[Harp-L] Bushman Delta Frost harmonicas in bluegrass



Cara's comments on the Delta Frost instruments, and the comparison with
Hohners, are useful, as she considers them from the perspective of fiddle
tune playing. Here the requirements are different than blues. The
instruments need to be loud, as bluegrass and Irish music is usually
acoustic. Also a fast reed response is needed, because the tunes are usually
swift. Hence any lag in reed sounding, which may pass un-noticed for blues,
is most apparent in fiddle tunes. Ideally the instrument should respond with
a relatively light breath pressure, as the volume of air prduced by the
player is divided between many notes.

 

Based on these needs, I used Lee Oskars for fiddle tunes for many years, as
I found that their reeds responded more rapidly than Hohner ones. However, I
always preferred the tone and greater power of the Hohner instruments,
particularly the larger reed models like the MS Pro Harp.

 

My life as a fiddle tune player changed dramaticallly when I started using
custom harmonicas. Those familiar with my posts will know that I use the
Neil Graham ones (www.neilgraham.com.au <http://www.neilgraham.com.au/> )
They occasionally need servicing (about once a year), so I'm forced to use
standard instruments as a backup. I'm doing so now for my G instrument,
hopefully not for long (Neil generally has a quick turnaround). Hence Cara's
post is timely, as I'm now comparing good custom instruments, i.e. the other
ones I have, with an off the shelf (retuned) Hohner Pro Harp for fiddle
tunes.

 

The key difference is the much greater amount of air needed to get the
Hohner to sound, compared to my other custom instruments. In short, I've
become used to a light air pressure to sound the notes, which greatly
facilitates fast playing. Suddenly I need a whole lot more, to achieve a
lesser effect. While not greatly versed with the inner workings of
harmonicas, my conclusion is the the stock commercial instrument leaks a lot
of air, compared to the custom one. Hence a significant proportion of my air
is being wasted, i.e is not producing sound. This is a major drawback in
fast tunes. Also my playing often uses tone variations, achieved (I think)
by varying the air cavity shape inside my mouth. This doesn't work anywhere
near as well with the Hohner backup.

 

In short, this is yet another plug from me for custom instruments. For
fiddle tunes, a set of 4 will suffice, the net cost being around the same as
a bottom of the range new Martin guitar, the servicing costs being about the
same as regular string changes. Bluegrass guitar players rarely hesitate to
switch from their initial cheap intrument to the better Martin or Taylor
once their skills warrant it. My view is that harmonica players,
particularly fiddle tune ones, should also seriously consider this
transition to good custom instruments.

 

Tony Eyers

Australia

http://www.harmonicatunes.com





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