Brendan Power & Alternative Harmonicas Forum

Hi Friends,

Today I released a second version of my Overblow-Booster Mk2, designed to fit the popular Hohner Special 20 model. Here's the demo video:

https://youtu.be/IvkUCDJAQ5c

The latest version has a few tweaks and improvements. More info, photos and ordering are here:

https://brendan-power.com/OverblowBooster.php

As time goes on I plan to adapt the design for other brands and harp models: Suzuki, Seydel, Dabell, Kongsheng, Easttop....

This seems to me quite more stable in construction and more safe and effective in use than the first version with the plastic parts for sealing and the lever to push. It seems to me to be a very fine and sophistic mechanical work that self-evidently has its price.

It is just that I have discovered that I do not really need overblows in my playing.
But just to try one would be nice, if you still have one over in March. Maybe I could begin to like to play overblows and incorporate this techniquie to my playing.


dear greetings
triona

Thanks Triona.

Like you I don't use overblows myself - mostly because I play half-valved harps, on which they are impossible anyway. Plus TBH I have always preferred the sound and flexibility of normal reed bending, in combination with altered tunings, for getting missing chromatic notes.

That being said, when one can completely isolate the relevant reed (as my Overblow-Booster and the Suzuki Overdrive enable one to do), suddenly the overbends are hugely improved over how they sound in a stick harmonica! The volume and purity of tone are far better, and they can be controlled much more easily in terms of pitch alteration and vibrato.

And they're much easier to obtain, on stock reedplates without precision reed gapping and embossing etc.

I hope my Overblow-Booster will help amateur players get easier overbends, and enable expert overblowers to enhance their playing by adding new effects without interfering with their regular style.

LA harmonica session guru Ross Garren playing the new Overblow-Booster Mk2 in tongue-block style:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H6emvJEI00Q