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help from harmonica players!

lousybassplayer

lousybassplayer

Jan 30, 2009
4,568
31
J-Actionville, NC
#1
I am considering buying a couple of decent harps, but I know next to nothing about them. My questions for any harmonica guys out there:

1. What features should I look for/avoid?
2. What 2 keys would I find most useful (more of a theory question, but I don't really play any music that requires harmonica right now, so keys I play in a lot are probably not very useful)
3. What brands are decent in the 30-40 dollar range

No, I am not jsut being a smartass, I am genuinely curious. Any help?
 
#2
I used to play a bit of harp, and although I can't offer a ton of technical advice, I'll say that an E & A-tuned(diatonic)harp will work for a lot of guitar-oriented/written stuff. Hohners are great of course; there's probably newer brands that compete but again- I'm fairly in the dark these days.
Lastly, try throwing a bit of slapback delay and/or reverb on it, also try it through a nice tube amp, slightly overdriven. Harp guys often carry their own small tube combo and a pedal or two. John Popper(Blues Traveller)used to put his through a freegin Mesa stack. :eek:
 
#3
+1 on Hohners. I was always partial to the Marine Band ones myself until I got my bottom teeth knocked out and couldn't play anymore. I recommend buying one of those would be a great start.

Musiciansfriend has a bunch of combo packs with a bunch of different harps in them. I recommend not getting the 30 ones, as they're most likely cheap junk. With everything, you get what you pay for. If you're serious about being a harmonica player, I recommend getting one of the boxes. You'll be able to play to a lot more stuff.

http://folk-instruments.musiciansfr...er-SPECIAL-20-CASE-Harmonica-5Pack?sku=500325

http://folk-instruments.musiciansfr...RINE-BAND-CASE-Harmonica-5Pack?sku=500326#new

http://folk-instruments.musiciansfr...lues-7Harmonica-Pack-with-Case?sku=421179#new

http://folk-instruments.musiciansfr...-CASE-OF-BLUES-Harmonica-5Pack?sku=500323#new

http://folk-instruments.musiciansfr...-CASE-OF-METAL-Harmonica-5Pack?sku=500324#new
 
#5
If you want to play the blues you'll need a harp in the relative 4th key to the key of the song. So if the band's grooving in A, play a D-tuned harp, and so on. If, on the other hand, you want the dread Dylan effect, play a harp in the same key.
Bending certain notes is an essential skill that only comes through practice. Like bicycling, it will stay with you once learned. It's about shaping the mouth cavity with your tongue on an in-breath ("draw") to pull the pitch down about a half-step.

Hohner's Marine Band model is the classic, and will not let you down. For a mic, the Shure Green Bullet is optimized for the task, but any vocal mic will do. A little distortion is not a bad thing here. A small tube amp like the Fender Champ is ideal for miking over the PA.

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#6
C and G keys are both very useful, I have used those most in random jams. Also, Marine Band is my personal favorite harmonica. I probably don't play as much as other people around here, judging by their advice.
 
#8
Summation post

1: the relative 4th thing was very helpful I never would have known that and I can't stand Dylan.
2: I was leaning toward a Marine Band since I am in the Marines, so thats cool that it gets good revies
3: I want one as a stand alone instrument mostly, whip it out and start jamming at bonfires and while camping etc, but the extra advice on amplifiaction etc is cool to know as well

I was looking at one of the multiple key sets, but I can't afford more than maybe 2 at the moment (if that!). I wasn't sure if that was a gimmicky way to sell a bundle o' crap or if it was actually a good deal. Thanks all, I will keep the few who may be interested up to date on any progress I make.
 
#9
lousybassplayer said:
I was looking at one of the multiple key sets, but I can't afford more than maybe 2 at the moment (if that!). I wasn't sure if that was a gimmicky way to sell a bundle o' crap or if it was actually a good deal. Thanks all, I will keep the few who may be interested up to date on any progress I make.
Click to expand...

The multiple key steps are a big $ saver. Figure a marine harp is like what $25-30 each in any given key? So saying they were $25 that'd still be $125, and you're paying them a few bucks for the carry case which is good from keeping your harps clean from dust, dirt and moisture.

Check eBay, you can probably get it cheaper than MF if its there.

And as always, thanks for your service whilst riding around in navy equipment.:p:)
 
#11
GE,

That's kind of what gave me the idea actually. On ship I didn't have room for a guitar or a bass or anything, so a harp seemed smart. Our BN SgtMaj at the time was a disgustingly good harp player. He came into our berthing and saw a guy playing 'Mary had a little lamb' or some such on his cheap harmonica, snatched it up and went off on a 10 minute long blazing tirade. Hearing a harp in that setting and played well got me thinking.
 
#13
I've been a harp player for years, much longer than a bass player. Best advice would be the Lee Oskar or Special 20. The Marine Band has a wood comb, these tend to swell from your saliva and can cut your lips. In the old days, guys would file the combs. You don't have to mess with that with the Oscars or Special 20's.
 
#14
Forgot to address keys. C harp for sure for songs in G, and also you might want an A harp as every guitar player around wants to play in E, especially if it is blues. Diatonic scale or cross harp is for rock, blues, country, etc... If you are playing a C harp and the song is in G, the second reed draw is G and you can bend those draw notes with practice. Good luck...
 
#15
+1000 on the Lee Oskars- I would stay away from Marine Band or Blues Harps, because of the moisture and comfort issues described above. Also, replacement reed sets (yes, you can break reeds/ruin reedplates learning to bend) are cheaper for Oskars than for MS Hohners. Those 12 key Made in China "Johnson" sets I guess are okay for a beginner (ditto I suppose for any cheap harp)- but you will soon want to move up- just replace the common keys (F G D A) with Oskars when they get messed up. Besides, do you really want your fellow sailors catching you blowing something labeled a "Johnson"?;) I would start with Lee Oskars in the Keys of G, D, A, and LOW F. This will give you cross harp (draw chord) in the keys of D, A, E, and C. The Low F has a really nice sound and will allow you to practice bending the top notes (overblowing) without making yourself deaf, or annoying the s**t out of anyone in earshot. I've been sitting in with a singer/sw friend lately at his gig on a couple of tunes in D minor with this harp- if you have some theory and decent ears, it doesn't just have to be straight harp/cross harp! Don't worry about amplification yet- just get a good acoustic sound from cupping your hands (this requires experimentation) and you can always do so in front of an SM 58 or any other amplified mike. Good luck and thank you for your service to our (sic) country!
 

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