X-HARPS : Personal Experimental Harmonica Project

A space for players interested in my specialist harmonicas, alternate tunings, instructional material, recordings etc to ask questions and share information, experiences, videos etc.
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Brendan
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X-HARPS : Personal Experimental Harmonica Project

Post by Brendan » Sat Jan 21, 2023 11:00 pm

Over recent years I've spent a lot of time and creative energy devising ways to increase the expression of harmonicas that I don't play myself. In particular, the ubiquitous un-valved Richter diatonic - unchanged in any important respect since 1896.

Frustrated with its deficiencies, I gave up on it myself over four decades ago in favour of half-valved harps in various alternate tunings (Regular-Breath, PowerBlow, PowerBender, PowerDraw, Paddy-Richter, Paddy-Solo, Paddy-Extended, and many others). But since it remains the manufacturers' default model (and therefore the choice of probably 95% of diatonic players), yet has some glaring limitations, I found it interesting and challenging to come up with new designs that wouldn't take away from its essential qualities, but would still offer harp players more expression.

My main products derived from this effort are the Overblow-Booster and the SlipSlider. They're now released in updated versions that I'm pretty happy with. Although my main work on them is done, as time goes on I'll extend the range of applicable models and work to release the OB as a Parts Kit for retrofitting to players' existing harps.

But last year I decided to change focus from satisfying the mainstream to exploring different ways of creating MY personal Dream Harmonica - regardless of the fact it's likely to appeal to virtually nobody else! That's because what I want out of a harp is kind of crazy...

First, and most important, it should bend all blow and draw notes via interactive reed bending to give two different stable bends on each note: a semitone lower for chromatic playing, plus a lower bend of an optional amount (2 or 3 semitones, depending on the scale).

In addition I'd like it if every blow note could be played as a draw, and vice versa, including the bending provisos above.

Ideally I'd also like it to be fully chromatic without bends, whilst retaining the funky tone of a diatonic.

This is a combination of the best qualities of several of my favourite harmonicas: Diatonic Harp, AsiaBend, Slide-Diatonic, Half-valved Chromatic.

This is a pretty demanding set of criteria to try and cram into just one harmonica, and it's had me scratching my head a lot over the past 9 months since I began the project! But the more I thought, the more possible ways of achieving at least most of those criteria started to emerge. I've now made probably 20 prototypes, all very different from each other. None ticks ALL the boxes yet, but they all tick most of them - and some do it pretty well.

Here's a short music example played on one of my prototypes, which I'll give the working designation of X-HARP #1. It has the compact outward form of a standard 10-hole diatonic, but enables four different kinds of blow and draw bends. You can hear three types on the track.

X-HARP #1 : First Test https://youtube.com/shorts/56TCHEFdvbQ?feature=share

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triona
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Re: X-HARPS : Personal Experimental Harmonica Project

Post by triona » Sun Jan 22, 2023 9:58 am

Hi Brendan,

sounds quite jazzy.

Seems like you have created now the "egg-laying-wool-milk-sow". 8-)
(This is a word-by-word translation of an old German idiom, thus meaning something like "Jack in all trades device" or "allrounder" as the dictionary gives me as valid but a little bit too dry translations.)

What about a perpetuum mobile as a next step? :mrgreen:


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: X-HARPS : Personal Experimental Harmonica Project

Post by Brendan » Sun Jan 22, 2023 10:48 pm

Haha... the "egg-laying-wool-milk-sow". I like that - sounds like a ctachy name for this new harp :)

JoshuaDb
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Re: X-HARPS : Personal Experimental Harmonica Project

Post by JoshuaDb » Sun Mar 19, 2023 5:58 am

Man - this sounds like a dream harmonica! Im SO in! I will never understand folks reluctance to a better overall design.

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Brendan
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Re: X-HARPS : Personal Experimental Harmonica Project

Post by Brendan » Sun Feb 18, 2024 5:26 am

I've recently posted a few more clips playing a couple of newer versions of my experimental x-reed harp project. These are on Instagram, but can also be found on my YouTube and TikTok channels:

X-HARP #2
BB King Solo
https://www.instagram.com/reel/C2iInsgo ... ZoMnJ6djE=

Tracking Joe Bonanassa
https://www.instagram.com/reel/C2j48lCJ ... d4aWp5bGJ2

Short Original Tune: 'Petone Pirates'
https://www.instagram.com/reel/C3JkmJar ... hjYWNnbw==

X-HARP #3
Tracking Gary Moore
https://www.instagram.com/reel/C3UJU2ju ... 11ZTE0bA==

A big part of the inspiration for this project is to be able to emulate the expressive, flexible bending ability of instruments like electric guitar, slide guitar, dobro, fiddle etc. Hence the focus in the clips above on tracking licks from great guitar players. Not there yet, but I'm making progress! ☺️

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triona
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Re: X-HARPS : Personal Experimental Harmonica Project

Post by triona » Sun Feb 18, 2024 2:40 pm

Brendan wrote:
Sun Feb 18, 2024 5:26 am
... can also be found on my YouTube ... channel ...

Could you post the direct links here please?


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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Location: Aue / Germany

Re: X-HARPS : Personal Experimental Harmonica Project

Post by triona » Sun Feb 18, 2024 9:32 pm

Thanks.

Nicely done. But I could not hear any difference between the first (B.B.King) and the second (Bonamasa).
Did you use any electronical device to alter the sound?
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: X-HARPS : Personal Experimental Harmonica Project

Post by Brendan » Sun Feb 18, 2024 9:50 pm

Those two tracks were using the same instrument (X-HARP #2), in the same key, on two versions of the same song (The Thrill is Gone), and using the same effects. So yes, they do sound similar 👍

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WoozleHarmonicas
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Re: X-HARPS : Personal Experimental Harmonica Project

Post by WoozleHarmonicas » Tue Feb 27, 2024 3:48 am

These recordings are all really cool. It seems like there's a lot of hidden potential in there. I'm excited to see and hear how this project continues to develop!
Robert Laferriere
WoozleHarmonicas

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