The OVERBLOW BOOSTER - Overblows Made Easy, New OB Effects

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Brendan
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The OVERBLOW BOOSTER - Overblows Made Easy, New OB Effects

Post by Brendan » Mon Jun 25, 2018 10:26 am

Here's an idea I've been working on for a while, a way to make overbends (overblows and overdraws) easy to get from hole 1-10, even o stock OTB harps.

VIDEO:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XSMVe1wG34I

WEBPAGE:
http://www.brendan-power.com/OverblowBooster.php

EdvinW
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Re: The OVERBLOW BOOSTER - Overblows Made Easy, New OB Effects

Post by EdvinW » Mon Jun 25, 2018 11:08 am

I just ordered one!

I never thought of myself as much of an overblower, but there are those occasional notes in those occasional tunes where I wish that I would had put those hours of effort to actually learn. If this is all that it promises to be it will revolutionise my playing!

Can't wait to try this! I'll write about it here as soon as I have it :)
Last edited by EdvinW on Sun Jul 01, 2018 5:24 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Edvin Wedin

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triona
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Re: The OVERBLOW BOOSTER - Overblows Made Easy, New OB Effects

Post by triona » Mon Jun 25, 2018 3:13 pm

I just considered this as well - with the same thoughts in my mind as Edvin.
The video with Brendan's succesful and fine overblows - considering him as a rather poor overblower - made a convincing impression on me. Seems as it could help me too.

I look forward to your report, to decide whether I should order just one for a first try, or more for a better price and less work to use it on more than one harmonica.


Btw:
Is this possible for the Asiabend as well?
On normal harps (out of the box) I slowly improve on overblows in the classical manner - without the (new) booster. Still quite far away from really controlled, full sounding and pitch safe, but usually it comes on most of the possible notes anyway - easily to improve by just more practising. But on the Asiabend I still fail in most of my tries, achieving rarely more than weak squealing on the overblows.


dear greetings
triona
Aw, Thou beloved, do hearken to the Banshee's lonely croon!
sinn féin - ça ira !
Cad é sin do'n té sin nach mbaineann sin dó


https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC1yI3H ... 9ktgzTR2qg

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triona
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Re: The OVERBLOW BOOSTER - Overblows Made Easy, New OB Effects

Post by triona » Mon Jun 25, 2018 9:45 pm

One more question:

When considerering, whether the "booster-bar" would be a useful device for me, I came over this review of the Suzuki Overdrive MR-300 by Pat Missin:
http://www.patmissin.com/ffaq/q25.html

I presume that the main features of the Suzuki Overdrive and of your overblow booster are about the same or at least very similar, concerning blow 1-6 and draw 7-10. Therefore I suppose that it is possible to play "overblow chords" with your OBB as well by selectively covering certain channels of the OBB, as described by Pat for the Suzuki Overdrive. I can imagine that the hinged bar could obstruct this "fingerwork" to some degree because it does not allow to close single channels of the OBB selectively.

As far as I mainly play chord orientated, and as I am familiar with similar "fingerwork" on my Tombo Pocket Bass, I wonder whether the hinged bar is very useful for me. Its main advantage seems to me that it allows electrical playing with cupped microphone without any obstruction. This is a thing what I do very rarely. Acoustic hand wahwah might be a little bit easier too. But I have tried and found out, that it is not impossible with one finger within the "cup" to manipulate the OBB.


dear greetings
triona
Aw, Thou beloved, do hearken to the Banshee's lonely croon!
sinn féin - ça ira !
Cad é sin do'n té sin nach mbaineann sin dó


https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC1yI3H ... 9ktgzTR2qg

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Brendan
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Re: The OVERBLOW BOOSTER - Overblows Made Easy, New OB Effects

Post by Brendan » Wed Jun 27, 2018 5:10 am

Ta for the comments. As for installing the Overblow Booster in the Asiabend: I haven't got around to that Triona, but it should help, as you say. One more mission for the 'to do' list :)

The Suzuki Overdrive has some strange anomalies, to do with our old friend Helmholtz Resonance. Pat's article covers them well. I've also discussed it with Rick Epping, who is the most knowledgeable person I know when it comes to the vagaries of reeds interacting with chambers.

My Overblow Booster avoids the negative aspects of the Overdrive in various ways. The main one is by eliminating the 10 extra channels the Overdrive has, which allow it to overblow/overdraw in normal play. I wrote an article on this stuff a few months ago in the Harmonica World magazine, will find it and upload to my website with a link.

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Brendan
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Re: The OVERBLOW BOOSTER - Overblows Made Easy, New OB Effects

Post by Brendan » Fri Jun 29, 2018 7:41 am

Here is that article I mentioned (attached as two jpeg files).
Attachments
NHL Dec 17 p.1.jpg
NHL Dec 17 p.1.jpg (596.96 KiB) Viewed 14056 times
NHL Dec 17 p.2.jpg
NHL Dec 17 p.2.jpg (500.48 KiB) Viewed 14056 times

rlb
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Re: The OVERBLOW BOOSTER - Overblows Made Easy, New OB Effects

Post by rlb » Sun Jul 15, 2018 10:34 pm

Just got the Overblow Booster working on an out-of-the-box Manji. It is cool.

I often play a half-valved PowerBender these days. Couple of questions:

1. Seems like the booster would be incompatible with half-valved (PT Gazelle) reeds. I can't have both, right? When trying to overblow, seems like the draw-reed valve would close?

2. Can the existing boosters work on a PowerBender? I think you could just get the lowest 6 holes, but not the highest 4 because the high booster is on the draw reedplate and it needs to be on the blow reedplate. I think the PowerBender can overblow to missing notes on holes 1, 6, 8, 9, and 10--but only 1 and 6 are covered by current booster. Is that right?

Anyway, it's certainly a great invention for Richter harps, which is most harps.

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IaNerd
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Re: The OVERBLOW BOOSTER - Overblows Made Easy, New OB Effects

Post by IaNerd » Mon Jul 16, 2018 4:30 pm

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. ... the blow reed is two semitones higher than that channel's draw reed?
D. ... the blow reed is one semitone higher than that channel's draw reed?
E. ... the blow reed is the same as that channel's draw reed?
F. ... the blow reed is one semitone lower than that channel's draw reed?
G. ... the blow reed is two semitones lower than that channel's draw reed?
H. ... the blow reed is three semitones lower than that channel's draw reed?
I. ... the blow reed is four semitones lower than that channel's draw reed?

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Brendan
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Re: The OVERBLOW BOOSTER - Overblows Made Easy, New OB Effects

Post by Brendan » Tue Jul 17, 2018 11:02 am

@ rlb: Yes, valves and overbends are incompatible, it's one or the other.

I've just designed a version for PowerBender/PowerDraw tnings. It's just one part on the blow reedplate, will get back to you after testing.

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Brendan
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Re: The OVERBLOW BOOSTER - Overblows Made Easy, New OB Effects

Post by Brendan » Tue Jul 17, 2018 11:05 am

@IaNerd: If you understand the principle of interactive-reed bending you'll have the answer to all those queries.

Basically the high reed in each hole can bend almost down to the pitch of the low reed, about a quartertone above it. Just apply that and you have a universal solution to all the questions.

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