Author Topic: Bass Harmonica players: Sound Off! (Read 22149 times)

BeauKim · « **Reply #60 on:** October 25, 2020, 05:50:12 PM »

I use the extended double basses, so that means it goes to a C above the usual E on the Hohner and Suzuki basses. There's definitely a lot of potential up there with playing harmony lines, then jumping back down to the lower octaves to provide bass.

Has anyone here been using their bass harmonicas more?

SlideMeister · « **Reply #61 on:** October 26, 2020, 11:57:45 PM »

Yeah, I think you can call it an "easy walking base) unlike my old Hohner "nose pincher"

BeauKim · « **Reply #62 on:** October 29, 2020, 02:00:27 AM »

Quote from: Age on October 26, 2020, 11:57:45 PM

Yeah, I think you can call it an "easy walking base) unlike my old Hohner "nose pincher"

Oh right now my extended Easttop basses are still in the, "nose pincher," form.

Tymbrewolf · « **Reply #63 on:** January 08, 2021, 07:34:19 PM »

I have had full size double basses in my home that have cost less than some of these bass harmonicas. This would be another neat bass cleft avenue. own several bass guitars now, and played tuba into college. Started string bass in orchestra in 1974.

SlideMeister · « **Reply #64 on:** January 08, 2021, 07:40:21 PM »

Yeah, I have one too but I'm strangely enamored by that new Suzuki Chromatic bass.

Gnarly He Man · « **Reply #65 on:** January 08, 2021, 11:44:10 PM »

Quote from: Age on January 08, 2021, 07:40:21 PM

Yeah, I have one too but I'm strangely enamored by that new Suzuki Chromatic bass.

Apples and oranges.
The S-48B is great for what it is, but it’s a little like the SSCH-56–more of a unique instrument than a replacement for a bass (or chord).
That slider bass of Brendan’s is intriguing tho . . .

SlideMeister · « **Reply #66 on:** January 09, 2021, 12:32:36 PM »

Yeah, my Hohner bass sounds better but I like the Suzuki slider bass mostly cuz its easier and I'm lazier than I used to be. There! I said it!

Gnarly He Man · « **Reply #67 on:** January 09, 2021, 06:00:56 PM »

Doesn’t the bass go down to E1? And the S-48B only (!) goes to C2.

SlideMeister · « **Reply #68 on:** January 09, 2021, 09:52:21 PM »

Don't know. I only played the Suzy for ten seconds or so.

Danny G · « **Reply #69 on:** January 09, 2021, 10:32:04 PM »

Gary's right Age, it's one octave lower than a 6164 C

SlideMeister · « **Reply #70 on:** January 10, 2021, 12:43:34 AM »

So it doesn't go all the way down to that same E like my Hohner, eh?

SlideMeister · « **Reply #71 on:** January 10, 2021, 12:48:06 AM »

No biggie! I seldom get down there anyway, except to show folks how low it goes. I'm just too old and lazy to wanna learn to smoothly jump between the lower and upper decks. (Rather just do blow-draw-button-in, button-out)

John Broecker · « **Reply #72 on:** January 10, 2021, 09:04:31 AM »

Yes, The Hohner octave bass harps' range
starts at the E1 piano pitch, but it is written
as E2, and is heard by most players as E2.

The idea of octave tuning is to provide more
resonance and volume on harmonicas and
other musical instruments.

On the octave bass harps, the lower pitch of
a vertical pair activates and supports the
sound of the upper reed. And, it activates
pitches of the harmonic series.

On my Power-Hohner slider octave bass harp,
the mouthplate assembly seems to reflect a
weaker, thinner harp tone than on my Hohner
extended bass that has no Power mouthplate/
slider assembly.

But, if the volume loss between the 2 types
of reed plates is real, the balance is favored to
the easy play of the Power-Hohner slider bass,
compared to the double-deck standard bass harp.

It's an opinion that the Power mouthplate, thicker
than the standard Hohner flat mouthplate, may
produce a less favorable effect on the volume
of the Power-Hohner slider bass.

This is only an opinion, and harmonica experts
might disagree with that statement.

Best Regards, Stay Healthy

John "Shake & Bake" Broecker

Thievin Heathen · « **Reply #73 on:** January 10, 2021, 01:24:06 PM »

I have a Hohner 265 and a Tombo Contra Bass. I play them occasionally.

SlideMeister · « **Reply #74 on:** January 19, 2021, 10:51:54 AM »

The Bass harmonica is a "Low Blow"

wolfman · « **Reply #75 on:** January 19, 2021, 05:28:44 PM »

How low can you go.

$:-\$

Roman

SlideMeister · « **Reply #76 on:** January 19, 2021, 08:52:28 PM »

My old Hohner just goes down to E!

