[Harp-L] Suzuki Sub30 Ultrabend -- Review
Elizabeth Hess
Then I attended the seminar presented by Brendan Power and Filip Jers. Brendan and Filip played beautifully. I asked what I thought was the obvious question: "Are those out-of-the-box harps you're playing, or have you worked on them?" Both had been worked on.
My initial impression is that the "new" or "extra" notes -- blow bends on the lower six holes and draw bends on the upper four holes -- worked quite well, and the timbre sounded like regular bent notes, which they should, because they use added, "sympathetic" reeds, so the physics should be more or less the same. And the embouchure technique required is intuitive to anyone who can do regular bending well. What I didn't like about this harp, out of the box, was that all the regular notes had a "congested" sort of feeling when I tried to play them, and my litmus test, 10 blow bend, both whole- and half-step, barely played at all. Brendan did some work on my harp later, at the Suzuki booth -- a bit of gapping and some light embossing -- and 10 blow-bend on my Sub30 does work, now. But the general issue of regular notes not feeling "right" when I play them remains. (My working harps to date include Hohner Special-20s, Seydel 1847 Silvers, Seydel Blues Sessions, and 1 Lee Os!
kar.) That the chambers feel "crowded" on the Sub30 makes intuitive sense: There's an extra reed AND a valve in each one. Brendan suggested I have it customized, which seems kind of a shame, given what it cost initially. I am not a high-power tech, but I can do basic and advanced first aid. I took mine all the way apart and did some gapping work on the lower reeds. They are better, but still not as satisfying to play as on my regular harps. Rather a lot of work for smallish return.
The Sub30 rewards softer, gentler playing than this jam rat is used to. I do get more satisfying results playing it through a mic and amp -- and letting the gear do some of the heavy lifting -- than just playing it at my desk with Band-in-a-Box. So, some of my issues with this axe are strictly due to my personal playing style.
Getting all the chromatic notes on a diatonic harp fluently and well remains an elusive goal. Overblowing takes embouchure development and finicky tech work. I own a PT Gazell harp, and spent some time with PT at SPAH getting pointers on how to play it well. But no-one is going to achieve PT Gazell's tone in an afternoon (or two, or ten). Or Brendan Power's or Filip Jers (Sub30), or Carlos del Junco's or Pat Bergeson's or Todd Parrott's (overblows). It still takes work, no matter which path you choose.
I think the basic design principle of the Sub30 is brilliant. That one doesn't have to learn an alternate note layout (as with the Power Bender, which also requires either overblows or valves to get *all* the notes) is a big plus. As manufactured, I think that the Sub30 would be best for someone who plays more soft jazz than muscular blues, who is very comfortable working on gapping, and who hasn't already invested a large amount of time and effort in learning to overblow or play a valved harp well.
What we all want is "Everything Fred Astaire did, only backwards and in high heels," out of the box, and not too expensive. The Suzuki Sub30 Ultrabend, as currently manufactured, is a decent step in that direction.
Elizabeth
mi...@chaserkeywest.com
Mike Wilbur
On Sep 2, 2012, at 10:09 PM, Elizabeth Hess <Track...@aaactive.com> wrote:
> I bought a Suzuki Sub30 Ultrabend harp at SPAH. I might have preferred one in A, but there was only one A to be had, and someone else beat me to it. So, mine is a C. Danny G. was selling them; his SPAH price was $185.00.
>
> Then I attended the seminar presented by Brendan Power and Filip Jers. Brendan and Filip played beautifully. I asked what I thought was the obvious question: "Are those out-of-the-box harps you're playing, or have you worked on them?" Both had been worked on.
>
Elizabeth Hess
Please respond off-list only, and please read my review, first. This harp has had gentle gapping work (by me) and very light embossing on hole 10 by Brendan Power. It plays better than it did out-of-the-box, but has not been truly customized. I have cleaned all the parts with alcohol and reassembled it.
Elizabeth
Dennis Michael Montgomery
----- Forwarded Message -----
From: Elizabeth Hess <Track...@aaactive.com>
To: Dennis Michael Montgomery <gau...@yahoo.com>
Sent: Thursday, September 6, 2012 7:34 PM
Subject: Re: [Harp-L] Suzuki Sub30 Ultrabend -- Review
Dear Dennis,
If you are in a big hurry to get the "extra/chromatic" notes from a diatonic harmonica AND are willing to pay someone to customize a Suzuki SUB30 on top of the original purchase price, I think the SUB30 could be a good choice for you.
