Ian
257 posts
Jan 31, 2016
3:48 AM
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My local music shop has a sale on at the moment.
I was going to treat myself to a key that I havnt got. Thinking Ab or Eb. The general consensus online is that Eb is the more useful key?
Thoughts?
(I have harps is G, A, Bb, C, D, E, F)
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2chops
476 posts
Jan 31, 2016
4:10 AM
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In 2nd position you'd be playing in Eb & Bb respectively. They're generally considered jazz keys. Horn friendly if you will. I have both and have only ever needed to use the Ab on stage. If you play with an SRV wanna be, the Ab may be more useful. However, that's just my experience. If you like Rev. Dan Smith and want to keep in the same key as him, he played in Bb a lot. Do there the Eb would be your axe of choice.
Also, I find that the Ab harp gets more use because of my vocal range. I can sing in Eb better than in Bb. So if you sing a fair amount, go with what works for you vocaly.
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I'm workin on it. I'm workin on it.
Last Edited by 2chops on Jan 31, 2016 4:12 AM
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MindTheGap
1074 posts
Jan 31, 2016
4:14 AM
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I like the sound of the Ab when I've heard it.
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SuperBee
3323 posts
Jan 31, 2016
4:19 AM
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Personally I think I play Ab more than Eb.
If you play with a guitarist who tunes down...and they are out there.. quite likely you'll get to play an Ab in second
Ab is just a nicer harp to play anyway imho. A bit like a B harp. Nice key, in a nice range for harp.
You can play along with boogie on reggae woman in original key.
You can try and play along with Kim Wilson on Lowdown.
You can play along with the muddy turds on hot sexy men...ok, you probably won't do that, but it is a nice harp line reminiscent of 'summertime'
You can seriously use it to practice first position when you need to clean your A harp.
Did I mention it's actually a nice harp to play, whereas Eb is a harp to play when you have to?
Anyway...I'm partial to my Ab harps. I have 3 though I only pack 1 these days. I used to need a spare for the big finale of the show but those days are past.
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Ian
258 posts
Jan 31, 2016
4:15 PM
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Cool, thanks for the opinions guys. I'll grab a Ab as my brother in law often tunes down.
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Halffast
18 posts
Feb 01, 2016
4:50 AM
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Great tip ! I just played at a garage jam session with four professional guitarists for the first time . They did indeed tune down on a good many songs and I had a bit of trouble matching up a harp from my standard set ( A , Bb ,C , D , E , F , G ) . Using the handy dandy crossharp chart and going from the key they were tuning down was OK for a couple of songs we played but some didn't match up at all . Ended up just twiddling around on harps close to the key suggested ( off mike ) until it sounded " right " , then played along . Worked OK for the most part . They also play in minor on some tunes and that sort of threw me for a loop too . You can get Lee Oskars in minor ; would any of those have helped ? I can see an Ab in my future for sure .
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