Anyone use a chromatic harmonica here?

I’m 99% sure Magic D i c k used a ‘normal’ blues harp on ‘Whammer Jammer’ because we used to do that tune in one of my bands, we had an excellent harp player (Uncle John Eyers), and it sure takes one to play that tune :slight_smile: !

Besides, a chromatic harp sounds different to the blues one.

Mauri.

Yeah, the chromatic sounds like ‘Honey in Warm Milk’ where as the blues harp and marine band harp have a harsher sound.

Harp adjustments; http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fkqmXP9IVyg

Harps are tough, just found my first harp, a Hohner Blues Harp, circa 1969/70, been dipped in beer, booze, water, not to mention the spittle and ya know they come apart, wiped it out and off, did the tune up like in the video, put it back together (needed a couple new brads) and it never sounded better…the cowling is a bit bent, but hey. :sunglasses:

Check out the ‘HarmonaCats’ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fGyNLiWUJzA United Audio great Bill Putnam recorded them in the men’s room at the , I believe and correct me if I’m wrong, Empire State Building due to the quality of natural reverb in the can, so to speak.

Serious? Bourbon soak?

Thanks for posting that link. It’s nice to hear something different from a fixed key.

Thank you John for posting that Chrometta vid!

It made me think about the little clicky sound getting printed … I went and looked at a Hohner model the other day (the $200 behemoth), I wish I had seen your vid first because I can’t remember whether the Hohner also had a clicky sound, or was quiet!

I can go back and check it out. I guess if I heard the Chrometta clicky sound on the youtube, I ought to plan on its being present on my recording as well :frowning: .

aeh… I wouldn’t worry about the clicky sound. You may be able to wrap gaffers tape on the end to damper the click sound. It is a part of the instrument though :mrgreen: A piano without hammers :laughing:

In an old harp book they talked stories of the big players of the day and taught the how’s and why’s from the likes of Big Walter Horton (I), Sonny Boy Williamson , Sonny Terry and more. It told of using ‘soaks’, beer when your down on your luck and bourbon when your rolling high. So seriously, in the early 70s, standing at a bar with some friends, the band was playing Kansas City in ‘E’. With an ‘A’ harp in my pocket, started to play. The bartender heard it and got all excited and wanted me to play with the band, said I would if he gave me (on the house) a double bourbon and water in a tall glass no ice. This isn’t how I live by any means, but in the moment, I got to tell ya, those boys new what they were talking about…on top of a couple beers, adrenalin from playing harp live the first time (and never again) the effects of the ‘soak’ were most interesting. You see, when you draw in, a mist of bourbon flys down into your lungs. Needless to say, for the whole song, every chance I got, I dunked, and I didn’t shake it out. Never happened again, Never forget it. :open_mouth:

Side Note (on a more sobering note): the Hohner manual says; “NEVER soak your harmonica. Soaking it will cause the reeds to corrode and the wooden body (comb) to swell, causing more rapid deterioration of both of these vital parts of your instrument. Soaking also voids your warranty.”

I can go back and check it out. I guess if I heard the Chrometta clicky sound on the youtube, I ought to plan on its being present on my recording as well :frowning:


alexis,

The Chromette 8 has a plastic like frame with brass reed plate on it. The chromatic Button that pushes the slide gate over the holes is in the plastic frame/body and is very smooth. If you slam it , it clicks, if you play with grace, you just hear the sliding of the gates, very soft sound. I think it’s like fret buzz or finger slide noise on a guitar, sometime it happens, most times, it’s less than great playing and technique.

Hi John - Thank you for your posts - the anecdotal one and the informational one!

Re: soaking - yeah, I kind of knew that it messed them up, but the sound is SO nice … and if Sonny Boy Williamson does (did :frowning: ) it, it’s good enough for me! GREAT story, thanks (do you remember what song you played? … I’m sure you do)!!

Interesting perspective on the clicky thing, comparing it to fret noises. The guy in the vid seems pretty good, but he still has a big click (let’s see what the forum sensors do with THAT one!). I’m guessing he plays live and doesn’t record then, based on what you said, that the biggus clickus can be controlled.

