Todd Parrott
1176 posts
Jan 12, 2014
11:25 AM
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I'm seeing reports on Facebook that Cham-ber Huang has passed away. Does anyone know when he passed? He was such a kind man, and a great player. RIP
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Kingley
3383 posts
Jan 12, 2014
11:36 AM
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I believe he passed on the 10th January Todd. He had apparently been fighting Alzheimers for a long time as you probably know. It's a very sad loss to the community. Cham-ber Huang was a great player and did a lot for the harmonica world. He will be sadly missed and fondly remembered by many.
Last Edited by Kingley on Jan 12, 2014 11:38 AM
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barbequebob
2441 posts
Jan 13, 2014
10:45 AM
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I had the pleasure of seeing him at the Boston Symphony Orchestra during the 80's and he had his version of the CBH chromatic he wanted out, but it was too expensive for most people, given the fact that the cover plates were made of sterling silver with a plexiglas comb and hearing the tone of the instrument as well as his playing, it's too bad.
He gave a demonstration of the instrument in ways how it was used in his native China and that before chromatics were introduced in that country, they had what was basically a set of two solo tuned diatonic harps tuned to C and C# and showed how inc certain cases where playing a tune could be awkward on a chromatic was easier to play with the pair of solo tuned diatonics.
Many years ago, I purchased a few different book/LP/harmonica sets he had put out, one being "Let Me Teach You How To Play Harmonica," which included the book and LP, and the first set I bought came with an early version of the 364S, and then about a year later, I came across a much earlier edition in a music store in Quincy, MA that had a pre-WWII Marine Band Soloist in them (they were FAR superior harps than the 364S that replaced them).
Another was one that was about playing blues and jazz, but on a chromatic that had a Hohner 260 chromatic in the set.
I learned plenty from both sets. He had been head of R&D for a number of years for Hohner and besides the CBH chromatics, he also developed the Golden Melody diatonics (which were the first 10 hole diatonics Hohner ever put out tuned to ET tuning in 1974), but his frustration with them led him to form his own company in 1982 and was the first real competition Hohner had seen since prior to WWII an his diatonics were the first to use 19LJI.
His brother Frank was also a harp tech for many years until he left to join his brother in the mid 80's.
He will definitely be missed.
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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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Rick Davis
2857 posts
Jan 13, 2014
12:01 PM
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I saw Mr. Huang several times at the Grand Teton Music Festival in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. I even chatted with him for a bit. A great man and an inspiration.
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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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harpfox
28 posts
Jan 14, 2014
2:59 AM
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huang will be greatly missed!! Heres one of his amazing inventions....the chordomonica
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WJQejTWSiyY&list=PLDD865B862A06C1BD
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Brendan Power
410 posts
Jan 14, 2014
3:56 AM
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That's a great demonstration of the Chordomonica by Sam Hinton - thanks for the link! Sam has such a warm, informative way of showing things.
It is sad to hear of Cham-ber Huang's death. He was a really inventive harmonica designer and great player. The Chordomonica and CBH chromatic are two of his designs that were commercially produced, but he had many others that weren't.
Rick Epping showed me some of them once, very clever and beautifully drawn. I hope they come into the public domain, as some could now be tested quite inexpensively using CAD with CNC milling and maybe 3D printing.
Last Edited by Brendan Power on Jan 14, 2014 3:57 AM
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barbequebob
2442 posts
Jan 14, 2014
9:55 AM
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I have two of those chordomonicas, one in C and one in F, and for playing chords, they're just so much fun too play. Boston area harpman Pierre Beauregard had one and played some absolutely sick big band jazz and swing stuff that just totally blew me away.
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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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