After the inital hoopla,which I am sure was exciting to many looking for a new tuning,things seem to have quieted down.Maybe I'm missing artist's recording with the bender,any of the forum's harp afficionados using pb on a regular basis.
I am definately mulling around the idea of buying one,probably in A,and I noticed on Rockin Rons site the seydell session steel also in keys Bb-C 79 bucks.Maybe talking myself into something I don't need,or missing out on some real viable fun and games.Any info would be greatly appreciated,this forum has become a daily diversion that has really been helpful,thanks gentlemen.
Lots of info on Brendan's site. He also sells an instruction book. In much of the Youtube footage of Brendan these days, he's playing the Powerbender, and naturally it sounds terrific. Seems to be a very versatile tuning. If you are not committed to Richter, then the Powerbender could be the way to go.
I use a powerbender all the time, and just recorded a song where one of the two harp solos used one. I mean, I'm no major player or anything, but I definitely think that it's still going strong. ---------- Check out my music at http://bmeyerson11.bandcamp.com/
I made me one back when the book first came out--then got the book. I was doing great with it--almost deciding to tune more harps--then got busy and now I can't find that damn PB harp anywhere--the nerve of that guy Brendan--inventing a tuning that just gets lost!
The book is really great and the tuning is definitely worth it and a lot of fun--especially if you've never played upper end much--it gets you working that upper end like an 8 dollar whore right away. . .
IMHO, the essence of the Powerbender is putting the IV6/V6 tuning into the middle octave of a Richter harp, then reversing the reeds on holes 9 and 10 (blow becomes draw).
So on a C harp, the octave starting on blow 5 is the ii7 chord and the draw is the iii7 (Dm7 and Em7). This pattern is also found on the Melody Maker on holes 3-6.
I used to call this tuning Magic Bop, Al Price called it that when he told me about it, and Brendan posted that it was his tuning and that we should call it Power Chromatic. Pat Missin lists a different tuning under that name, but I use it.
I have started tuning the bottom of some of them to create a I chord on the draw. I really like a tonic chord.
And that's what you get with the Powerbender; there is a tonic chord on the bottom (blow) and then blow and draw on holes 5, 6, and 7 give you the IV and V chords.
Of course, we play blues, some of us only play blues, and that means the chords have a different significance. The middle octave and the bottom draw chord are the tonic, blow in the middle octave would be a bvii, and the bottom blow chord is a IV chord--just like always.
I'm not wild about the third octave of a Richter harp, but for now I am not going to mess with it--I already have too many tunings to contend with, so PB is not for me. But Brendan's got lots of tunings!
Last Edited by on Apr 10, 2012 10:50 PM
I remember years back when Magic Dick was promoting some type of upcoming tuning where all draws bend. However, I don't recall Hohner ever releasing it. Does anyone else remember this? What was this tuning? Is this what eventually became the XB-40?
All draws bend on the PC (Magic Bop) tuning. Only one OB required for full chromaticity. But no tonic chord! The XB-40 was Rick Epping's invention--and Hohner is pulling the plug on it. My man Bill Barrett is totally bummed, he was just getting into them, uses them onstage a lot instead of chrom. If anyone doesn't want theirs, let me know, I know he wants to acquire more of them. He says there was a high D prototype, but not in production, he especially wants one of those.
Last Edited by on Apr 10, 2012 11:42 PM
A big thanks robbert Brendan Frankenstein the creator of monster PB is the star.
Tf you keep playing like that and improving man I'll be buying your stuff.
Harpwrench I am going to get one of your creations,they always get glowing endorsements,and Stevens has gotten hernias playing,thats getting it on..Old Wailer hope that sucker shows up for ya,really love to play that high end better.Mucho gracias for the history and tech aspects Gnarly.
Todd hope to make the pilgrimage to hill country,so to hear and learn,good luck.
Frosties finnish number posted yesterday on a lowf pb was really haunting and soulful.I guess I'll take a plunge it's only money,never really know till you go.
Last Edited by on Apr 11, 2012 8:11 AM
If you are not sure if PB tuning is for you, why dontcha go for one of Brendan's "own brand" powerbenders? I've got one, and it is quite decent considering how much less it costs than the other versions... It comes in A, so you are good there too... I think that's a perfect way to "dip your toes" into the PB water...
btw: I still don't do much on PB tuning, even though I've got two of them... I DO use alternate tunings a lot, however, so it's not a case of me not being used to playing alternates, but more a case that I haven't put the time into the PB, nor have I bought the book, which I imagine would make things A LOT easier for me... ---------- == I S A A C ==
How complicated is it to retune a standard richter harp to Power Bender ? Or maybe I should ask how much would it cost to have someone do it for me (since I am not at all competent to do that sort of work without ruining the instrument).
Droffilcal: I have retuned most of my harps to PB. I find the easiest way is to swap the blow and draw reeds on the top two holes and then lower the notes to their proper pitch. Otherwise, you would need to raise notes - some up to four semitones!
I use Blu-Tak to lower the pitch. You can use solder as an alternative, but I don't see any reason to do that on my harps - apparently, Blu-Tak will stay put and in tune for decades... Lowering the pitch with BluTak is very simple and easy. A lot easier than filing off metal.
---
I put my Powerbender-tuned harps aside for the past few months and started taking lesson from someone who only teaches Richter-tuning harmonica - including overbends.
I picked up one of my PBs last week and started noodling on it. I was floored at the tone that I could make with it.
I have been working on my overbends with vibratto/tremollo but nothing can compare with the tone of a draw bend. The second octave Blue third on a RT harp is the 6OB in second position. On a PB it's a draw 7 bend I can get the overblow on a RT harp to sound on pitch, but on a PB, I can feel than note from my lips all the way down to the floor.
