Re: Oskar and Overblows?



Jcangehr@xxxx wrote:
> I seem to remember a recent post that mentioned parenthetically 
> that overblows are "impossible" on Lee Oskar diatonics.  How true 
> is this?  I use LO's, and have the hang of the 7 OB pretty well, 
> but not the 9.  With practice, can it be done, or are other harps 
> simply much better for OB's?

Let's make sure we're talking about overblows and not blow bends.  
Overblows are a technique which forces the primary reed in the slot --
 the blow reed in slots 1 through 6 -- to choke and the secondary 
reed -- the draw reed in these slots -- to sound at approximately a 
semitone higher than the major draw note in the hole.  Overblows are 
not possible on holes 7 through 10, though there are over*draws*.  
Blow bends, which are "normal" 2-reed bends which go down in pitch, 
are typically available on holes 7 through 10 on a 
standard/vamper/richter tuned diatonic.  Blow bends are anything but 
impossble on a Lee Oskar, I've found these harps in general to be 
very reponsive on the high end.  

Overbends are not "impossible" on Lee Oskars either, but require some 
special modifications to avoid the squealing that results from the 
torsional vibration of the reeds when soudned this way.  This is 
accomplished through some combination of applying wax or nail polish 
to the base of the reed and applying a small square of tape to the 
center of the reed.  I've found both techiniques to be equally 
effective, and I have Lee Oskars that overbend quite nicely, thank 
you, following this modification.  It should be noted that other 
harps have similiar problems with overbends, such as Suzukis and 
Chinese Hohners.  German Hohners and Herings seem to be the 
most "ovebend friendly".  

- -tim





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