June 12, 2024

Andre Godoy Coelho (and Brendan Power) interview

Andre Godoy Coelho (and Brendan Power) join me on episode 113. Andre is a Brazilian who relocated to Portugal in 2018, performing and recording two albums with the Rio Grande band in Sao Paulo, before recording a recent album in a duo in Portugal. Andre quickly became interested in harmonica customisation when his first harmonica didn’t quite perform as he wanted. This has turned into a full time business for Andre, who has now teamed up with Brendan Power on his x-reed harmonica range....

Andre Godoy Coelho (and Brendan Power) join me on episode 113.

Andre is a Brazilian who relocated to Portugal in 2018, performing and recording two albums with the Rio Grande band in Sao Paulo, before recording a recent album in a duo in Portugal.

Andre quickly became interested in harmonica customisation when his first harmonica didn’t quite perform as he wanted. This has turned into a full time business for Andre, who has now teamed up with Brendan Power on his x-reed harmonica range. The partnership has just released the Morbendz, a diatonic with a slide which increases the number of available bends from 8 to 14, providing the missing notes from a standard diatonic, while playing just the same.

Links:
Website:
https://linktr.ee/agcoelho

Facebook page:
https://www.facebook.com/andre.coelho.1694059/

Order the Morbendz and other x-reed harmonicas:
https://x-reed.com/products.php

Harmonetta information:
https://americanhistory.si.edu/collections/nmah_1306551

Videos:
Andre's YouTube channel:
https://www.youtube.com/@agc_custom_harps

Little Lady Hip Hop track:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fx05yBNybXw

Lapa & Godoy duo:
https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLB0l7d8Zq0HLoVfSIdapXoOEvKox4JCjn&si=dOzFb8z6lC7MmGfk

Andre and Brendan playing together:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1KPaUDT9RbM

Brendan introduction video to Morbendz diatonic:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-z3WLTRymYU

Andre playing on the Morbendz:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qwYRXqgwTv8

Podcast website:
https://www.harmonicahappyhour.com

Donations:
If you want to make a voluntary donation to help support the running costs of the podcast then please use this link (or visit the podcast website link above):
https://paypal.me/harmonicahappyhour?locale.x=en_GB

Spotify Playlist:
Also check out the Spotify Playlist, which contains most of the songs discussed in the podcast:
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/5QC6RF2VTfs4iPuasJBqwT?si=M-j3IkiISeefhR7ybm9qIQ

Podcast sponsors:
This podcast is sponsored by SEYDEL harmonicas - visit the oldest harmonica factory in the world at www.seydel1847.com or on Facebook or Instagram at SEYDEL HARMONICAS
--------------------------------
Blue Moon Harmonicas: https://bluemoonharmonicas.com

Support the show

01:32 - Andre is originally from Brazil, now living in Portugal

02:43 - The Brazilian harmonica scene and blues becoming very popular there in the 1990s

03:51 - Andre lived just outside Sao Paulo

04:04 - Started playing harmonica in 1996 and tried some traditional Brazilian music styles on chromatic before settling on the blues diatonic, inspired by Brazilian band Blues Etílicos

05:19 - Started playing chromatic after did some customisation work on them, so he could make them better for his customers

05:53 - First band played pop rock and used some effects on harmonica

06:21 - Bob Dylan was the first harmonica Andre heard

07:03 - First harmonica was a Special 20 MS model, which needed some work to play better, sparking Andre’s interest in customisation

08:37 - Diatonic harmonicas were not that readily available in Brazil at that time, with tremolo and octave harmonicas more popular in shops there

08:53 - Chinese Huang harmonicas became available in Brazil and were of a good quality, and Hering and other makes too

09:41 - Plays some guitar too, although harmonica is main instrument

11:17 - Started playing harmonica age 12

12:13 - Played with the Rio Grande band in Brazil, recording on two of their albums

13:36 - Other band in Brazil

15:11 - Recently recorded an album remotely in a duo called Lapa and Godoy (Godoy being Andre’s stage name)

16:04 - Also gigs with a band in Portugal but focused more on customisation than playing at the moment

16:46 - How remote recording was arranged in the Lapa and Godoy duo

17:54 - Plenty of jazz songs on the duo album, and the use of the Koch harmonica to record some of them

19:01 - How the Koch (diatonic with a slide) works

20:12 - Started playing more chromatic as a result of checking the repairs of chromatics he does for customers

20:20 - One of first customers for customisation work was Antonio Serrano

21:44 - Andre has made some interesting YouTube videos of different musical pieces, including playing the Hohner Little Lady one octave harmonica

22:47 - Lot of the videos Andre posts are on special tunings that customers request

22:58 - Sonic The Hedgehog recording uses a harmonetta

24:00 - Harmonetta’s are difficult to fix, but Andre is one of the few customisers who knows how to service them

25:07 - How Harmonetta’s work

26:32 - Andre has been a customiser since 2019, starting during Covid to keep himself productive