----------
Last Edited by on Apr 11, 2012 11:03 AM
@isaac I've got one of the Brendan PB harps right here, came from a customer when I did a big refurb job. I've also made a few, arzajac is right on. Swapping the top two reeds is the way to go--harder to do on a Suzuki!
I have PB harps in 7 keys (ordered from Brendan himself) and also 7 low tuned harps in PB (mostly Hohner Thunderbirds tuned by Jim). I find PB tuning very useful when playing other music than blues. But it takes some time to get things working. It took me over a year to get comfortable with PB tuning and I am still in the learning curve.
You can hear me using PB in my Youtube channel. Click the link under my signature. ---------- Frosty Homepage Frosty in Youtube
Last Edited by on Apr 11, 2012 11:31 AM
so you swap out two of the top reeds and tune the lower ones to pitch? interesting!
here's a trick. the 10 blow and draw are reversed on the PBs compared to Richter tuning. all ya gotta do is reverse them. they are the same size.
personally, i don't think i'm ready for the PB learning curve. i'm still gonna give it a shot one day, but i'm more interested in my Chromatic chops lately.
Sorta OT-i did the Todd Parrot mod on one of my C harps where the 7 draw is raised a half step. this gives you the 6 OB on the 7 draw. i didn't care for it so i made it normal again. i need my framiliar chording up there. ---------- MP affordable reed replacement and repairs.
"making the world a better place, one harmonica at a time"
click user name for info-
Last Edited by on Apr 11, 2012 12:02 PM
I was actually surprised how little learning curve there was. I still play standard tuning most of the time, but switching to PB is easy - it just makes sense. It's hard to explain why, but it just does!
The reason the tuning is intuitive is that the draw arpeggio on top is much like the bottom--unlike Richter, where it gets ugly on holes 6 and 7.There is no breath shift at hole 7, and there are no missing major scale tones.
I'm leaning to making the PB my main tuning. I can overblow pretty well but I find PB more reliable when I need to access those notes quickly. I'm still debating about whether or not to valve Blow 1-7.
One difference I employ is to keep Hole 10 as is; with the higher pitched reed as a Blow. I do this for a few reasons. First, it's less work. I'm okay with working on my own harps but the one technique I find most difficult is to properly center replacement reeds. Alternately, these stubby Hole 10 reeds are also the toughest to retune to such an extreme.
The second reason is consistentcy/familiarity. I just like the tonic in the regular four places on the blow plate.
Lastly, I'd like to try PB tuning is both 10 and 12 hole configurations. When layed out on a 12 hole harp the top octave can be set up exactly the same as the middle octave. I just ordered and am anxiously awaiting delivery of my first 12 hole PB set up from Seydel. Pricey but it could be interesting.
Of course you always give up something to get something when it comes to alternate tunings but overall I think the benefits outweigh the drawbacks of PowerBenders.
I haven't yet ordered the book from Brendan but it's defintely on my to do list.
Last Edited by on Apr 11, 2012 4:56 PM
If you don't mind maintaining your own harps, there is no reason you shouldn't use your own tuning. I have found a handful that work for me, and am grateful to have them available when possible. Unfortunately, that means hauling a heap of harps to the gig. The upside is that it works in a show biz way.
It's good to hear the positive field reports on the PowerBender, thanks for relaying your experiences :-)
That's correct, Mike Stevens has fully switched to PowerBender. He's recorded two albums with it now, including one with the gutsy Canadian singer/guitarist Matt Anderson. Hear clips:
http://www.mikestevensmusic.com/home
Some news:
1. On my visit to Shanghai in December I sussed out a new manufacturer to make my own-brand PowerBenders in 5 popular keys: Low F, G, A, C, D. The quality of these harps is really good, significantly better than the initial batch of A harps from the previous maker, but cost will stay low. Manufacturing is nearly completed and they'll be shipping to the UK by the end of the month. I'll keep you posted when they arrive.
2. I'm writing/recording a "PowerBender Song Book", containing notes and tabs for a range of tunes, plus playing tips. Hope to have it ready for SPAH.
For the PowerBender players, have you tried 5th Position? It's real nice! Here's a clip from my album with Andrew White, playing a PowerBender in 5th (Em on a C harp):
If you can get this expressive in 5th position (Em on a C harp) I imagine it would open up some very nice riffs and melody lines for trad fiddle tune sets that land in Em! (Drowsy Maggie, Morrison's Jig, Kid on the Mountain, for ex). And you would be in good shape to modulate to G, or D, if the set moved that way.
I had understood that the older PB was quite similar to the parts used in the Hohner "Blues Bender" harps, (maybe the same manufacturer?) so I picked up one with the intent to "Powerbender" it and take for a ride before jumping in deeper. Have not gotten to it yet.
It sounds like the newer models might be worth waiting for instead? I do not like the response of the Blues Bender, but it is a pretty cheap harp.
Yet another tuning to challenge the Harmonica part of the brain!
good news, end of the month. I was thinking the other day of asking when they were going to be ready. I seem to remember December being said before, but if Brendan has been new and better manufacturers, that can only be good.
Brendan: That's funny -- I play the powerbender in 5th quite a bit, and thought it was atypical. Apparently not. Also, you're doing another album with Andrew White?! When are you releasing it?
As a point of interest, I played the first solo in this song in 2nd position with a powerbender in A: From The Cradle
If you listen closely, you clan clearly tell where the intonation differs. I ended up structuring that solo a lot more like I would've done for a guitar solo, and I was glad to have that option available.
Cheers
---------- Check out my music at http://bmeyerson11.bandcamp.com/
