The Attack on Overblows

The Attack on Overblows

It seems like putting down the technique of overblows is really becoming the
thing to do on harmonica forums lately. I think there is a sort of “straw
man” argument being waged in most instances. By that I mean people are
bringing up things that aren’t always 100% true or to the point. My
understanding is that a “straw man” argument is one based mostly on
assumption and not fact, so I hope I am using it correctly.

Let me start by saying I am only writing this as a means for those out there
interested in the debate to reflect on their ideas and opinions and then
hopefully realize that it doesn’t matter whether you appreciate overbends or
not. Some will play them and some will not just as some harp players like
Suzuki harps over Hohner or big 4x10 amps over 1x8 combos. Like with all
things music, there is room for all of it and the listener will make up
their mind as to what is relevant or not. Someone who really has things
figured out will be able to hear and understand the music at all levels
anyways.

Issue #1

“Overblowers play too fast!”

First of all, stop thinking of overblow players as a type of musician or
even a style. It is a technique like tongue blocking, warbles, or playing
octaves. Overbends are just another type of bend. Next, and here is where
the straw thing comes up, you don’t have to play fast to overbend. Granted,
some guys do, but some don’t. They are not mutually exclusive, though.
Carlos del Junco, Chris Michalek, and Clint Hoover are examples of players
who use overbends liberally and do not play everything really fast.

Issue #2

“Overblows sound different than other notes and therefore sound bad.”

Yes, the timbre of an overbend (since they aren’t all blow notes) is
different than a draw or blow note. HOWEVER, so is the timbre of any bend!
The 3 draw bend that blues players lust over sounds out of place compared to
the other notes. Same with the 4 draw…those bluesy blow bends in first
position??? They have a totally different timbre than a blow or draw note.
Those notes are all acceptable to nearly any harp player. So why not
overbends? Some of it has to do with historical context and cultural
patterns.

Issue #3

“Overblows are out of tune.”

Before I go any further, we are talking overwhelmingly about blues
harmonica. The vast majority of harp players posting online are blues
players to some extent. Almost anyone who brings up the “Overblows suck!”
conversation plays blues. So I find this issue rather hypocritical. If I
used a tuner every time I heard a traditional bend in blues, I bet it is out
of tune. Come on, the flat 3 is even taught to be played sharp on
purpose!!! I bet almost every 4 draw bend is flat…same with nearly every 2
draw bend. The blow bends? I bet they are flat 99% of the time. Why is
this considered correct and cool, but not when it is an overbend? Heck, most
overbends are played to create harmony over a blues progression and
transpose the flat 3, 5, or 7 to a different octave or key.

Not convincing enough? How about the fact that overbends can be played 100%
in pitch and actually up and down to even more notes? Who is even being
judged for their playing? Are the haters listening to pros or amateurs? I
can find a lot of amateurs playing really crappy traditional blues harp too.

Issue #4

“Overblows have bad tone.”

You’re right. Poorly played overbends sound bad. It is just like when
players struggle playing the high end of the harp or the 3 draw bends. In
fact, I bet the majority of players can’t hit all the notes on 3 draw with
full tone and in pitch.

This issue brings up a new point. Overbending, to be done well, needs to be
done on a harp meant to overbend. Using a stock harp or just gapping isn’t
really enough. Just because you’re stock Special 20 shrieks out a few extra
notes doesn’t mean you are playing the bends correctly.

Issue #5

“Overblowers just do it to show off.”

Some guys do…especially amateur webcam players (not that there is anything
wrong with that, because there isn’t!), players posting their woodshedding
online, and newer players trying to figure out how to play well (we all have
room to improve), but the best ob players don’t have to ob. Think about it…

Not making any sense? Well, I am not a touring musician. I play in a great
local band that plays decent blues appreciating clubs once or twice a week.
I play with really talented guys, who like to play in a modern style. Point
being, I am not comparing what we do to the level of bands touring
nationally. We did just finish recording an album. I could have totally
showed off all my speed, techniques, and the mammoth solos I can take.
Instead, I just tried to serve the song. I don’t think I played one
overdraw. I am not even sure how often I played any overblows. I know
enough theory to use the best harmonica position for a song. Therefore, I
pick the harp with the best natural note layout so I don’t have to use a ton
of overbends, etc.

I agree that trying to play everything on one key of harp or using a
position just because you can is typically rather arrogant and self
righteous…and not very musical. I would also wager that solid ob players
tend to learn a lot more theory in learning to ob and therefore can role
with more musical punches.

Live, there are no rules and I am much more liberal with my use of
technique, but again, only as it serves the song (but we take longer solos
and play more songs so there is a place for just about everything).

Issue #6

Who are you listening to?

I am not a world-class overbend player, but I can play all of them on a good
harp. I can sustain them in pitch, use them with vibrato, and make them
sound full and equal to other notes. If you judge obs on YouTube videos
from guys that are closet players, have never been in a band, and have 10
months of harmonica under their belt, then you have some good evidence.
However, start looking for albums with overblows. Listen to some top notch
pro players instead. Not guys who ob for the sake of obing, but really good
musicians who play harmonica!

Over decades it has become acceptable for "traditional" bends to be used
liberally with timbre different than blow and draw notes, intonation issues,
and overall tone different than draw and blow notes. Well played overbends
offer all the pros and cons of traditional bends!

"Custom" Harps

Here are a couple harps I've been working on...

I opened up the back covers sealed them with cloth tape.

 

Here I am waxing the draw reeds.  This helps a ton with overdraws which I am doing more and more of. The reeds have been embossed, arced, and gapped to my needs.  This is always tricky because the reeds will drift back to their original shape and gap from time to time.  So I tweak, play, wait a day, and resume.  Throughout the week I'll come back and tinker to get the best overall response and feel.

Here is the comb after I sealed it.  Note that I removed the plastic burrs that run through the channels.  The harps will be played a bit daily for the next week so I can work out any kinks.  The last thing I do is tune the harp to 443, but the reed work and wax can play with the tuning.  I guess I have to be patient!

Typically, I play Golden Melody harps.  However, they aren't made in the low keys.  With the GM's, I typically don't mess with the comb.  It isn't as easy to cut as on the Sp20's.  However, I have a Dremel tool I just bought.  I am now starting a GM in Ab that will be cut and taped.  My preference is for wood or composite combs, however.  I have three coming this week from Chris Michalek of Buddha harps.  They are worth every penny!  That being said, the Ab isn't on the list of comb priority, lol.  Those will go in a C, D, and Bb I finished this month.

Customizing Harmonicas

I've been on a huge tweaking kick...I play a lot of overblows and set my harps up as such.  Here is a list of what I do and in what order.

- tip scoop
- emboss
- Ruper Oysler's, "radical reed shaping"
- arcing
- gapping
- tuning
- opening up the backs (not on Golden Melodies, though)
- attaching labels

I tune to 443.  I don't really play hard, but the harps have more cut this way.  I can also use a deep blues vibrato and not get pitchy.  Most of what I learned has been from Chris Michalek and the Ruper Oysler video.

I have the Herring tool kit along with a lot of other tools I pick up here or there.  The most recent has been diamond tipped bits for a Dremel.  I use them to scoop and tune.

Splittin' at the Seams - Harp notes

Just thought I'd throw my album notes out there...rhythm harmonica means I played rhythm on a specific section...never the whole song.  We wrapped recording this week.  I'll posts parts of some of the rough mixes as I figure out how/where to host the audio.  The album will drop on February 23.  I'll be posting here more now that the holidays are over and I am back to the daily grind!

Funky Mama (two progressions, rhythm harmonica, head)
    - C harp (2nd position) Vibro Champ w/ BBE Two Timer delay
Living a Lie (one progression)
    - Ab harp (3rd position) Vibro Champ w/ BBE Two Timer delay
Leave Your Light On (one progression, rhythm harp)
    - Db harp (2nd position) Vibro Champ w/ BBE Two Timer delay
Time for Me to Go (intro, thre progressions)
    - A harp (2nd position) Vibro Champ w/ BBE Two Timer delay
Gotta Keep Moving (one progression, rhythm harmonica)
    - Bb harp (3rd position) Vibro Champ w/ BBE Two Timer delay
North Wind (intro, outro, rhythm harmonica)
       - A harp (2nd position) B harp (2nd position), E harp (3rd position), HarpGear DT
Eventually (outro, rhythm harmonica)
    - Ab harp (2nd position), HarpGear Double Trouble
Hungry Ghosts (B section and turnaround)
    - B harp (11th position and 2nd position), HarpGear Double Trouble w/ BBE Two Timer delay
Karma King (one progression)
    - A harp (4th position), Harp Gear Double Trouble w/ BBE Two Timer delay
Scooterbox (head, two progressions)
    - D harp (2nd position), acoustic
Splittin at the Seams (two progressions, one progression trading)
    - F harp (3rd position), Harp Gear Double Trouble, Micro POG, BBE Two Timer delay

On December 21, I had a studio session to complete the vocals and harmonica for a couple of songs on a forth coming NiteRail CD (assuming we finish writing it).  I chose to not be at the tracking session for these two cuts and hadn’t really had the chance to listen to them before going in. 

