baby fat

In early 2010, I was inspired to create a harmonica that would better suit my small hands when paired with a bullet mic, with the goal of improving my electric sound (which it did!). I took inspiration from Paul Butterfield’s harmonica style and asked myself, “if Paul never played past hole six, why should I?” My initial prototype (pictured here) was built on the classic Hohner Special 20 platform. I shortened the ABS comb, cover plates, and reed plates by removing #8, #9, and #10, resulting in 2 full octaves. Later models were crafted using Marine Band 1896 reed plates and custom Corian combs by Randy Sandoval.

During a 2012 visit to the Suzuki factory in Hamamatsu, Japan, Andy Just and I had the opportunity to meet with Manji Suzuki. Mr. Suzuki showed interest in my set of HARPSMITH Mag 7 prototype harmonicas (Magnificent 7), which I had brought for that evening's performance, and even played a few of them.

At SPAH in 2019, I discovered that John Hall of Bushman was selling the “new” BabyFat, a seven-hole diatonic harmonica produced in China by KongSheng, one of Suzuki’s contractors.

As Pete observed, the BabyFat harmonica, when properly set up, can be a powerful instrument for producing rich tones.

Your HARPSMITH, Kinya

Hey Rob, super cool reference to the Oscar Mayer Wiener Whistle!

The Seydel Big Six harmonica was the brain child of Dr. Bertram Becher. When I asked him why he did not include hole #7, his response was, "Paul Butterfield did not play past hole #6". To that, my reply was, "HEY--that's my line"! After a chuckle of recognition, I mentioned that with just one more hole you would have built a harmonica with two complete octaves. Sheepishly, Bertram responded with, "It didn't occur to me at the time".

The extra hole aside, there are two factors that differentiates the Big Six from the BabyFat. 

Big Six

1. the Big Six harmonica have Seydel's Stainless Steel reeds. Stainless steel is an extremely tough material (e.g. SpaceX Falcon rockets are clad with SS), making the reeds stiffer than phosphor bronze, translating to a stiffer playing harmonica.
2. With it's comfortable and easy to clean stainless steel "non-vented" cover plates, arguably this material is the gold standard for most modern harmonica cover plates.

BabyFat

1. the BabyFat harmonica have KongSheng's Phosphor Bronze reeds (near identical to Kong's friend, Suzuki). These reeds are also similar to the flexible reeds manufactured by Hohner. This translates to a harmonica with rich tones and ease of play.
2. although the colorful selection of the "non-vented" cover plates makes Key Identification a breeze, for some Players the aluminum material can be uncomfortable--a sort of touching your tongue to a 9 volt battery sensation. This is caused by the phenomennon of combining dissimilar metals together. 

Both harmonicas are extremely affordable, so if you are curious--especially for you bullet mic players--my recommendation is to purchase a harmonica key that represents your serious tone work. Next play a lick or entire song that you can compare your usual harmonica to either the Big Six or BabyFat. Either way, you will feel and hear the difference in TONE.

Your HARPSMITH, Kinya