The problem I have with the SUB30 is that out-of-the-box, the regular notes (those you can get on any standard Richter-tuned harmonica) are rather balky. This can be improved, and I would recommend either Greg Jones (gr...@1623customharmonicas.com) or Richard Sleigh (rrsl...@gmail.com) for the work.
The advantages of the SUB30 are that the bends are intuitive and not difficult to get if you can do regular bends, the timbre of the "extra" notes is more like the "regular" bent notes on a Richter-tuned harp than on a valved harp, and the note layout is the same as on the harps you already own.
If you don't play pieces with a lot of chromaticism, I would suggest you try a tuning called the "Melody Maker" by Lee Oskar.
I believe Charlie McCoy uses country-tuned harps at least some of the time, but cannot make this statement with any actual authority.
Brendan Power currently plays a SUB30 with PowerBender tuning. Any harp with PowerBender tuning would be worth your checking out. The bends are easy, and only a few of the chromatic notes -- one in the bottom octave and three in the top octave -- are absent without either valving or overblowing. The middle octave has all the chromatic notes. The note layout of PowerBender tuning differs from Richter tuning in the upper two octaves, but then, the note layouts across the three octaves of a Richter-tuned harp differ from one another, so what's another couple, eh? I believe that the adjustment would not be too difficult if one were to make the commitment to stick with it long enough to "get over the hump" initially.
Todd Parrott and Adam Gussow are known as overblow players. If you want their sound in particular, you might have to make the investment in overblow harps and in learning that technique. If you just aspire to emulate their note choices and patterns, then any of the alternatives to overblowing should be fine for you.
I am not familiar with the Suzuki Promaster Valved harp, but if it gives you all the notes you want, then why not stick with a good thing? If the Promaster doesn't give you all the notes, but you like a valved harp, consider trying a PT Gazell valved harp from Seydel. This gives all the chromatic notes, but with single-reed valved bends which feel -- and sound -- different from the double-reed bends that the SUB30 provides. You can get Gazell valved harps in either the Session Steel model or the 1847 Silver. The Session Steel is less expensive, and feels more like a regular harp in terms of the ergonomics. I prefer the 1847, myself, but it's an appreciably fatter "sandwich" that takes some getting used to.
Alas, as is so often the case, there is no definitive answer. I hope this helps at least a little. Feel free to forward this (in whole or in part) to Harp-L so that others might chime in.
Best wishes,
Elizabeth
On Sep 6, 2012, at 7:47 PM, Dennis Michael Montgomery wrote:
> Ms. Hess,
>
> I've read your review of the Suzuki Ultrabend harp with some interest and have a question.
> Perhaps you can better answer my questions with some information about me.
> First off, I am not a big jazz fan. To me jazz is too cold with too much intellectual improvisation. I do like Benny Goodman and even Lawrence Welk.
> Second, I like bluegrass, blues (mainly, Chicago and country blues), rock-in-roll (50s, 60s, and early 70s), country-western (Jimmie Rodgers, Hank Williams Sr., Marty Robbins, Slim Whitman, and Johnny Cash), classical music, and flamenco (I also love the guitar).
> Third, my favorite harmonica players are Charlie McCoy, Little Walter, Slim Harpo, Jazz Gilliam, Charles Musclewhite, Sam Meyers, Brendan Powers, Todd Parrot, and Adam Gussow.
> Four, my favorite Harmonicas are the Suzuki Promaster Valved and the Suzuki Bluesmasters. I am developing a fondness the Hohner Crossover and have a liking for the Special 20 and the Bushman Delta Frost. I have a few Seydels and Lee Oskars and they are okay, but they don't turn me on.
> Incidentally, just because I like all this music and these musicians doesn't mean I can play it. It is what I aspire to.
> Now, knowing all this about me would you recommend the Suzuki Ultrabend Sub30 for me?
>
>
> Dennis
Mike Fugazzi
pre-SPAH and then do some work on it with Brendan. The versions he had -
which were an early prototype and a Promaster(?) were exceptional Richter
harmonicas. They played amazingly well. The SUB30 is much breathier and
was more prone to noise out of the box. While at SPAH, I was able to
emboss the the slots and then go through the profiles with Brendan. It
plays better, but would need a substantial amount of work to reach the same
playability of his harps.