27:35 - Joe Filisko tried one of Andre’s harmonicas on the strength of that recommended him to become a Hohner Affiliated customiser

29:11 - Andre also produces a harmonica pedal called the Yump, as well as a microphone

30:23 - The Yump pedal has different inputs for different types of harmonica mic, and outputs for a passive speaker, and amp or PA

31:47 - Andre mainly uses the Yump pedal connected to the PA when performing

32:03 - Brendan Power joins to discuss the x-reed collaboration between Andre and Brendan and how they got it together

33:45 - The roles they both play in the collaboration, although it’s fluid

35:27 - Andre’s first visit to Canterbury and feeling blessed to be able to work with Brendan

36:19 - Morbendz is the latest creation of x-reed harmonicas

36:28 - Brendan explains how the Morbendz is an adaptation of his previous SlipSlider harmonica

37:39 - How the Mordendz works differently from the Slip Slider

37:55 - The Morbendz comb has twenty partitions instead of the usual ten

38:34 - Only the mouthpiece moves on the harmonica, so it remains very airtight

38:43 - Pressing the slide allows bending to access notes that aren’t available on a standard diatonic

39:33 - The Morbendz provides 14 bends instead of the usual 8

39:39 - Swedish guy contributed the idea to add an extra reed for the 14th bend

40:02 - The extra bends available on the Morbendz: 2 blow, 5 blow, 6 blow, 7 draw, 8 draw, 10 draw

41:03 - The Morbendz allows the diatonic to be played chromatically

42:58 - Brendan thinks people who already use overblows won’t find the transition to the Morbendz that easy due to the notes bending in different directions

43:24 - Beginners will probably find the Morbendz more intuitive

43:29 - Brendan thinks normal bends sound better than overblows (apart from those who are highly skilled playing them)

43:53 - Ideally the Morbendz will be built in a mass produced way in order to make it more accessible and cheaper

44:01 - How easy Morbendz will be to adopt for someone who plays chromatic and diatonic

44:16 - Half-valving a chromatic does allow more bending capability, but Morbendz does provide more bends on standard diatonic

44:49 - Big advantage of the Morbendz is that it can be played like a normal diatonic

45:06 - Brendan and Andre have started releasing videos about the Morbendz, and will continue to do so

45:18 - Example recordings of the Morbendz available to listen to, including from Todd Parrott

46:22 - With the ability to play in different keys on one Morbendz you may only need to add one Morbendz to your existing harmonica collection

47:46 - Andre is building the Morbendz, and is on holiday over the summer but will recommence building them in August

48:24 - Working model between Andre and Brendan is that Brendan comes up with the ideas, develops the concept and then Andre builds them for customers

49:09 - Hope is that a harmonica manufacturer will take these on to mass produce them

49:41 - Two price points for the Morbendz, one with and one without Andre’s customisation

50:23 - Morbendz requires some specific customisation

51:01 - Most customers have ordered the customised version

51:13 - No current plans to take them to festivals this year, but in the future yes

51:52 - The x-reed partnership have plans for more innovations in the pipeline

52:41 - Ten minute question focused on customisation and analogy of changing an amplifier

53:36 - Basic things to set-up on your harmonica: get reed plates straight with correct reed gapping, flat sand the comb

53:52 - Embossing is not always necessary on well made modern harmonicas as the tolerances are already tight

54:35 - Harmonicas of choice are Hohner Special 20s, Marine Bands and the Hohner 270 chromatic

55:10 - Overblows: uses them to bring some variety to the typical blues riffs

55:35 - Embouchre: started puckering but now mainly uses tongue block

56:02 - Mainly plays through the PA using his Yup pedal so doesn’t have to carry large amps

56:58 - Uses some effects: delay, envelope filter for trumpet sound, octaves and chorus sound, and uses the Sub ’n Up pedal from TC Electronic

WEBVTT

00:00:00.066 --> 00:00:04.232
Andre Godoy Cahelo and Brendan Power join me on episode 113.

00:00:04.854 --> 00:00:17.594
Andre is a Brazilian who relocated to Portugal in 2018, performing and recording two albums with the Rio Grande band in Sao Paulo, before recording a recent album in a duo in Portugal.

00:00:18.306 --> 00:00:24.454
Andre quickly became interested in harmonica customisation when his first harmonica didn't quite perform as he wanted.

00:00:24.475 --> 00:00:31.946
This has turned into a full-time business for Andre, who has now teamed up with Brendan Power on his ex-Reed harmonica range.

00:00:32.667 --> 00:00:44.206
The partnership has just released the More Bends, a diatonic with a slide which increases the number of available bends from 8 to 14, providing the missing notes from a standard diatonic, while playing just the same.

00:00:44.642 --> 00:00:47.188
This podcast is sponsored by Seidel Harmonicas.

00:00:47.649 --> 00:00:56.950
Visit the oldest harmonica factory in the world at www.seidel1847.com or on Facebook or Instagram at Seidel Harmonicas.

