MP
475 posts
Jun 17, 2010
12:40 PM
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i'm sure there are a lot of people here on MBH who have purchased the valved pro master, and don't like it, do to the fact that it doesn't behave like your standard diatonic.
don't put it on the shelf cuz there is an easy mod.
remove the covers and remove the valves.
wallah! instant normal diatonic.
oh, putting the covers back on also helps enormously.
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gene
501 posts
Jun 17, 2010
2:12 PM
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That's what I did.
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MP
477 posts
Jun 17, 2010
3:24 PM
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hey gene,
one of my students tried to give me one of those at least 15 years ago before i got into fixing harps. i declined but wish i hadn't.
just lately, about 2 weeks ago, another student was frustrated with his pro master. at least this time i had the answer.
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Todd Parrott
114 posts
Jun 18, 2010
12:08 AM
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I needed to make a valve just for the 5 blow reed on a low F# a few months ago. The harp was a country-tuned Huang Silvertone Deluxe. It was late Saturday night and I needed the harp for the next morning, just for one song. I didn't have anything to use for valves, so I made a valve out of a piece of paper from a Pizza Hut receipt and used some crazy glue to attach it. Worked like a charm.
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ness
249 posts
Jun 18, 2010
5:40 AM
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Paper receipt? Dang. Amazing what you can dream up late on a Saturday night with a belly full of pizza :D
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John
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HarpMan Freeman
113 posts
Jun 18, 2010
7:51 AM
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PT Gazell and Brenden Powers can confirm this, but valved harps not meant to be played like a regular diatonic.
Half Valved harps have advantages.
They were made to take advantage of Blow Bends on 1-6 and draw bends on 7-10 holes. It is an alternative to overblows and overdraws.
Once this is understood, they can be played with great expression with the added notes. You just can't overblow/draw.
Listen to PT Gazell and Brenden Power's CD "Back to Back" Every tune is done with valved (1/2 valved) Harps.
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MP
485 posts
Jun 18, 2010
1:29 PM
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yes freeman, agreed.
these harps are definately not designed to play like regular diatonics.
i believe many people who buy them don't know what they got into.
there is obviously a place for valved diatonics as both you and todd have pointed out.
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barbequebob
951 posts
Jun 18, 2010
1:49 PM
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If you play valved diatonics, just like a chromatic, they will blank out on you quick and the average player often doesn't have the kind of breath control necessary to get the most out of them and the first thing they need to learn FAST is to use MUCH LESS breath force, and half valves harps, much like a chromatic does NOT respond well to being played hard at all, and too often, the average player is too hard headed to listen to that advice.
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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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Kyzer Sosa
646 posts
Jun 18, 2010
3:29 PM
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i have to disagree bob. I left my C MB at home when I went to a jam once. all i had was my 350V in C, i played it hard and didnt have any problems whatsoever. it does take less breath force to play, and simply put, the blow/draw bends will not respond to hurricane forces, but if im not using the valves in my playing, especially on holes 1-6, i can play just as i normally would with an unvalved harp...and the sound, to the laymen, is no different. i suppose its dependent on each person..
edit: im not 100% on this, but i think if one were to unvalve a valved harp, they would have to fiddle with gapping, as i believe a valved harp is gapped differently that a non valved one...or should be...
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Kyzer's Travels
Kyzer's Artwork
Last Edited by on Jun 18, 2010 3:31 PM
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barbequebob
956 posts
Jun 19, 2010
11:53 AM
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Kyzer, your hard works because it's not as hard as the way the average player would play it so that is something you have to consider, so it would make sense that you wouldn't really have a problem with it wheras the average player plays FAR harder than they realize and will usually have the problem I describe.
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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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gmacleod15
70 posts
Jun 20, 2010
6:34 PM
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I recently bought one just to try and not really knowing what I was getting into. I found that indeed it required less breath force. I am still not sure what to play on it as does not seem to play as "bluesy" as my regular diatonics.
At the same time I bought the promaster 350 I also bought 2 Manjis. I really like the Low F but my A sounds "tuned" differently than my Bluesmasters. Anyone else experience this with Manji?
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MBH member since 2009-03-24
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Kyzer Sosa
651 posts
Jun 20, 2010
9:39 PM
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as for your valved harps... here:http://www.ptgazell.com/
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Kyzer's Travels
Kyzer's Artwork
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The Gloth
406 posts
Jun 21, 2010
12:48 AM
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I don't agree that valved promasters play "less bluesy" than other harps. I think that for some blues licks, they play better than Manji : the promaster is very good for "wah" effects, due to the closed covers (no vents on the sides). They are easier to play than Manji, too. But require a better breath control.
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ness
254 posts
Jun 21, 2010
5:50 AM
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I saw Brendan Power a couple weeks ago, and he was able to knock out blues on a valved harp. Not disagreeing with anybody, just saying it can be done. It's a different animal though, and I doubt you can just pick one up and do what you've always done.
You can get just the Promaster valved reed plates from Suzuki for about $20.
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John
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Jim Harris
14 posts
Jun 21, 2010
10:13 AM
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I haven't had any problems with my Promaster Valved in D. Sounds good to me. I've noticed all the Suzuki's require less breath force to get the same dB compared to Hohners. The sound is considerably brighter throughout the models I've tried: Bluesmaster, Hammond HA-20, and Promaster MR350.
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