Waiter Please
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NiteCrawler .
254 posts
Jan 09, 2014
3:03 PM
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@Gnarly,its funny you mentioned suicide blonde by INXS,I did,nt know if you knew or not but that was Charlie M. blowing on that one.I always wondered how the studio engineer got that sound for him on that track.I would have loved to have heard an extended solo.
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Rarko
85 posts
Jan 09, 2014
3:43 PM
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Last Edited by Rarko on Jan 09, 2014 3:43 PM
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The Iceman
1372 posts
Jan 09, 2014
3:49 PM
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Paul deLay
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The Iceman
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Kingley
3376 posts
Jan 09, 2014
10:04 PM
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Harmonica players who use/have used multi effects? Jason Ricci, Chris Michalek, Paul deLay, Johnny Mars, Magic Dick, Mark Feltham, JJ Milteau, Boris Plotnikov, John Popper, Lee Oskar, Dan Treanor and Hakan Ehn all spring to mind. I'm sure there are lots of others too.
Last Edited by Kingley on Jan 09, 2014 10:06 PM
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Martin
587 posts
Jan 10, 2014
3:44 AM
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Thanks guys,
Quite possibly I expressed myself poorly but my question was mainly geared towards BLUES harmonica (this being MBH) and the, let´s say, somewhat unexpected introduction of an effect heavy harmonica in the more trad blues context.
But Carey Bell is an excellent example -- and I recollect that the last time I saw him live he had this sort of organ effect that was really surprising and interesting; the puritans in the audience shook their heads in disgust.
There are other good names here as well, but quite a few outside of what I primarily conceive of as "blues" ... although that should rightfully be an open concept.
And, just as I predicted, my friend politely turned down my "alternative" sounding brief and very simple harmonica solo and instead opted for a more conservative sound. I will grudgingly comply and equip myself accordingly as I´m now heading towards the studio.
If i get his permission I will post the demo, or snippets of it, and see what you people think.
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HarpNinja
3681 posts
Jan 10, 2014
3:56 AM
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You were very clear in your OP, IMO.
Billy Branch, Carey Bell, Paul de Lay, and Little Walter are all good blues examples.
I think Carey Bell used a rotary specifc amp for that from posts I've previously read. The Line 6 stuff has a rotary effect that sounds good with harp. I used that for years. I know have a Tech 21 Rotochoir that I am trying to dial in.
I have vids with some sythy stuff, but it wouldn't work for blues.
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Mike
My Website
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boris_plotnikov
917 posts
Jan 10, 2014
4:14 AM
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For slow blues tap delay is a great tool, octaver is a great thing for blues if you want a bit different taste, Sonic Stomp just make you tone more clear, auto wah is great for funky blues tunes. If your band don't have a keyboard player it's fun to add octave up, octave down and rotary and to imitate hammond organ.
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Excuse my bad English.
My videos.
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Gnarly
863 posts
Jan 10, 2014
6:23 AM
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I think ring modulator would spice up a slow blues solo . . .
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HarpNinja
3682 posts
Jan 10, 2014
7:18 AM
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Here is a blues song with a Growler effect...the mix is pretty crappy, though.
Here is another blues song with a ring modulator that Gnarly had mentioned:
Here is a tune with a pitch shifted delay that was off an album:
http://www.reverbnation.com/mikefugazzi/song/6482766-north-wind
North Wind
Here is a blues tune I recorded looping at home...delay, rotary, wah, phaser, etc.
http://www.reverbnation.com/mikefugazzi/song/14134100-carolina-blues
Carolina Blues
Sadly, one of my former bandmates deleted our band page without advanced warning. There were quite a few vids on that YT page with me using effects in blues songs. One for sure, was using a Micro POG to play Low Down Dirty Shame...Carey Bell used an octave effect on that one too.
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Mike
My Website
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Gnarly
864 posts
Jan 10, 2014
7:31 AM
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"Weird scenes inside the Goldmine" LOL
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Martin
588 posts
Jan 11, 2014
10:05 AM
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Mike: Is the "growler" effect the one sounding a bit like a wah-wah?
Compliments to the take on "Roadhouse blues" -- one of those tunes that needs a well deserved rest a generation or two, unless you put an interesting pin on it, which you do.
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Frank
3686 posts
Jan 12, 2014
6:35 PM
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HarpNinja
3684 posts
Jan 13, 2014
6:14 AM
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Yes. It is a synth plus Mu-Tron effect. Regarding Roadhouse, thanks. The band leader said it was a spacey and moody vibe, so I tried to go overboard, lol.
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Mike
My Website
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The Iceman
1376 posts
Jan 13, 2014
7:10 AM
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I create gourmet foods using the same sensibility I learned through music.
Effects are like the spices used in food...you have to have a great base recipe to start with. The herbs and spices are used to enhance the recipe. Using too much salt and you've lost the attachment to the food and all you taste is the spice.
Same goes for effects and harmonica.
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The Iceman
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chromaticblues
1523 posts
Jan 15, 2014
7:07 AM
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@Martin
Check out a band called Turbin.
He is VERY good at playing harp with effects.
I don't think he's a great harp player, but he is great at using effects better than ANYONE I've heard live or recorded.
I'm not a big fan of their music, but he sure is good at it!
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Martin
599 posts
Jan 15, 2014
8:54 AM
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Thank you, Chromaticblues.
As you say, not very remarkable as a harp player, but he makes good use of effects and creates this keyboard impression -- he appears to have quite a rack.
It´s interesting to see the harmonica used in this way every now and then.
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barbequebob
2444 posts
Jan 15, 2014
10:03 AM
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In 1994, I went on tour for a short time with Louisiana Red and replaced Carey Bell on the tour, as he was stuck in Memphis (there was a bad snow storm at the time and so he wasn't able to fly out from a recording session he was doing in Memphis), and what Care Bell was using was a Leslie clone made by Cordovox.
Much of the effects used by Little Walter were mainly used in the studio.
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Sincerely,
Barbeque Bob Maglinte
Boston, MA
http://www.barbequebob.com
CD available at http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/bbmaglinte
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