Do Cover Plates Make a Difference?
Hello Harp Techs,
I'm constantly surprised at how many customers and students are gobstruck after I play back the recordings I made of them playing the same riff on the same harmonica--with different coverplates.
- Coverplates with vents on the sides will sound louder, brighter and acoustic.
- Coverplates without vents on the sides will sound muted--or as Jazz musicians like to say, ..."brown tone"
While in Japan, Mr. Manji Suzuki gifted Andy Just their new Suzuki non-vented Olive model. After playing it for the first time, Andy described the voicing of this new harmonica as "warm" sounding. When Andy and I returned from Japan, I swapped the Olive non vented coverplates with the Manji vented coverplates (blind test). You should have seen the look on his disbeliving face, when I revealed to him that he was not playing a Manji, but rather--the same Olive harmonica with Manji mounted vented coverplates!
The same result can be achieved with the following Hohner diatonic harmonicas:
- Rocket (vented) and Special 20 (non-vented) cover plates
- MS Series: Big River MS (vented) and Pro Harp MS and/or Blues Harp MS (non-vented)
Can't decide on what type of voicing matches the type of music you enjoy playing? In general:
- For bullet mic, fat bottom type of blues, I would recommend non-vented coverplates. The audience forward type sound projection will help overdrive the cartridge of the mic (nice natural distortion). Non vented cover plates are especially helpful if you have smaller hands (like me), because you will not have to stress about covering all four vents with your wrap around hands (read: air tight seal)
- For acoustic, over-the-vocal-mic type of playing, I would go for vented coverplates. The vents will act as near field monitors--so you can hear the harmonica better, and the vocal mic will pick up more of the 3D nuances of the harmonica.
Whether you have been playing for 1 year, or 40 years--you will be surprised. Record yourself with the same harmonica, with and without vented cover plates ... acoustic or electric, I want to read about your personal experiences!
Your Harpsmith, Kinya
Hello Rishio, good to hear from you!
Q: Do the side vents make it harder to control Wah Wahs and just lessen hand control in general in acoustic settings?
A: Yes, that is correct. The more air-tight the seal, the greater the WAH WAH effect. The Seydel Classic is non-vented and the Noble is vented.
Tip: if you do not have tools on hand to perform surgery on your harmonicas, use Electrician's tape or Painter's Blue tape to seal shut the cover plate vents ;o)
Your Harpsmith, Kinya
Thanks Kinya. I decided to order the 1847 Classic with closed vents even though I only play acoustic. I suppose I like the hand control and don't want to struggle with open side vents.
Now go make some beautiful music!
Your Harpsmith, Kinya
If you do the "Pop the harp in your mouth" trick, no vents give you a lot more control. Rick Estrin uses Marine Bands with old Blues harp (pre-MS) covers for this part of his show.
If you cut a vent in the treble side of a non vented cover plates you can get a great bullet mic sound along with extra presence in the high end of the harp - can cup the harp over a bullet mic and then throw signal sideways into a vocal mic to create a composite sound that can be very effective in some situations...
I've also taped the left side of Marine Band Cover plates sometimes for this reason...
Thank you Richard. We always appreciate you dropping your golden nuggets our way. Thank you!
Kinya
Helpful post Kinya. One question though - I prefer to play acoustic without a mic (maybe when I get better, I'll play acoustic with a mic). Do the side vents make it harder to control Wah Wahs and just lessen hand control in general in acoustic settings? I have relatively small hands and will not be able to cover the side vents while playing acoustically and I assume having side vents mean you can't get a proper cup on a harp because the air leaks out the sides.
Appreciate your thoughts. Just debating between the 1847 Classic and Noble. FYI, I only plan to play in keys of G and A (possibly B flat and/or A flat in the future, but no higher than B flat and no lower than G)