00:01:24.257 --> 00:01:27.272
Hello Andre Godoy Coelho and welcome to the podcast.

00:01:27.612 --> 00:01:32.033
Hi Neo, thank you very much for having me and for all the great work that you do.

00:01:32.385 --> 00:01:37.150
And so you're originally from Brazil and now living in Portugal.

00:01:37.189 --> 00:01:38.331
Yes, that's right.

00:01:38.350 --> 00:01:41.993
I moved to Portugal in 2018.

00:01:43.194 --> 00:01:44.355
My wife is Portuguese.

00:01:44.496 --> 00:01:53.164
My daughter was also born in Portugal, but we were living in Brazil for about 10 years before we decided to move for good to Portugal.

00:01:53.745 --> 00:01:55.506
Why the decision to move to Portugal?

00:01:55.825 --> 00:02:02.352
Well, it's many things, you know, like I think once we get comfortable in a place, my wife was living in Brazil.

00:02:02.352 --> 00:02:19.770
for 10 years and we just decided it would be better to change a little bit and just come to portugal to stay with her parents because they were quite older so we just wanted to to have some time with them and then started everything again here.

00:02:20.151 --> 00:02:21.092
So not for harmonica

00:02:21.132 --> 00:02:21.652
reasons then?

00:02:22.453 --> 00:02:24.794
No, no particular harmonica reasons.

00:02:26.477 --> 00:02:40.169
Well, it's interesting because obviously you've had a, we'll talk about your time on harmonica in Brazil, but since you've come over to Europe to live in Portugal, you've really stepped up your customization business and obviously that's a big part of what you do as well as people may know.

00:02:40.269 --> 00:02:41.849
So we'll get into all that.

00:02:42.189 --> 00:02:43.711
But first of all, let's talk about Brazil.

00:02:43.771 --> 00:02:58.526
So we had a few Brazilians on the podcast before and a great harmonica heritage in Brazil Partly, as I understand, from the Herring Factory being based in Brazil, and that kind of really made the harmonica a really popular instrument in Brazil, yeah?

00:02:58.657 --> 00:02:59.498
Yeah, true.

00:03:00.159 --> 00:03:14.615
Well, herring has been around for over a hundred years now and that created like some tradition for harmonica groups back in the, or players in the radio, like back in the 50s and 60s.

00:03:14.675 --> 00:03:21.962
But I think in the 90s was the moment that blues became like really popular in Brazil.

00:03:22.343 --> 00:03:27.028
So I started to see bands in Rio de Janeiro.

00:03:39.969 --> 00:03:50.824
Blues Etílicos like the oldest blues band there and some other bands in São Paulo and that became like really popular so that was a really a golden moment for the harmonica there.

00:03:51.425 --> 00:03:53.673
Yeah and so where were you living in Brazil?

00:03:54.018 --> 00:03:58.762
I was living, well, it's not in the city of São Paulo, but nearby.

00:03:58.782 --> 00:03:58.882
Great.

00:03:59.802 --> 00:04:02.746
So you were inspired by this blues boom in Brazil.

00:04:02.786 --> 00:04:04.526
Were you in the 90s or before then?

00:04:04.747 --> 00:04:06.748
You know, what got you started playing harmonica?

00:04:06.989 --> 00:04:11.233
Yeah, I started playing in, I think it was 96 or 97.

00:04:11.252 --> 00:04:14.336
No, 96, yes.

00:04:15.036 --> 00:04:17.458
I was hearing like some people started playing.

00:04:17.517 --> 00:04:20.560
My cousin was a very good player, actually.

00:04:20.600 --> 00:04:23.983
And so I started learning from him and buying stuff.

00:04:23.983 --> 00:04:24.964
some records.

00:04:25.625 --> 00:04:32.716
Back then, we didn't have much access to material, especially on blues licks.

00:04:32.875 --> 00:04:38.805
And learning more about blues was something a bit hard to find.

00:04:38.904 --> 00:04:43.971
But it was the early days of the internet back there.

00:04:44.172 --> 00:04:48.158
And yeah, that helped a lot to try to discover new things.

00:04:48.769 --> 00:05:09.548
yeah and again certainly Vitor Lopes who had I think probably the last Brazilian he had and he was a chromatic player and he played the Choro fantastic Brazilian music and so there seems to be this division between the kind of chromatic players playing the more traditional Brazilian styles of music and then blues so were you ever into the more Brazilian sort of style of music?

00:05:09.987 --> 00:05:27.303
I tried hard you know like but chromatic was something relatively more new to me I used to play a little bit but But it was more after I started actually working on the instruments and customizing and servicing chromatics that I got more interested in that.

00:05:27.543 --> 00:05:33.468
But yes, there was a tradition of chromatic players like playing classical music.

00:05:34.189 --> 00:05:38.173
Choro, yeah, which is the Brazilian really genuine style.