I do not have audio from the session yet.  I did take some pics and vids with my phone, but the quality of the audio was so bad I didn’t save it.  I will post the rough mixes on this blog after Christmas.

I used an Ultimate 57 plugged straight in to my HarpGear Double Trouble.  I chose to not use a delay pedal.  I wasn’t sure if I wanted a short or long delay (or combo) on one of the tracks, so I decided to add it in from the board.  Playing totally live in this particular room was really unforgiving.  No hiding any mistakes here!

I did mike both my speakers, which are not stock.  The condenser is on a Weber Sig Ceramic, and the 57 is on a Weber 8F125.  I felt the playback sounded pretty much identical to what I was hearing in the room at the time. 

For the two tunes, I was able to use quite a few harps.  On one track (“North Wind”), I used an A, B, and E…the other (“Eventually”) was an Ab harp.  The intro is in second position on an A harp.  Then I switch to a B harp to follow a key change during the guitar solo.  “North Wind” has some pretty crazy third position stuff towards the end on an E harp.  Originally I cut the solo to be very melodic and spacey.  The engineer suggested I try a few takes going all out.  In the end, I kept the all out track…it is fast, flashy, and intense, but it fits the tune really well. 

“Eventually” had me jamming over a short, funky vamp and playing back up harp (which is not something I do a lot of).  Typically, I’d play third position for funk, but this song was dying for some low harp.  In my head, I was totally hearing William Clarke, but the solo was so short (and only one chord) that I ended up with jazzier feel by phrasing around the 5th and 7th of the chord…almost like playing third position on the wrong harp!  I guess I ended up with a Carey Bell meets Pat Ramsey sort of thing going, ha!

I was out of state over Thanksgiving, but had a sweet new toy waiting for me when I got back!  I had sent my gig mic, an SM 57, to Greg Heumann at Blowsmeaway.com.  For $129 he turned it into one of his "Ultimate 57's".  The mic works exactly like a regular SM 57, but besides the difference in appearance, the mic is smaller, lighter, and now has a volume control.

I also have an original volume control from Greg.  Because of the nature of using a 57 and his original design for the volume control, the stand alone unit could never fully turn off the mic.  However, the Ultimate 57 allows me to turn the mic "off".  This took me about one song to get used to.  I play a lot of rhythm parts and had to adjust my use of the knob.  With the other unit, I was able to roll it all the way counter clockwise and have enough signal to comp.  Now, I have to remember to leave it on about 50% or so.

Tone wise, the two set ups sound identical, which sound just like a 57 without the volume control.  I love my new mic!  It looks great, works great, and the difference in size and weight is of great advantage to me.

If it broke and could not be repaired, I'd for sure buy another one from Greg.

This mic is perfect for going wireless - although the wireless strips some of the Double Trouble's punch - just check out the difference in my mic rigs!

The Ultimate with the wireless transmitter is still smaller than just the 57 with a regular volume control.

Here is my "Lightsaber" rig that I hardly used due to the huge size.  If the wireless didn't suck tone (I try and compensate by running the tone control full out, but there is still some spank missing) I'd use it full time.  With amps that have a three band eq and not a "high cut" type knob, you can get the wireless to sound just like a cable, IMO.  I might put a small pedal board together this holiday season and hope that one of the pedals gives me some of the presence back.  The Kinder AFB+ kinda does that.  I'd like to note that I used the mic at one gig wireless into the AFB then amp.  The next night, I went with a cable right into a delay and then into the amp (no feedback problems at all...amp on 7 and tone on 6).

I thought I'd have clips with the new mic and DT for you, but no luck.  I thought we were taping our December shows, but that hasn't been the case.  Hopefully this weekend!  I thought about taping at home, but it is a full band setting that counts!!!

Update

I've been out of state and swamped lately.  I did a gig with the DT this past weekend and it was amazing.  I also got to use my new Ultimate 57 from Blowsmeaway.com.  I was supposed to record yesterday, but a broken pipe at the engineers house bumped me to later in the week.  I will post a full blog with pics/vids from the studio as soon as we wrap there...so hopefully this weekend.