It can be done, but you might reach a point of diminishing returns at some
point...like customizing a B-Rad. If you are paying $185 for the harp and
then having to take the time to tweak it (or get it customized), is it
worth it? As a straight Richter harp, it doesn't play as well as harps at
a lower price point. Compared to a similarly priced custom overbend harp
(which gives you more asthetic options, tuning options, and model options),
you'll have a better Richter harp and the ability to hit the same "extra"
notes if you learn the technique (which isn't that hard if you are
proficient bender and have a good harp to use).
I love the idea of this harmonica and thing there is definitely a niche for
it. I think the quality of the harps Brendan had is fantastic. The
question them becomes - do you spend the same amount of time and money on a
SUB30 or an overbend harmonica? You could also go the valve route. My
initial reaction was this could be a valve-killer, but I don't think this
will be the case, and it is amazing to have so many options. Of all the
"new" harp designs, this one is probably the one I wish had existed when I
first started playing (it is less work for me to overbend at this point).
On Friday, September 7, 2012 1:40:29 AM UTC-5, Dennis Michael Montgomery
wrote:
>
> ----- Forwarded Message -----
> From: Elizabeth Hess <Track...@aaactive.com <javascript:>>
> To: Dennis Michael Montgomery <gau...@yahoo.com <javascript:>>
> Sent: Thursday, September 6, 2012 7:34 PM
> Subject: Re: [Harp-L] Suzuki Sub30 Ultrabend -- Review
>
> Dear Dennis,
>
> If you are in a big hurry to get the "extra/chromatic" notes from a
> diatonic harmonica AND are willing to pay someone to customize a Suzuki
> SUB30 on top of the original purchase price, I think the SUB30 could be a
> good choice for you.
>
> The problem I have with the SUB30 is that out-of-the-box, the regular
> notes (those you can get on any standard Richter-tuned harmonica) are
> rather balky. This can be improved, and I would recommend either Greg
> rrsl...@gmail.com <javascript:>) for the work.
Mike Fugazzi
Mike Fugazzi
apperance to the SUB30. The Steel has not been tweaked at all, but if
reminded me of the stock SUB30 in A. I compared the two directly, and felt
the SUB30 played much better as a Richter harp after full customizing. I
don't have a stock SUB30 to compare to, but I'd say the SUB30 can be
compared in playability to a Session Steel moreso than the Hohner's I've
compared against.
IMO, the SUB can be played as a blues harp. Meaning, you don't have to
play jazzy to utilize it. It works fantastic for blues too. I am a rock
player more than anything, but I also play blues with a strong attack and
tongue blocking, etc. It has responded well to that type of playing. I
felt valved harps and a lot of overbend harps had to be played with a
different attack to really play well...my style tends to be more in the
middle. I probably play too hard compared to a lot of jazz diatonic (ok, I
know I for sure do) guys, but I don't blow through reeds like some blues
players.
Again, IMO, if you take the time to at least gap the SUB30 to your attack,
it will work out just fine. If you can do some embossing on all the reeds,
it will play even better. If you want it to be even more responsive and
have a brassier tone, then you work towards that too. That is a lot more
work, but to each his (or her) own.
Mike
On Sunday, September 2, 2012 9:09:48 PM UTC-5, Elizabeth Hess wrote:
>
Mike Fugazzi
http://flic.kr/p/ddDYyG
After a month with this harp, I think it is a fantastic blues harp for
blues players if you set your gaps. I have an aggressive and hard attack
for an overbend player. While I hardly flatten or break reeds, I know I
play harder and louder than guys like Filip Jers, as we've A/B'ed. I guess
I play more like Brendan. I play rock and blues and find I can wail away
on the SUB30 with no issues.
I will never have to worry about choking reeds on this harp, and I know I
can avoid any unwanted noise.
The key is, you have to set your gaps! The valves work great, although I
am going to try some other ones as time permits, but simply gapping and
using open cover plates is a huge step forward. It definitely responds
well to embossing. The reed profiles themselves were really solid with
just the offsets really needing to be changed. I have two more coming this
week and will see how they turn out without such extensive modifications -
I really did go all out on the first one.
I am going to try and avoid taping down reeds on C and D. I am very
content with the results from doing such on the A, though.