dannyjmusic
Is it worth upgrading from Cakewalk version TH3 to the full version?

rwheeler
",,,A harmonica. This lets you pitch bend the reeds down when sucking to give that mighty blues tone, and they’ll end up in the right places for the key of E. Here’s a chart."

tlw
One thing I find with blues harp is that guitar amps are often much too bright and have too much gain. Rolling the treble and some mid off can go a long way to getting a sound that doesn't scream. Interesting that your eq curves boost the top end a bit, I usually find things go the other way though maybe that's because I use a real amp. A tightly cupped mic can really overdrive an amp and lose all dynamics as a result.

Anderton
Week 138: WTF Craig...Harmonicas?
 
Back in the 60s, harmonicas were a big part of pop music. The Beatles, Rolling Stones, other English invasion bands, Led Zeppelin—as well as folkies like Bob Dylan—had harmonicas in their music.
 
But I liked the “blues harp” players. My band was often on the same bill as a lot of the blues guys like Buddy Guy, Junior Wells, Muddy Waters, and others, so I got to hear blues harp at its best. Here’s a good example of “pure” blues harmonica, Sonny Boy Williamson doing “Keep It to Yourself”:
 

 
The Paul Butterfield Blues Band amped up the blues harp into a rock and roll instrument with its own amazing voice. Here’s a good example, Paul Butterfield doing “Born in Chicago” (with Mike Bloomfield and Elvin Bishop on guitars).
 

 
I thought it was a great, low-down dirty, sensuous sound that made the pop music harmonica sound like water compared to Jack Daniels. I wanted to incorporate that sound into my music, but try as I might, I couldn’t. How did they do it?
 
Then I found the three keys to playing blues harp, and may I suggest if you don’t play blues harp, it’s a lot of fun. Besides it’s inexpensive, portable, and can add entirely different textures to your music—and as we’ll see, once you get SONAR involved you can really take off.
 
But first—if you don’t know about cross-harp playing, that knowledge is mandatory.
 
“CROSS-HARP” EXPLAINED
 
Harmonicas come in different keys, but if you want to sound like Junior Wells instead of Bob Dylan, choose the harmonica key that’s a fourth above the song key. For example if you’re playing guitar in the key of E, you want an A harmonica. This lets you pitch bend the reeds down when sucking to give that mighty blues tone, and they’ll end up in the right places for the key of E. Here’s a chart, and also, a PDF from Lee Oskar that goes into details about both major and minor harmonica tunings.
 
Next, remember that harmonicas require that you both blow and suck. Sucking is what pulls the notes down and gives that swampy, bluesy vibe. The more you play, the more flexible the reeds become so it’s easier to bend the notes (some players soak their harmonicas in beer because they claim it makes the reeds more flexible, but I think it’s just an excuse to drink the beer afterward).
 
Next you have to learn to breathe. There are a billion how to play harmonica videos on the web, but this one explains it all without a single word. Once you get past the shock of the first few seconds, pay attention…watch and learn. She nails it.
 
Beck Wenger “How to Play Harmonica (The Blues)”

 
ENTER THE SONAR
 
Okay…now you’re playing in the right key, bending notes, and starting to think that maybe this isn’t such a crazy idea for a tip after all. Time to boot up SONAR.
 
Start with a dynamic mic. I have a Shure SM58 with a foam wind screen, and hold the mic right up to the harmonica so my hands hold both the harmonica and the mic. The idea isn’t just to close-mic, but to smother the mic with the harmonica—my harmonica actually pushes into the foam wind screen.
 
And now, the secret ingredient: SONAR’s CA-X “Classic” amp, combined with some ProChannel EQ (Artist users can substitute appropriate settings from the Sonitus EQ). The Classic isn’t just the amp of choice because it has the right amount of overdrive and funk, but because of the spring reverb. A little spring helps give that vintage blues harp sound.
 
I’ve posted two audio examples on www.craiganderton.com (click on the Demos tab) with short, harmonica-specific excerpts from two songs I’ve done with blues harp. Following are their amp and EQ settings, so if you like the sound, just use these settings and you should be good to go. In both cases, the ProChannel is post-FX Rack.
 

 
“I’ll Take You Higher” is from my upcoming project “Simplicity.” This has some drive to give more of the Paul Butterfield harmonica sound. The ProChannel drops the mids a bit except for a slight boost so the sound cuts more.
 

 
“Our Independence Day” is also from “Simplicity” and showcases blues harmonica in more of a rock context; the main difference is piling on the amount of drive. This gives a kinda nasty midrange, so the ProChannel cuts the mids and highs. The Sonitus is the last effect in the FX Rack. It tames a little residual harshness in the context of a mix.
 
I know this is a bit of a departure from the usual tips, but the one on mastering workflow went over well so what the heck…let’s try something different. Besides, whenever I play anything with a harmonica for people, the reaction is always something along the lines of “Hey, it’s a harmonica! Cool!” So now you have the power to blow and suck…use it only for good.