00:05:38.213 --> 00:05:45.238
Bolsa Nova, like you have like some very good players from spread like around in different states of Brazil.

00:05:45.660 --> 00:05:47.901
Yeah, but it's been blues for you mainly, has it?

00:05:48.353 --> 00:05:59.603
Yeah, I mean, from the start, like I really focused on the blues and maybe like my first band there was actually a pop rock band, you know, like playing classics from the 80s.

00:06:00.004 --> 00:06:09.012
And I was always trying to use the harmonica sometimes with some effects to feel like the gaps there, whatever the guitar couldn't do or the keyboard.

00:06:09.271 --> 00:06:10.812
We didn't have like a keyboard player.

00:06:10.874 --> 00:06:14.396
So I was always trying to use the harmonica to fill those gaps.

00:06:14.497 --> 00:06:20.870
But the sound was always bluesy because I didn't know like how to do something very different back then Do

00:06:21.413 --> 00:06:26.012
you remember a first song that inspired you or a first harmonica player that inspired you?

00:06:26.786 --> 00:06:36.434
I'm not afraid to say I think Bob Dylan was really the first harmonica that I actually heard, you know, like recorded as an instrument, as part of the song.

00:06:36.473 --> 00:06:40.117
And I remember it was the song called If Not For You.

00:06:40.598 --> 00:06:50.887
But after Bob Dylan, it was like right after that, I got a CD from a band called Blues Etílicos, which is the biggest blues band in Brazil.

00:06:52.348 --> 00:07:02.571
And yeah, then I heard that CD like so many times until I could get some of the songs right and i still listen to that because it's a very impressive album

00:07:03.298 --> 00:07:13.326
So I understand your first harmonica was a Special 20 MS model, and you didn't like it that much, so you had to do a bit of customization on it to make it play better.

00:07:13.387 --> 00:07:15.067
Is that how you got into customizing?

00:07:15.528 --> 00:07:15.988
Yes.

00:07:16.408 --> 00:07:28.279
Well, the first harmonica that I ever got was the MS, and I think the Special 20 MS was only done for specific countries.

00:07:28.759 --> 00:08:25.504
I don't think it was ever sold in the US, for example, but it had those huge rivets and the sound was didn't like have much resonance anyway it wasn't a bad harmonica but you know like it was more like an experimental attempt of honor from moving to the handmade series to the MS so not very impressed by that one and because I always liked to tweak things and you know like whenever I got like a toy as a child I would want to open that and see what was going on and I did the same with the harmonica and I figure like some things like right away were not right the gapping was not consistent and I did small adjustments until I break the harmonica I broke like some reeds and well I'll move on to another brand and model and then I it grew on me

00:08:26.706 --> 00:08:32.394
so what stage was that was this on like the very first time Monica you sort of was starting to think about improving it were you

00:08:33.025 --> 00:08:45.996
Yeah, I think because I only had this one back then, it wasn't so easy to find music stores that carried harmonicas, at least not blues harmonicas.

00:08:46.057 --> 00:08:52.682
Some of those stores would have the tremolo harmonicas or octave harmonicas, which I was not interested in.

00:08:52.722 --> 00:09:00.730
But not long after that, I started seeing some harmonicas, Chinese harmonicas from Huang.

00:09:01.049 --> 00:09:02.991
They started selling in Brazil.

00:09:02.991 --> 00:09:04.913
And they were actually quite good.

00:09:05.754 --> 00:09:10.600
They were really cheap harmonicas, but they had a very nice sound.

00:09:10.899 --> 00:09:12.101
I got some of those.

00:09:12.142 --> 00:09:14.464
Then I bought some herring harmonicas.

00:09:14.543 --> 00:09:22.131
And after a little while, I had about 10 different types of harmonicas, 10 different brands and models.

00:09:22.533 --> 00:09:32.182
Yeah, I just started experimenting and seeing which ones would sound best, which ones would bend best, and then tried to come up with some conclusions.

00:09:32.943 --> 00:09:34.707
develop some work from there.

00:09:35.769 --> 00:09:40.721
Great, yeah, so we'll get more into your customizing shortly, but just a little bit more about your music.

00:09:40.740 --> 00:09:43.265
So I understand you also play some guitar.

00:09:43.326 --> 00:09:51.243
There's a nice YouTube video of you playing harmonica on a rack, maybe slightly better than Bob Dylan, on a song called So Much in Love.

00:09:51.263 --> 00:09:51.825
So Much in Love.

00:10:03.778 --> 00:10:07.902
So when did you start playing the guitar and what role does that play in your harmonica

00:10:07.922 --> 00:10:08.562
playing?

00:10:08.642 --> 00:10:10.903
Yeah, the guitar was actually my...

00:10:11.784 --> 00:10:22.153
It was not my first instrument, but I remember when I was five and I really wanted for my birthday to get a guitar, an acoustic guitar, and I got it.

