Re: [Harp-L] so what does matter?




----- Original Message ----- From: "Frank Evers" <frank@xxxxxxxxx>
To: <harp-l@xxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Saturday, November 03, 2007 10:07 AM
Subject: Re: [Harp-L] so what does matter?



Am Freitag, 2. November 2007 schrieb Vern Smith:
Then, don't worry about the many popular myths and superstitions
(e.g. "wood sounds warm") about harmonicas.

Vern, so you deny any influence of materials on the sound of harmonicas (and i mostly agree), but how about the shape of covers and comb? (writing of comb i'm thinking especially of the difference between chrome and harp and probably the XB40, that plays like a harp, but sounds like a chrome)

The internal shapes of the sound passages may have some very slight influence. Although I don't know of any blind comparison, some think that the CX12 is slightly louder than the 270. I go back to the fact that you can blow or draw a sound from a bare reedplate that is as good as (or arguably better than) that from a fully assembled harp. This is evidence that the comb and covers are not important to the production or transmission of the sound.


The XB40 may sound different because it has two reeds for every note and not because of differences in the comb or covers. My Hands-Free-Chromatic (HFC) demonstrates that when you eliminate leakage through the slide, there is hardly any difference in tone between a chromatic and a diatonic.

I speculate that the amount of breath lost through small leaks is virtually undetectable to the player. However, the loss of resonance in the combined reed chamber and embouchure can be devastating. i.e. you are leaking sound.

Vern
Visit my harmonica website www.Hands-Free-Chromatic.7p.com






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