Re: [Harp-L] Re: Bass Harmonica - advice

[Richard Hunter <turtlehill@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Maka McMahonwrote:
<But there is another option......
<
<The Digitech RP series of effects pedals have a great two octave step down and that lets you play bass lines <with a normal diatonic.  A new RP355 and Richard Hunter's patch set for harmonica will cost less than a Hohner <Bass and open a whole new world of harp effects.  I've got a slightly older RP350, but it makes some great bass <noises.  I use 4 x 8" bass quad boxes as the speaker(s) for my PAs, so either the mono (35w) or stereo
<(200w/side) PAs make bass (and harp) via the RP sound good.
<
<Not sure if the Harmonicats would freak at the thought of 'bass by effects' (George Miklas may be reading <this!) and it certainly lacks the visual impact of a Bass harp, but the RP355 would be my recommendation, if <only because making a diatonic into a bass is one of the myriad of clever things it can do.
<
<Richard Hunter knows much more about this than me and I'd recommend seeking him out if you're interested in the <RP option

Thanks for the props, Maka.  Some members of this list may recall that awhile ago, in response to comments by Winslow Yerxa, I posted a set of four short recordings of a standard diatonic played through various octave- and double-octave pitch-shifted setups on the RP.  As those recordings showed, a double-octave shifted setup with the effect mix set to 100% produces a remarkably authentic bass harp sound.  I've embedded that experiment in my latest patch sets with a patch called "Tuba."  I use it on a number of tunes in my repertoire, in particular the ones where I loop a bass line under the rhythm and lead harps.  

The "tuba" patch includes no amp modeling at all--just the pitch shifter.  For an electric-bass sound with a harder attack, I use a similar effect setup with a Bassman amp model. Both setups move a lot of air on the low end.

I think a lot of players who think they want a bass harp would be very happy to have an RP355 and my patch set instead.  It's a lot easier to play bass lines on the diatonic than on the bass harp (mainly because the breathing is MUCH easier and the holes are spaced closer together) and you can take advantage of all the stuff a diatonic can do that a bass harp can't, starting with bending.   And of course, if you get tired of playing bass lines, you can go back to playing the diatonic in a more traditional way, while the only thing you can do with a bass harp in that circumstance is stop playing.

One more thing about playing bass on the harp: bass is typically one of the instruments in the band that plays constantly, and everybody else in the band depends on the bass player to stay in the pocket in terms of both time and line.  In other words, you need to think very differently playing bass lines than you would playing more-traditional harmonica stuff.  You also need very good breath control, because you don't get a break when the guitar takes a solo anymore.  

A good place to start is to listen to your favorite records and transcribe the bass lines, or memorize them.  

Regards, Richard Hunter 

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