Oisin
23 posts
Oct 23, 2008
3:10 PM
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Has anyone tried customising a MB365 (14 hole)? I really love playing mine and the sound I get from the C harp especially is excellent on those lower notes.The only problem is I need an oxygen mask after I've finished cos of the amount of air I need to blow and suck when playing. I love this harp so much I'm loath to do anything to it in case I mess it up.
I also have a Steve Baker special in A which is great fun to play but the bottom notes are tuned the same as a normal A harp so it does seem to need as much breath to play.
I just really want to know if any of your guys have tried making these things more air tight or if I'm on a impossible mission due to how low the notes are anyway (if you see what I mean).
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Aussiesucker
44 posts
Oct 23, 2008
4:00 PM
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I have a 364 12 holer in C. It's not leaky but I don't like playing it as the mouthpiece/ coverplates are very large and, for me too uncomfortable. Drag it out every so often but put it away quickly in disgust! Nice low notes though.
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Oisin
24 posts
Oct 23, 2008
4:33 PM
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Yeah I know what you mean about the coverplates and I also noticed that the holes are spaced slightly wider than a normal 10 hole. I can just about live with that,it's the amount of air I need to use which gets me.
But as you say the low notes sound lovely which is why I love it. It's great for getting a nice rythm going and chugging.
One upside is that as soon as I stop playing it and pick up say a special 20, it feels like you don't hardly need to blow at all to get it to play.
Another thing that's just occurred to me is...are the reeds slightly wider than normal and that's why the holes are spaced slightly wider?
Last Edited by on Oct 23, 2008 4:34 PM
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oldwailer
275 posts
Oct 23, 2008
4:51 PM
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Yeah, the low harps do take a lot more wind--but its worth it to play "Bye Bye Bird" and chugging. I have two 364's in C and I play them a lot. I love the sound of that one blow!
I am in the process on one of them--I have put several coats of salad bowl finish on the comb--messed with the embossing and put screws in place of the nails. Should be finished in about three years at the rate I'm going--I hope I get it done before my other one dies of old age.
I don't play my F Steve Baker much--it seemed like a great idea when I bought it--but the only tune I can really play on it is "Shortnin' Bread," which is fun but I don't play it often.
Last Edited by on Oct 23, 2008 4:54 PM
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Oisin
25 posts
Oct 23, 2008
5:17 PM
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Hey Old Wailer let me know how you get on with the mods on your 364 and especially if it makes it more air tight.
I can't believe you mentioned "Bye Bye Bird", that was the exact reason I bought the 365 after I heard Sonny Boy do that acoustic version on an old compliation CD I have.That's gotta be one of my all time favorite songs.
I know the Harps made then must have been like blowing through a sieve so Sonny Boy must have had lungs like a set of anvil bellows.
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oldwailer
276 posts
Oct 23, 2008
6:02 PM
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OK, Oisen--I'll let you know how it goes. "Bye Bye Bird" was my reason for buying my first 364 too--someday I'll grow a bigger set of balls and upload a vid of my version--which is pretty poor compared to the real thing.
Have you seen the video of Sonny Boy doing BBB onstage--at the end he sticks the harp into his mouth like a cigar and he's still playing that wonderful rhythm and popping his fingers with both hands! How the hell did he do that?
It seems to me that the low harps will always take more wind--just the nature of them--but I hope my mods will make it a little easier to play. . .
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Oisin
26 posts
Oct 23, 2008
6:14 PM
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I saw that DVD for the first time about 6 months ago and was blown away by it. The same DVD has a song by Junior Wells looking like he was 16 years old and shimmying across the stage like a 50's version of Micheal Jackson.I've showed a couple of non-harp player friends it too and they couldn't believe it either.
Sonny boy plays like he talks with that lowdown, 100 cigarettes and 20 gins a day voice of his but he makes it all seem so effortless but I guess that just come with practise.
I'd love to hear your version of BBB...it's gotta be 100 time better than mine!
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harmonicanick
33 posts
Oct 24, 2008
12:59 AM
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Sonny Boy's cigar like playing was repeated by Joe Filisko live at a recent National Harmonica Festival in October annually in Bristol UK
Joe has made his mission to play like the old masters and it is really something to see.
www.joefilisko.com
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Oliver
11 posts
Oct 24, 2008
10:48 AM
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a little off topic but is it possible/simple to play Bye Bye Bird on a regular 10-hole? That song is also a fav of mine and I've always wanted to learn it.
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snakes
35 posts
Oct 24, 2008
11:54 AM
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Didn't Harmonica Frank Floyd play his harmonica like a cigar too?
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oldwailer
278 posts
Oct 24, 2008
5:26 PM
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Yeah, Oliver, you could do BBB on a ten-hole--but the low-tuning is what you need. I have a low F harp that is fairly good at it, but I can't sing it--I have heard a version of SBWII doing it with a low D harp too--but the version I try to emulate is in low C.
The low tuning is the thing that makes it distinctive--the fact that the 364 harp has 12 or 14 holes is immaterial--since the whole song is done on the lower 4 or maybe 5 holes anyway.
Hi Snakes--I have read that Harmonica Frank Floyd played it like a cigar and sang from the other side of his mouth--playing the guitar at the same time--I never have heard any music by him being done this way--is there some available?
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Oliver
14 posts
Oct 25, 2008
1:41 AM
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Thanks oldwailer, yeah, that makes sense.
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Patrick Barker
144 posts
Oct 26, 2008
3:09 PM
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Seydel also makes a harp with extra low notes, with three more holes below the one and one less hole at the top making it a 12 holer
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"Without music, life would be a mistake" -Nietzsche
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Tuckster
33 posts
Oct 26, 2008
5:43 PM
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I've seen Rick Estrin of the Nitecats do the cigar thing with a 10 hole. Truly a feat to tell my grandchildren!
Last Edited by on Oct 26, 2008 5:45 PM
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