00:10:22.894 --> 00:10:29.961
And I was very happy just plucking the strings, but then I wanted to start taking some music lessons.

00:10:30.421 --> 00:11:16.851
Then I was quite disappointed because the teacher would say okay your hands are still too small for the guitar you're not going to enjoy playing so why don't you start with the keyboards and I think ever since that day I started hating the keyboards but anyway it was not like always because I learned like a bit of theory during that time it took like maybe five or six years after that before I started playing like again but it was It was never my main instrument, like the guitar, because by that time I was already trying to mess with the harmonica and the harmonica was always my main instrument and the guitar always came second, I think.

00:11:17.312 --> 00:11:18.033
What age did you

00:11:18.052 --> 00:11:18.913
start playing the harmonica?

00:11:19.455 --> 00:11:22.739
Well, if it was 97, I'm from 84.

00:11:23.019 --> 00:11:28.264
I think I was about 12 or 13 when I got my first one.

00:11:28.961 --> 00:11:30.363
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00:12:13.668 --> 00:12:16.873
You recorded two albums with a band in Brazil called Rio Grande.

00:12:17.092 --> 00:12:17.352
Yes.

00:12:17.894 --> 00:12:21.278
So this is a blues rock band based in Sao Paulo.

00:12:21.379 --> 00:12:23.321
Tell us about that band.

00:12:24.162 --> 00:12:26.323
Yeah, well, I got with that band.

00:12:27.384 --> 00:12:33.450
Well, after I finished the university, I lived in Norway for one year.

00:12:33.470 --> 00:12:34.230
I studied there.

00:12:34.431 --> 00:12:42.957
This is where I met my wife, but I eventually came back to Brazil to finish my credits, my undergrad studies.

00:12:43.278 --> 00:12:49.004
Then I met the guys from the band, from Rio Grande, and they were already playing.

00:12:49.644 --> 00:13:15.404
Well, they needed a harmonica player, you know, like I just went like the first time there to record a track for a demo cd that they were working on it just worked like right away so right after that we we decided okay let's follow with the work here and then we played together for about five or six years and in the meantime we managed to record the those two cds

00:13:33.025 --> 00:13:33.787
Okay, so great.

00:13:33.826 --> 00:13:36.068
So you were doing that in Sao Paulo.

00:13:36.089 --> 00:13:37.750
And then any other bands in Brazil?

00:13:38.490 --> 00:13:43.455
Then I had like another band with my friend from school.

00:13:43.715 --> 00:13:49.600
He was always more into heavy metal and, you know, like always playing the guitar with a lot of distortion.

00:13:49.700 --> 00:13:55.125
And I always told him that one day you start liking to hear and play the blues.

00:13:55.245 --> 00:14:02.772
And definitely that happened because one day he just told me, okay, like, why don't we start a new band, you know, like something...

00:14:02.991 --> 00:14:50.677
in that blues tradition but not the blues rock stuff more focus on the swing and jump blues style we got together we found a singer a very talented singer like and she really changed the the approach that we were trying to to put to the band like in the band name was called Bloody Mary and the Dry Martinis and it was all about fun like we were playing like jump blues tunes some little walters some sonny boy williamson like the more dancing stuff then we started mixing some uh well-known songs like pop songs and tried to play them in in that style a bit like a post-modern jukebox something like that

00:15:11.298 --> 00:15:18.264
And then more recently, since obviously you've been living in Portugal, you've been in a duo called Lapa and Godoy.

00:15:18.583 --> 00:15:22.006
So you released an album, and this is with a guitarist, yeah, playing in this duo.

00:15:22.467 --> 00:15:27.491
And just to point out as well that you used your middle name, Godoy, as your sort of stage name.

00:15:28.133 --> 00:15:30.695
Yeah, this has been like more of a...

00:15:31.014 --> 00:15:33.517
I haven't actually met him in person.

00:15:33.537 --> 00:15:36.159
We're just recording our parts.

00:15:36.460 --> 00:15:41.144
I record my parts at my place, and he has his own studio.

00:15:41.264 --> 00:15:49.692
And so we've been working on to make like an album of that collaboration and then start playing live.

00:16:04.258 --> 00:16:19.410
but I have also another band that I get like more regularly here in Portugal, but we don't have like anything recorded yet, but it's more like a traditional blues playing and it's called Big Johnny and the Citizen Blues.

00:16:19.750 --> 00:16:24.916
Yeah, but lately I'm not so much focused on the playing part.

00:16:25.035 --> 00:16:41.687
I'm really, really interested in the customizing harmonicas, working on harmonica gear and also my collaboration with Brandon Potts has shifted my interest more into the innovation of the harmonica than the harmonica playing itself.