Thanks again … I’ll probably drop a few on a Chromatica … the price of a few bourbons, right? :wink:

So two things come to mind…

One: Respect, the guy was a legend. Worked with some amazing people in his life, and was one of those guys who redefined his instrument in the public perception, kind of in the same way as Django Reinhardt or Stéphane Grappelli did.

Two: That people here haven’t heard of him!!! It’s not like he was obscure or working in some tiny genre. He was a household name.

Ha ha. I don’t expect everybody to know Larry because his era had been swallowed up a lot by all the fads that came after but, yes, he was a major land mark in that genre.
I did gigs with him at places like Pizza on the Park and Cleo Lane’s place in Wavendon. I’d get there early just to sit and listen to Larry’s stories. He’d talk about being in a jeep in Italy during WWII with Lauren Bacall(oh yes) and bullets flying everywhere. :sunglasses: He had stories about growing up with the Gershwins too.
Great guy, amazing musician(you had to keep on your toes as he could change his mind about numbers IN THE MIDDLE OF THE GIG!!!)!
Hair raising but worth every second.

Hey Mark and Trevor,

One of the beauties of this forum is guys like you bringing experiences different from ours to light giving those interested the opportunity to broaden our horizons.

I googled Larry, WOW, didn’t know. Must have been great playing around him Trevor, well done.

I’ve been a long time fan of Larry Adler, a truly gifted musician.

Mauri.

I’ve had a Hohner Chrometta 12 - 3 octaves. Paid $75.00 for it brand new. Sounds great or should I say it sounds is great as I can play :wink: Actually, a good public performance is based on both talent and the right microphone. Believe me, the greats have their own particular mic. they swear by. You have to find your own sound and that’s harmonica!

I just bought a Hohner 270BX-C Super Chromonica C for $115 at Amazon, “list price” $220 (lol). Gets delivered Monday. It’s not top of the line, but it looks and sounds nice (went to Guitar Center to see one).

I guess I’ll use my stage dynamic mic for recording it rather than the condenser. I doesn’t need to sound real “dirty”, it’s just for background stuff. Maybe one day I’ll get one of those cool sounding retro-looking harmonica mics for stage http://www.bing.com/shopping/hohner-blues-blaster-harmonica-microphone/p/65E8010FB03062515012?q=harmonica+microphone&lpf=0&lpq=harmonica%2bmicrophone&FORM=EGCA&lppc=16 !

Really bummed - my Hohner Chromatic arrived from Amazon today, I took it out of the packaging envelope, and then I noticed that the seal on the box had been opened. :frowning:

So I sent it back. If it were a power cord or even something like a DI box, OK maybe no big deal. But the thought of using a harmonica that someone else MAY have tested out … I just couldn’t handle that.

Am I too finicky?

Right now, here in England, you can’t eat a burger without wondering if part of it raced in the Grand National. You be as careful as you want and feel happy about what you’ve paid for. :wink:

With over 7 Billion people on the planet, it’s getting harder feed everyone, so I guess if your food has a pet-a-gree, one could rest assured that it was well taken care of while romping on all four. :unamused:

So I buy beef and get horse…I should say nothing?
But if I buy a sequencer that doesn’t sequence properly…I can get onto a site where everyone complains!

When I can’t afford beef I’ll happily pay for horse. Right now I’m paying beef prices for a horse so some faceless liar can make a profit, not save the world. :unamused: :wink:

Man ‘O’ Man Trev, I’ll have to wait a bit so you all can get the food thing sorted before I come over. In the mean time, if we feel the need, we can join in on the sequencer complaints :laughing: (though it’s not our style) and remember, don’t look a gift horse in the mouth. :mrgreen:

Back on topic.

Monday in Seattle, I saw a busker, on the waterfront, playing a gut-bucket, singing and a Chrometta 10 on a neck brace. He was pretty busy with the gut-bucket so he never pushed the button and I didn’t get a chance to evaluate whether the ‘click-clack’ was audible against the music. He had heart and was fun to listen to. :ugeek: