Brendan Power & Alternative Harmonicas Forum

In the March 5 post (above) I pointed out how a Country-tuned Seydel Big Six is a potent little chugger (with I--IV--V chords) and a capable melodic/solo instrument in 2nd position. Now imagine (because such is not yet available) an Overblow Booster on this harp. Note the welcome addition of two Eb ...

The tunings posted on March 28 (above) and July 20 (above) are very similar. Here are two important differences: (1) The July 20 tuning is (theoretically) compatible with the "blow-row-only" model of Brendan's Overblower Booster--the one he designed for "regular-breath" tunings such as PowerDraw and...

See that tuning, posted March 28, above? Intrigued by Brendan's new Overblow Booster technology, I asked him if that tuning could work with a specially-prepared Booster. He said that it probably could, but then there would be an additional charge for developing a special product. He further suggeste...

Brendan: Thanks for the reply. In your post, you addressed "normal bends" only. That's fine, because I failed to specify that I meant "bends" in the broad sense, i.e. including overbends. As a school teacher I would routinely ask students to rephrase concepts in their own words, as a check for under...

Brendan-- Congrats on the OB Booster! I have a set of questions. They all start with: "What are the implications (if any) for bending when ..." A. ... the blow reed is four semitones higher than that channel's draw reed? B. ... the blow reed is three semitones higher than that channel's draw reed? C...

EdvinW: That is a clever and intriguing idea. I like how, in your modification, it is still possible to in-out chug the I and IV chords on the 2-3-4 channels. However, I tend to think of the vi as having a high voicing, relative to the other chords. So what would you think of lowering the 4 blow, ra...

Brendan shared some related thoughts here: viewtopic.php?f=9&t=135&p=739&hilit=pentatonic#p739

"Thank the blues gods that Brendan exists, a world-class harmonica player who doesn't overblow. Otherwise, I'd probably quit."

AGREE!

I have used various hand and power tools for cutting reed plates, but not with good safety or precision. I just noticed a (new?) class of tools called "miniature benchtop cut-off/miter saws". They cost around $50 USD. Have any of you used these tools generally,or specifically for cutting reed plates?

These next two would be more difficult re-tuning projects, but I post them here because they are in other respects similar to the tuning above: