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Harmonica holders for guitarists

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Sat, 03/14/2015 - 20:10
reedgs
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David,

     Do you have any advice on specifics for guitarists who are learning the harp while using a holder?  Techniques that work better than others?  How to get good sound out of a mic for singing and playing a harmonica?

 

thanks,

Gary Reed

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Sun, 03/15/2015 - 16:37
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David Barrett
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Answer

Good afternoon Gary. There is no change in your technique when playing on a rack, except for the obvious fact that you'll not be using hand techniques.

Most rack players play through a vocal mic on a mic stand.

If you would like to get a more "amplified" sound, then you could run your vocal mic through an effects processor or be creative like Paul Oscher. Paul uses what looks like an ABS pipe, with a slit running along its length for the harmonica. Inside the pipe he installed a mic element. Check out YouTube, you may be able to find footage of him using this. I have also owned in the past a mic made for harmonica like this that had the mic element, which is round, on one end of the pipe, which is also round. If you're looking for that amplified sound, it's about artificially cupping the harmonica to deliver all of the sound/pressure into a mic element. I bet Greg Heumann (http://www.blowsmeaway.com) could come up with a very cool solution.

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