Hey guys, In my quest for the right harp for an upcoming recording I've done a lot of research and a got a lot of great tips from you guys on this forum. Thank you!
What I found out is for that sort of style it would appear a tremolo harp such as a Hohner Echo would be in order. Although Cajun and Tex-Mex accordions are not tuned as "wet" as French Musette they still are tuned wet (a bit like a tremolo harp).
I wish I had some more detailed information about the Echo harp, I can only go off samples of it and samples of the above accordions but it sounds not as full (or wet) as the French Musette accordions. The way it's tuned or the way it's setup sounds more like middle ground between completely dry and French Musette wet which would put it in the middle ground area of how maybe somewhere between a Cajun and a Tex-Mex accordion? Or a little closer to one or the other?
Anyways, I came across this web site below with explanations of most of the popular accordion tunings and sound samples. It would be really cool if you could take a listen and be the judge? Let me know.
Learning, I can't compare what I haven't played, but my understanding is Asian tremolos generally have a drier tremolo than German harps. I've only played the Huang Musette, which seems pretty wet (but only comes in two keys) and a Blessing (Chinese). I don't remember if Dave Payne (Elk River) weighed in on the last thread, but I think he would be the one to talk to if you have questions about tremolos.
I can't remember how these are tuned (wet or dry), but you might also check out Hohner's Auto-valve harps for trying out cajun/tex-mex stuff. You can remove some valves for a half-valve setup and get bends as well as those big chords. You lose a bit of volume by removing valves, but it's still a cool sound. I know Dave Payne played around with this; I think Richard Sleigh may have also.
the asian harps are much drier and are tuned in a semi solo manner. i have several of these and have found the suzuki humming is my favorite....if you want a cheaper alternative i have several hohner echo celeste that will give you some idea of the overall asian sound. they are not near the quality of the suzuki but comparing a 15.00 harmonica with a 65.00 harmonica...you get the idea.
have you thought about using an octave harp instead?
I ordered an octave harp recently but they sent the wrong one by mistake and they didn't have the one I wanted in stock. It got me to dig a little deeper into what makes up the tuning of accordions.
Willie Nelson's harp player uses Hohner Echo's on a number of Willie's tunes. He played one on the studio recording of Willie's version of Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain. Here he's using one in a live setting. To my ears it's not as wet as a French Musette tuned accordion?
learning i think you are right about the nelson tune. do you know if the echo is a double sided or single? i would be interested in knowing the model.
the asian solo tuning or richter? you might be happy with either. as you know if you do a lot of chording as well as single note the richter might be the better choice
Not sure what echo/tremolo Mickey Raphael (Willie's harp player) is playing on this... I use to love playing Hohner Echo harmonicas when I first started playing, and have several double-sided Echoes, and a Sextet (6-sided Echo "gatlin-gun").
You can play these in 2nd position as well as 1st... just can't get the bent notes like on a diatonic.
I played along on my double sided A/D Hohner Echo, on the A-side and it sounded as good (dang better!) as Mickey's playing. You can keep it simple, so that makes it easier and sounds good.
I very rarely pick-up my Echo harps, but I would not hesitate if I played in a band where it would fit.
Hey Clyde, Here's a link to one of the only interviews I could find where Mickey talks about his gear and who does his setups. He only mentions Echo harps, but he does mention they make them in 6 keys and that he has them. The double sided tremolo versions are available in 6 keys. I've not found any info on the Echo Octave single sided versions available keys with the exception of the key of C? I suspect he uses the double sided tremolo versions?
you are so right...size wise at first look i thought it might be a 54/64...i can't really tell but i think you might have found your harp. the 54/64 is easily found in six keys...while i have only found the 55/80 in four. i enjoy the tremolo harp and octave very much.
you might also consider the hering tremolo...i have a double sided hering octave and it's not bad at all but the company has it's short comings in the u.s. market. (service) price wise they are about the same as hohner unless you get a real deal on one.
Clyde, You mean the 54/64 is only in 4 and the 55/80 comes in 6?
The strange thing is in that last live video the harp he's using looks smaller than the 55/80, more like the 54/64? But I found a video from the 70's that looks like he was using a larger double sided.
l harp, i have only seen the 55/80 in four keys and the 54/64 in six....however.... i have not really looked for either a lot and i mostly buy from the same on line store so maybe that's limiting my view.
Clyde, Hohner's website shows the opposite, but I just looked online and there are stores that sell a 54/64 in a Bb/F. Maybe a misprint on Hohner's website or they are discontinued in those keys?
Will they follow us around to gigs and play on just one tune live? :OP
Besides why do that when I can pull it off both live and on recording? I think I will be satisfied. I'm not entirely hung up on it sounding 100% identical to the real deal. In fact I kind of like the idea of fooling people yet creating something new sounding. I also have an accordion and could pull it off with that if I really wanted too. Just looking for something new and something that easier to load up in the van.
Airmojo, you can bend a tremolo, you just have to isolate one cell instead of two. It takes a little practice, but it's not too bad. It seems if you don't isolate just one cell you can do some weird things with the speed and strength of the tremolo effect. (I'm guessing it's because as you bend one reed it changes how wet or dry the mix is.) It works better on some holes than others. Isolating one cell also effectively can turn off the tremolo effect.
