Nibiria
1 post
Jun 20, 2014
4:32 PM
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I'm thinking of either modifying my Special 20 (as it's my only non-awful harp) or buying a Suzuki Fire Breath. Considering my goal is to achieve overblows consistently, which is the better option? I have zero experience modifying harps and have no idea how to go about it (despite looking on youtube, none of the videos I've found have actually been helpful), but if it's the better option I'm willing to learn.
:EDIT: I also like the tone of the Fire Breath a lot compared to my Special 20.
Last Edited by Nibiria on Jun 20, 2014 4:36 PM
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STME58
924 posts
Jun 20, 2014
4:44 PM
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I have a Firebreath in C and it is a nice harp. I am not great at overblows but I can get them on this harp. I can also get them on my Bb Promaster. If you have no experience modifying harps I think buying a Suzuki Promaster or Firebreath, a Seydel 1847, or a Crossover. I have one of each of these and they all overblow out of the box, but not with the control you can get with a very well set up harp. If you want to learn to mod harps you money might be better spent buying reed plates for your SP 20, you will go though a few.
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Nibiria
2 posts
Jun 20, 2014
5:02 PM
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Do you think it would be better to mod a harp or just buy one? Which out of those 4 you mentioned do you think is best?
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arzajac
1406 posts
Jun 20, 2014
5:38 PM
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You can send me the SP20 and I'll make it play consistent overblows.
If it's that bad out of the box, you will have a tough time getting it to play right. An out-of-the-box Firebreath may not play overblows out of the box so you may be in the same situation.
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Custom overblow harps. Harmonica service and repair.
Last Edited by arzajac on Jun 20, 2014 5:43 PM
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robbert
323 posts
Jun 20, 2014
6:16 PM
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If you are trying to work on obs, then do yourself a favor and obtain a harp that is properly set up.
Having obtained some rebuilt harps from Andrew that ob w/o even being set up for that specifically, I'm sure he will satisfy.
Also, a harp from Joe Spiers will be most excellent.
There are other customizers who can set up a harp for obs, also.
If you are attempting to develop this technique, then a properly set up harp is an absolute must.
Do not waste time on a Firebreath. It obs, but often only marginally, and not on all the holes you need, especially if your technique is not developed.
Xovers can be pretty good, but they vary, and are not good on all holes.
Eventually, you will probably dabble in adjusting your own harps, but nothing plays like a harp setup by someone who knows how, and has put in the hours of practice, and developed a method.
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groyster1
2625 posts
Jun 20, 2014
6:57 PM
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never played a firebreath but they are one of suzukis most expensive harps....buy a sp20 and send it to a harp tech.......you will be more cost effective
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Gnarly
1032 posts
Jun 20, 2014
7:10 PM
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Well, the Suzuki harps come with a one year warranty, so if you buy one, you can try gapping it to help with overbends, and if things go awry, call customer service and send it to Suzuki.
How do I know? I'm the guy at Suzuki who works on them.
And so, I disagree with the opinion, "Do not waste time on a Firebreath".
Last Edited by Gnarly on Jun 20, 2014 7:11 PM
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Nibiria
3 posts
Jun 20, 2014
7:23 PM
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Andrew, which option is that on your website? One option is waaay out of my range but others are a lot more reasonable.
Gnarly, I have no idea how I'd even go about modifying the reeds -- do you have any basic tutorials? I'm trying to be price efficient here, so if just getting my Special 20 properly gapped is more price efficient I'll probably go for that.
This is something I've been sitting on for a while and joined the forum almost specifically to talk about this, so sorry if I seem a little picky to anyone -- I don't have much disposable income so I can't really afford to make the wrong decision.
Last Edited by Nibiria on Jun 20, 2014 7:56 PM
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robbert
324 posts
Jun 20, 2014
7:58 PM
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I'm not slurring the Firebreath...it's a nice harp to be sure, and does have tight tolerances, but I've found through experience, that the best result I obtained for the purpose of learning overbending is to get a custom harp set up for the purpose.
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Gnarly
1033 posts
Jun 21, 2014
8:34 AM
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Nibiria--I am not going to give away any trade secrets here, but I will tell you that gapping the reeds closer to the reed plate (especially the blow reeds) helps me personally to achieve better sounding overblows.
It also makes it difficult to play the blow reeds hard. That's why I think it's better to learn how to do it yourself.
Practice all techniques on harmonicas you don't need anymore!
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GMaj7
442 posts
Jun 21, 2014
9:00 AM
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You can do a lot with an out of the box harp.. Not just Seydel, but the others, as well.
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Greg Jones
16:23 Custom Harmonicas
greg@1623customharmonicas.com
1623customharmonicas.com
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harpwrench
874 posts
Jun 21, 2014
1:52 PM
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Yup I've got a cheap Chinese Suzuki harp that overblows just fine, if all you need is a 6 OB and the rest in passing. That works great as a parlor trick or music incorporating a lot of ascending chromatic scales. No need to waste close to a hundred bucks on overrated overblown stockers.
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www.spiersharmonicas.com
High performance harmonicas.
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GMaj7
445 posts
Jun 21, 2014
9:15 PM
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Good point Joe...
BTW.. bring that cheap Suzuki to SPAH this year.. and I'll buy it from you..
:)
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Greg Jones
16:23 Custom Harmonicas
greg@1623customharmonicas.com
1623customharmonicas.com
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sonny3
192 posts
Jun 22, 2014
4:11 AM
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Just learn to gap that special 20.It's a skill everyone needs to know.In my experience Suzukis squeel like a pig when overblown anyway.watch Adams videos on overblows and practice hard.
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Gnarly
1034 posts
Jun 22, 2014
11:44 AM
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I find Suzuki harmonicas easy to overblow. Not so much with the Lee Oskars. I wouldn't expect a folk master to be easy to overblow, but maybe after Joe has had his way with it LOL
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rpnfan
6 posts
Jun 22, 2014
1:19 PM
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Sonny3 wrote:
Just learn to gap that special 20.It's a skill everyone needs to know.In my experience Suzukis squeel like a pig when overblown anyway
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I wonder how / if / when this could be true, when overblow players today choose Suzukis (like the Manji)...? Isn't it more the setup then the make?
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STME58
934 posts
Jun 22, 2014
1:29 PM
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Things seem to be improving lately, but there is still a lot of variations from harp to harp even in the same make model and key. IN some cases harp to harp variation is on the same order of magnitude as brand to brand variation. I would take any comment about the details of what a make and model of harp does with a grain of salt. Especially if it is only based on results from one or 2 harps.
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sonny3
193 posts
Jun 22, 2014
3:26 PM
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All i have is my own experience spending way too much money on harps.Try them all if you've got the money.All players have their own preferences.I have bought two manjis and one firebreath , all three were hard to overblow.I would take any advice from someone getting money from harmonica companys with a grain of salt. marine bands all work for me real good when gapped.
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