00:16:42.498 --> 00:16:54.969
right yeah sure yeah so yeah again we'll get into that shortly but just touching on that album it's interesting that you say you've got this kind of remote recording so how did you meet with this guy and you know agree to start doing recordings remotely

00:16:55.850 --> 00:17:54.241
it was really by chance like I always post you know like some demos of the music I work on or you know like if I work on a different harmonic a new tuning I want to demonstrate how that works and how that sounds and he just saw one of those videos by accident on facebook and got in touch he normally does lots of collaborations with different musicians in portugal but normally it's just one song he has like a guest for to record something and but he really enjoyed the harmonica and he felt okay we could definitely make a bigger project out of that you know like not just for one song but work on kind of a bluesy jazzy versions of jazz standards featuring the harmonica as a as a main solo instrument then we recorded one song and then after a few weeks we recorded another and now we are we almost have like a full album to to release

00:17:54.281 --> 00:18:20.153
there's quite a lot of jazz on here you've got it necessarily so you've got old blues and watermelon man playing diatonic and I think some chromatic on here as well, isn't there?

00:18:20.432 --> 00:18:29.902
Yeah, on some of the songs I would use the Koch harmonica, like the diatonic with the slide.

00:18:30.622 --> 00:18:45.154
I think most of the songs that I recorded with him uses the Koch harmonica because I think it has a very distinct sound and it also opens a lot of possibilities for phrasing, which for jazz are important.

00:18:45.275 --> 00:18:59.792
Although I can't and play the overbands and I use them in my playing like regularly to have like you know like the necessary freedom to improvise in jazz works much better if I have like a special harmonica for that

00:19:00.354 --> 00:19:01.835
Yeah, it's interesting you should say that.

00:19:01.855 --> 00:19:03.676
I've never actually tried that cock harmonica.

00:19:03.977 --> 00:19:06.159
So what does the slide do on that?

00:19:06.318 --> 00:19:16.248
Basically, if you have a C cock harmonica, you basically have a C diatonic harmonica and you press the slide there and you have a C sharp harmonica.

00:19:16.567 --> 00:19:26.256
You still don't have all the notes there because you still need to do some bends on the first octave and on the 10th hole to complete the scale.

00:19:26.356 --> 00:19:35.768
But still, it makes it much easier because on that You can also overbend, but you have like different possibilities to get the same notes.

00:19:36.189 --> 00:19:46.284
For instance, if I want to get like that B flat on the sixth hole, I could either do like an overbend there or I could just press the slide and draw that note.

00:19:47.464 --> 00:19:49.567
And each note has a different flavor.

00:19:49.627 --> 00:19:53.094
They are the same pitch, but they have like different flavors to it.

00:19:53.569 --> 00:19:55.030
Interesting, you have to try one of those.

00:19:55.852 --> 00:19:58.775
So you're not playing any chromatic on this album?

00:19:58.934 --> 00:20:11.806
I think there's maybe one song which I don't remember which I'm using a more traditional chromatic, but on most of those I'm using the slide harp or the clock harmonica.

00:20:11.986 --> 00:20:14.067
And do you play much chromatic nowadays?

00:20:14.307 --> 00:20:54.108
Yeah, I think because when I started the customizing work here, one of my first customers was Antonio Serrano because someone just gave me just gave him my contact and I you know like he sent me some harmonicas and I did some setup and he was quite happy about that he made like a video kind of a review and after that like lots of chromatic players started to reaching me even though like I always worked more on the diatonics it just got to a point in which I received as many chromatics as diatonics to service or to customize.

00:20:54.568 --> 00:21:06.422
And of course, when you customize, it's not just about setting up the instrument, but you have to know how to play to get a good feel if this is going to work for another player.

00:21:06.862 --> 00:21:08.723
And the same was true with the chromatic.

00:21:08.864 --> 00:21:18.595
I really became more into playing and trying to learn a bit more about that because I wanted to make sure that whoever received those would be happy with the results.

00:21:19.115 --> 00:21:21.897
Well, Antonio Serrano is certainly an excellent first customer.

00:21:23.079 --> 00:21:27.159
It was And a great review, so I was thrilled about that.

00:21:41.953 --> 00:21:42.273
Brilliant.

00:21:42.314 --> 00:21:47.200
So again, just before we get into customisation, just talk about some of the YouTube videos that you have.

00:21:47.259 --> 00:21:51.545
So you've got some really interesting recordings that you put out on your YouTube channel.

00:21:51.644 --> 00:21:57.412
So, for example, you're playing the Honour Little Lady, which is this kind of little mini harmonica, which is just one octave.

00:21:57.972 --> 00:22:00.615
And you're playing a kind of hip-hop song on that.

00:22:05.721 --> 00:22:05.821
MUSIC

00:22:09.698 --> 00:22:12.119
and then you play Sonic the Hedgehog theme.

00:22:12.701 --> 00:22:14.781
You're playing various harmonicas on there.

00:22:14.842 --> 00:22:16.263
I definitely heard a bass harmonica on

00:22:16.284 --> 00:22:17.684
there.

00:22:17.924 --> 00:22:30.496
That song with the little lady was actually for one of Constantine Reinfeld's challenges because I always participate like every month because I think it's funny to, it's a challenge, you know, like for us to learn something new.

