If I were to buy a harp designed to be good at overblows out of the box, would that mean it wouldn't be as good at doing everything else?

Because from what I've heard, modifying the harp for overblows has negative side effects, for example:

"It must be said that almost all modifications to the harmonica that are aimed at improving the responsiveness of the reed will have a very clear side effect; the reeds will sound more brightly thatn they did before. This effect is most noticable in reeds that are embossed and is even a reason for some players to not use these modifications because they do'nt like the sound it produces."

However, this is talking about modifications you do yourself versus things done at the factory. So if it's set up at the factory to do overblows out of the box, did they somehow do it in a way that avoids the negative side effects? Does anyone know? Because obviously no one selling the harp is going to say "by the way, the reed doesn't sound as good anymore because of how we set it up." The closest thing I have to information on that is from a review of a harp I'm looking at:

"It is tuned to a compromise temperament, with holes 2, 5 and 8 blow and 3, 5, 6 and 9 draw tuned a little lower, the rest of the harp tuned to equal temperament at around A=444Hz."

But I have absolutely no clue what that jargon actually means for me as the player, or, just, at all in general.

I'm asking because I have my next harp narrowed down to 2. I could go with a 90 dollar range harp that I can get for 58, or a 65 dollar range harp that I can get for 65. Pay less for a higher range harp, or pay more for a lower range harp. Tempting me toward the higher range harp even more is the fact that it has the end-to-end cover plates that I like. If I paid more for that lower range harp I'd have to settle for the boxcar shape, which I guess I could live with but I'd rather not have to if I can avoid it.

So clearly the higher range, less expensive one seems like the obvious choice, except for one thing. Yep, as you guessed, it's set up to use overblows out of the box. And the other one is not.

So would the lower end, more expensive, boxcar harp ultimately sound better than the higher end, less expensive, end-to-end cover plate harp because the latter sacrificed sound in favor of being able to overblow out of the box? Or do harps designed for overblows to begin with do something different so as not to sacrifice other qualities?

Also note: I have zero interest in learning to overblow. If those reeds do sound worse I'd be sacrificing that sound for nothing.

tldr: harps like Suzuki's Overdrive, Olive, and Firebreath, which are designed to overblow out of the box: do they sacrifice other qualities to make that happen, or do the reeds still sound just as good as if they weren't optimized for overblows?

I've looked all over the web, but I can't find what I'm looking for. I know I've read that a reed set up for overblow/overdraw does have a bad side effect. It's not so much the sound of it, but rather the functionality. I believe it chokes easier. I'm not sure what that means: either it chokes too easy when you try to do a normal bend or it chokes too easy when you play the note louder. Either way, I would recommend that you avoid a harp set up for overblows if you don't want to play overblows. My recommendation for you: Suzuki Promaster. Look in the "Reviews" section for discussion of the Promaster.

In case somebody is interested in overblow harps, read this.

lol, I have a Promaster and I love it. It's my favorite harp right now. But my plan is to try different things until I complete my G A Bb C D Eb E F set (A, E, Eb to go). Then when my harps start breaking I'll replace them with whatever my favorite ends up being.

Next on my list is to try something with a wood comb. Yes, I know how you feel about comb material, and that's not a can of worms I'm trying to open right now, because regardless, it's something I want to try for myself. I'd like to have at least one wood comb in my collection, so that's next on my list, not backing off of it.

And since I don't want one that's cheap or is going to swell, that narrows it down to Hohner crossover and Suzuki olive for me. These are the only two that are in a reasonable price range that use wood treated with a process so it doesn't swell.

Olive has Manji's comb and reeds, with Promaster cover plates (with an olive green finish added). I'm not looking at Manji itself because I'd definitely want the Promaster style plates over Manji's boxcar. I'm willing to pay an extra $10 for that. The way the Promaster feels in my hand is so much more comfortable and natural than anything else has been.

Now, Manji/olive doesn't make a big deal about being set up to overblow out of the box the way the overdrive and firebreath do. It's not marketed specifically for that purpose, so maybe it's not all-out set up for that. But reading reviews of both Olive and Manji, I do hear people reporting that it overblows out of the box well.

It retails for 90 and I can get it for 58.

On the other hand, Crossover retails for 65 and I can get it for 65, give or take a few bucks. Plus it has the damn boxcar cover plates. Plus it's Hohner, and while I still love the crap out of my 1st harp-- Hohner special 20 in C-- I've found Hohner overall to be fairly inconsistent, and I'm really not especially interested in exploring that brand any further.

So really, everything is pointing me to the Olive except that overblow question. I'm hoping that stuff done at the factory wouldn't be as destructive as home modifications.

Another thing from a review of Olive:

"The tuning is Compromised but a bit more in the Equal Temperament direction."

See, I have no idea what that means =/ But if I had to guess I'd think it meant what I speculated earlier-- that it's in the direction of overblowing, but not all-out to the point where they want to shout from the rooftops that this is the best overblow harp. But I could seriously be wrong.

Meanwhile, regarding the Crossover:

"The Crossover is a great choice for the traditional Marine Band player, but I don't find that it overblows all that well, even after adjusting the reed gaps for overblowing. Bends and blow bends are fine. If you are a traditional player and don't use overblows, and that would include about 90% of even experienced and competent players, then overblow ability doesn't matter. I think it's strength is the great sound projection."

No overblows, yay! But it has the boxcar plates =( And it's Hohner =( And it's more expensive, for a harp that is probably lower shelf than the other one =(

I don't know. I know there are people on here who play the Firebreath, and that's one /designed/ for overblowing, so you Firebreath people, can any of you report downsides to non-overblow activities? If the Firebreath-- a harp specifically designed and marketed for overblowing-- doesn't have any ill effects, then I wouldn't worry about the Olive. But if it does, then I'm not sure.

But it's not gonna be easy to convince me to pay more for a Hohner instead, and those are really my only two options =/



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/17/2012 07:46AM by ,,,.

Hmm, interesting link, but I'm definitely seeing a lot of opinions that conflict with that. He says of the harp designed for overblows (Firebreath)"

"On your quest you will also come across the ever so hyped up
SUZUKI FIREBREATH
Please, do not expect this harp to do the Overblows for you OR even
to arrive set-up properly to do so. Don't get me wrong, it's a fine harp
but trust me on this: It WILL require just as much set-up to do OBs
as just about any other Harmonica you will come across. You might get
lucky and be able to hit a 6 OB out-of-box, but like i stated above;
TOTALLY WORTHLESS!"

Meanwhile, here's what one review said about the Olive (which isn't advertised for overblows, but seems to do it well based on the reviews I've seen):

"Bent notes require very little effort and all the overblows are right there straight out of the box - even the hole 7 overdraw was nice and strong, which I find to be rare on a stock harmonica. With very little tweaking, this could be a superb overblow instrument."

Honestly, as pro as that guy claims to be, it sounds like he's just not that awesome at it. I do believe him that any harp will require some tweaking to be /great/ for overblows, but "even the 7 hole overdraw was nice and strong" is a pretty big contrast to "And sure, i'll believe they CAN squeeze out an Overblow by the skin of their teeth, straining, stressing, and barely sounding the note.

It sounds like a little of "all harps need some tweaking" and a little of "I'm not as rad as I think I am if I consider all overblow setups to be completely worthless."