10hole · « **Reply #77 on:** February 05, 2021, 12:47:56 PM »

Ciao!

How long you have been playing the bass?
Bass Harmonica a couple of years, electric bass and upright 35 years

What is your reason for starting to play it?
Because I'm a bass player

What brand/s do you play?
Honer 264 and Tombo Pocket Bass

Favorite song/solo to play on it?
Blues and Jazz. I find hard to play melodies on the bass harmonica, but I'm still trying

Any special techniques you would like to share?
Pocket Bass in one hand, and a maracas in the other

Anything else?
I used to jam with other two people to make a blues trio, and it worked good, then came the Covid...

John Broecker · « **Reply #78 on:** February 05, 2021, 07:03:05 PM »

Thanks for your post, 10hole.

I've never thought of playing
a compact bass in one hand,
and a pair of maracas in the
other hand.

I'll need to practice that; but
I suspect that a compact bass
in one hand, and a tubo shaker
in the other hand, might be easier
to co-ordinate.

Best Regards, Stay Healthy

John Broecker

10hole · « **Reply #79 on:** February 06, 2021, 11:18:01 AM »

Thank you for the feedback John
I wrote maraca, but actually it was an egg shaker. Now I'm trying to make a groove on tambourine. With Pocket Bass is obviously easier than with the 264, I imagine with the Hohner 58! Tho something rhytmic can be done...

BeauKim · « **Reply #80 on:** February 07, 2021, 02:58:22 AM »

Hi 10Hole! Thanks for the info. Using a mini bass and shakers definitely sounds easier to do than a fully chromatic bass.
I also have a Hohner 264 bass, and it is a sweet instrument. I don’t have any mini basses but the rest are the extended double basses like the Hohner268/78. These extended double (octave tuned) basses are pretty bulky and get heavy, but the extended high notes are pretty nice for certain ensemble arrangements and complicated bass lines.
I just finished repairing a 264 for someone who also has been a professional bassist for probably 40 years. What a coincidence!

10hole · « **Reply #81 on:** February 09, 2021, 07:35:23 AM »

Hi BeauKim!
perhaps string bass players are looking for a smaller instrument to carry around :-)
Get a pocket bass, is funny and easy, until you play roots and few more notes on simple tunes, or blues.
And you have one hand free :-)
Once I've fixed it on a music stand, and played it along with my tenor guitar, but...
Ok, it requires practice

John Broecker · « **Reply #82 on:** February 19, 2021, 09:55:21 AM »

My Tombo PB-1 Pocket Bass is fun to play,
but I'd prefer it to be set up melodically,
rather than as a chordal pattern accompaniment:

TOMBO POCKET BASS (Exhale only)

top row: F C G D A
bottom: D A E B F#

Using a wide open mouth embouchure,
"power chords" are playable as F-C; C-G, etc.,
and D-A; A-E: etc. Power chords are chords
without the (3rd), such as C (E) G, etc. They
are popular in rock music and other styles.

But to play bass melodies, it's more difficult
on the Pocket Bass.

I'd prefer a melodic reed placement, such as:

POCKET BASS MELODIC (not made today)

top row: F A C E G
bottom: G B D F# A

With this reed placement, double stops in
horizontal 3rds, and wider triad chords are
available, if you can stretch your embouchure:

F, Am, C chords top row;
G, B phyrgian, D, bottom row.

Playing bass patterns in 5ths would only be as
difficult as playing bass patterns on a standard
10-hole diatonic.

F-C; G-D, etc.

Best Regards, Stay Healthy
JB

10hole · « **Reply #83 on:** February 19, 2021, 03:15:27 PM »

Good idea!
I was thinking about to rise one of the "A" to Bb, and a "D" to Eb, to have more keys to play I-V basses
(and the jazz tunes that I like have more flats than sharps)

John Broecker · « **Reply #84 on:** February 19, 2021, 05:27:54 PM »

Hello, 10hole.

Your suggestions would be very useful
for jazz players.

My suggested re-set of Tombo's reed
placements might require no individual
reed re-tunings.

And, it would result in a melodic system
of scales, useful in many music styles.

A few duplicates (A and G) might exceed
a melodic octave range. There might be
other reed pitches that are not in a step-
by-step melodic range.

I haven't looked into that yet.