00:22:31.257 --> 00:22:33.878
I just decided to see what I can do with that.

00:22:33.939 --> 00:22:39.423
Like I started customizing that because you can hear in that video, I use some overbands as well.

00:22:39.663 --> 00:22:41.165
And it's really cool.

00:22:41.205 --> 00:22:47.011
Like on such a small instrument, you have like a mini fully chromatic harmonica.

00:22:47.372 --> 00:22:47.633
Yeah.

00:22:47.712 --> 00:22:55.661
And then like most of the videos that I post are, you know, like experiments with harmonicas on special tunings that a customer asks for.

00:22:55.941 --> 00:22:59.565
And I do a test in the end or, you know, like just for fun.

00:22:59.605 --> 00:23:04.170
Like I really always loved the video games, Sonic video games.

00:23:04.250 --> 00:23:07.252
And I decided, well, I really want to record the track.

00:23:07.314 --> 00:23:10.876
And I use the harmonica, which I really, really love.

00:23:22.669 --> 00:23:35.201
And also I was using like, it's not a bass harmonic in itself, it's a Larry Adler 16-hole chromatic that I retuned one octave down, so it has more of a bass sound.

00:23:36.193 --> 00:23:39.317
So you retune the low reeds a whole octave down.

00:23:39.557 --> 00:23:39.856
Yeah.

00:23:39.916 --> 00:23:40.998
The actual existing reeds.

00:23:41.238 --> 00:23:41.679
Yeah, well.

00:23:42.839 --> 00:23:51.267
Well, interesting you mentioned the harmonetta, because so Spang, who's the last people I had on the podcast, they use a harmonetta, as you may know, instead of a chord harmonica.

00:23:51.326 --> 00:23:52.288
Yes, I heard that.

00:23:53.348 --> 00:23:59.374
And Yoko was really sort of singing the praises of the harmonetta, saying it was much more versatile than a standard chord harmonica.

00:23:59.433 --> 00:24:02.636
So, yeah, so those harmonettas, people should get playing them.

00:24:02.856 --> 00:24:05.138
Again, I don't own a harmonetta, but I was thinking, yeah, maybe.

00:24:06.160 --> 00:24:09.977
But I hear they're quite difficult to fix, but you're able to sort them out, are you?

00:24:10.278 --> 00:24:19.913
Yeah, I think I'm maybe one of the two or three people in Europe that is going to service like a harmoneta.

00:24:20.214 --> 00:24:29.423
Of course, like some users, they know how to service their own harmonetas, but yeah, it's really hard to find someone who does that in Europe.

00:24:29.502 --> 00:24:33.826
And even in the US, maybe I know like three or four people that will do it.

00:24:34.346 --> 00:24:38.931
Yeah, I received one and it was mostly a challenge to myself.

00:24:39.030 --> 00:24:41.133
Like he asked, can you repair that for me?

00:24:41.153 --> 00:24:42.334
And I said, okay, I can try.

00:24:42.354 --> 00:25:07.099
I opened that and it took me about two months before I could put it back again but after I got it working I just I serviced like about 15 or 20 other harmonettos like after that time and I got one for myself because I really agree it's much more versatile than a normal chord harmonica you can do like so much more with that

00:25:07.660 --> 00:25:17.089
yeah so maybe if people are interested myself included what exactly are they like on the inside so you kind of press keys don't you and then it selects a combination of notes.

00:25:17.151 --> 00:25:18.132
Is that right?

00:25:18.152 --> 00:25:19.553
So it's kind of like a keyboard, is it?

00:25:20.193 --> 00:25:21.115
It's a very

00:25:21.194 --> 00:25:22.016
unique instrument.

00:25:22.135 --> 00:25:28.343
It has two reed plates, and if you blow or draw in the same spot, you are going to get the same note.

00:25:28.843 --> 00:25:36.971
So you have one blow reed and one draw reed in the same pitch, which has the channel open when you press the button there.

00:25:37.152 --> 00:25:39.213
But it's a very complex mechanism.

00:25:39.233 --> 00:26:03.921
I think the guy who invented that probably was reading to typewriters or something like that because it it has like some similarities you know like in the way uh it works but yeah it's uh i know it's i think it's a zacharias earns i'm not sure but he invented like many different models for for a owner you know like he has many patents and very very impressive cutting edge stuff

00:26:04.421 --> 00:26:07.284
can you still buy them new or are they all secondhand ones that

00:26:07.423 --> 00:26:24.127
no i think like i think the last ones they made were in the 80s uh so yeah you have to buy secondhand And when you buy secondhand, you're most likely have to service that because they used to come with the with valves with leather valves.

00:26:24.528 --> 00:26:27.794
Those will dry like, you know, like after after some time.

00:26:27.854 --> 00:26:29.336
So you get like a lot of noise.

00:26:29.517 --> 00:26:32.320
And the first thing would be to change the valves altogether.