Best Regards, Stay Healthy

John Broecker
Sussex, Wisconsin, USA

Jeromechosson · « **Reply #85 on:** March 28, 2021, 08:14:26 AM »

High guys. Inhave been experimenting with the sirius b48 and the zoom a1 pedal. Boost the bass a bit. Do minus one octave and put auto wah. You ll get a decent bass sound with a lot of possible dexterity. Check out some of my acapella videos at cjeromesg. Just for fun. A lot of harmonica ensemble. The big bass sounds better accoustically and has this vibration of unvalved reed but it is too hard to master beyond a simple 1 5 on bit 1 and 3 for me. More is a loopt of work

BigDogDaddyD · « **Reply #86 on:** May 15, 2021, 11:04:12 AM »

Hello again. I have a pre-war Hohner 264 single-reed double bass that I have owned and been playing (attempting to play) for almost 2 years now. It is a lot of fun. I just purchased a pre-war Hohner 265 and am eagerly awaiting it's arrival.

While trolling through Ebay, I found an auction for a few (3) new Huang Double Bass harps for $160.00 each (roughly $187 including US shipping and tax). I personally did not know that Huang made a double bass harp. If anyone is interested, this appears to be a way to get a bass harp for a good price.

The seller is 'rayshouseofmusic' from New Hyde Park, New York. He has over 2000 sales with 100% buyer satisfaction. He states he purchased the entire Huang harp inventory years back when the company went out of business (20,000+ harps). Several months ago, I purchased a new Huang quad tremolo paddle wheel and a new Huang Compact Chord 48 from him. Very satisfied with his service.

If you're interested, here's the auction site: https://www.ebay.com/itm/274797919324?hash=item3ffb3b7c5c:g:oGwAAOSwy2Ngnumv

John Broecker · « **Reply #87 on:** May 16, 2021, 08:39:01 AM »

I have a Victory Octave Bass (see my avatar),
made in the same factory as the Huang Octave
Bass. The factory is the Shanghai General
Harmonica Plant.

Both of these models, Huang and Victory,
are identical, except for the covers.

The Huang model was ordered from a USA
distributor many years ago, but the Huang
model was out of stock, so the Victory bass
was sent to me, with a lower price than the
Huang harp.

The Huang bass is more expensive than the
Victory bass. The Huang bass was adjusted
and upgraded at the Huang company in
upstate New York.

You'll notice "horns" in the avatar. They are
fakes. They were originally Christmas tree
ornaments, fastened on the bass with velcro.

I just wanted a conversation piece.

While playing the Victory bass with horns, a
guy came to me. He said that he thought the
bass was a new kind of camera.

Best Regards, Stay Healthy

JB

BeauKim · « **Reply #88 on:** May 16, 2021, 01:17:43 PM »

John, how’s it compare to your Hohner basses in tone and playability? I’m trying to see if this is worth the investment.

John Broecker · « **Reply #89 on:** May 16, 2021, 09:36:45 PM »

Hello, Beau Kim.

The Hohner octave basses are superior, compared to the Chinese-made octave basses, but
the Chinese-made basses are considerably lower in price than the German-made Hohners.

MATERIALS, SPECIFICATIONS:

HOHNER #265 (1950s vintage); VICTORY (pre 2011 vintage):

Hohner introduced the octave bass, 2-deck harmonica circa 1928-'30. All other mass-
produced 2-deck octave basses are copies of the Hohner models.

HOHNER-made circa 1950s VICTORY & HUANG-made before 2011
#265 Chromaticas. HUANG #123 Octave Bass

Covers: nickel-plated brass Chrome-plated brass (?).
Mouthpieces: chrome(?)-plated plastic Ivory-colored white plastic.
Reed plates: brass, nailed to the combs brass, screws to the comb.
Reeds: brass brass.
Valves? -no no valves.
Combs-pearwood brittle white plastic combs,
painted black on sides.
Hinges: nickel-plated brass. polished steel hinges,
screws to the combs screwed to the combs.
Case: 9-5/8 X 4-1/4 X 3-1/2 inches 9-5/8 X 4-1/4 X 3-1/4 inches
wood box-black cloth-covered wood box, black cloth-covered;
2 brass latches front; two hinges back 2 polished steel latches front, 2 steel hinges back
Case-carrying handle: none 2 strong, D-ring steel latches w/ flimsy leather handle

PLAYABILITY (EASE OF PLAY):
Hohner: easy play for intermediate to advanced players. New players will find jumping from one
harmonica deck to the other difficult, on either brand of octave basses, 2-deck harmonicas.

WORKMANSHIP, TUNING, TONE

Hohner: Excellent, High quality Victory: Poor, especially on the combs and reeds, tone good

WEIGHT-on a bathroom scale,
harmonica only:
Hohner: 3 lbs. Victory: 2.5 lbs.

PRICE-
Hohner (bought used); $300 Victory (bought new, discounted) $130.

Best Regards, Stay Healthy

JB

Author Topic: Bass Harmonica players: Sound Off! (Read 22149 times)

Tymbrewolf