00:26:33.026 --> 00:26:35.667
Okay, so yeah, and about your work as a customizer.

00:26:35.688 --> 00:26:40.372
So I think you officially started doing customization work in 2019, André, yeah?

00:26:40.673 --> 00:26:42.394
Yeah, exactly.

00:26:42.433 --> 00:26:55.806
It was the COVID times and because when I moved to Portugal, I started, you know, like trying different odd jobs and I opened a restaurant, a kind of a cafe restaurant.

00:26:56.066 --> 00:27:01.830
Nothing really worked well and it's very hard to start life again in a new country.

00:27:02.151 --> 00:27:35.125
And then to make things worse COVID started and I had to stay at home because my wife is a nurse she was at the hospital most of the time and I had to take care of the kids and my father-in-law here back then I was doing some harmonica work for close people but yeah it was pretty much like when I decided to focus all my efforts and since I'm going to stay at home I'm going to do the best out of it you know I'm just going to use my time in the best possible way yeah from there I started doing like harmonica harmonica work customizing and

00:27:35.366 --> 00:27:45.897
I understand that you met Joe Felisco I think was it in Trossingen and he tried out one of your customized harps and he sort of gave you his seal of approval and that and you went on to become a Horner affiliated from that

00:27:46.178 --> 00:29:00.718
yeah I mean after some some years I think two years doing like a harmonica work servicing and some custom harmonicas I managed to go to Trossingen for the Horner course because they have like a course for authorized technique for their harmonicas and I went there to take that course but in the meantime I talked to Steve Baker and I sent him an harmonica and he was very happy with the with the response of the instrument and then he commented that with Joe Felisco so it was everything got together like at the same time because I went there to take the course and then I met Steve Baker I met Joe Felisco at the same time and he had a harmonica of mine that i sent him to to try then we started talking a bit more about harmonicas and he gave me some pointers of things that i should improve uh on that particular harmonica and was really nice because after i did like some more work to it and i sent him again he was happy with that and he recommended that i joined the honer affiliated customizer so it was everything happened like really fast you know

00:29:00.917 --> 00:29:06.002
yeah great stuff and now you do loads of customizing I see your post on Facebook.

00:29:06.084 --> 00:29:08.586
You're always forever sending out harmonicas all over the world.

00:29:08.625 --> 00:29:10.828
So yeah, you're doing great with the customization.

00:29:11.288 --> 00:29:19.617
Another thing you do, I've seen as well, is you're also interested in electronics and you released various, well, I think a microphone and a pedal, a Yump pedal.

00:29:19.758 --> 00:29:23.382
So you've got these pedals and microphones you make as well, yeah?

00:29:23.662 --> 00:29:28.487
Yeah, the microphones, I did quite a few of those like in the past years.

00:29:28.928 --> 00:29:32.551
It's a simple, like a small microphone, the size of a bulletini.

00:29:32.751 --> 00:29:34.513
but it has a different element.

00:29:34.614 --> 00:29:41.141
It has some electronics inside and you can, you know, like get like some interesting distorted sounds with it.

00:29:41.221 --> 00:29:45.144
It has a switch built into the microphone.

00:29:45.526 --> 00:29:48.127
Electronics was always fascinating to me.

00:29:48.188 --> 00:30:00.981
Like even before I worked on the harmonicas, I used to make guitar pedals and, you know, like because it was hard for me to buy one and it was sort of easy for me to get the parts and try to make one.

00:30:01.001 --> 00:30:23.526
And then I felt like harmonicas harmonica players don't have that many options I just decided to try to build something that would work well and specifically for our instruments I do those but you know like it's always five at a time and there's a long waiting list because I cannot just focus on that my main work is with the harmonicas

00:30:24.067 --> 00:30:29.752
great but let me just finish off on the pedal so what does your pedal bring to the harmonica is it one pedal you do

00:30:30.113 --> 00:31:35.282
yeah I did like as small pedal before which was a passive unit and it had like some tone shaping abilities like give like more compression and treble cut and from that design I made the pedal that I currently make which is called the Yump and this pedal is interesting like it has some very unique features the first one is that you can select between the type of microphone that you use if whether you use like a kind of a vocal microphone or a CR microphone or a crystal microphone you can choose between those to have like the dedicated inputs to each type and then it has like some EQ controls and it has some output controls but the interesting thing is that it has like three outputs the first one can feed like a passive speaker so you can use that like as a mini head for example to practice at home it's going to only give you about one watt but one watt with a very bluesy So you can use like as a mini amp.

00:31:35.442 --> 00:31:40.788
Then it has like the regular output, which goes to the amplifier if you want to use like as a preamp.

00:31:41.189 --> 00:31:47.655
And then it has an XLR output to use straight to the PA sound system.

00:31:47.816 --> 00:31:49.798
So this is how I use like most of the time.

00:31:49.857 --> 00:31:53.481
I haven't used amplifiers for, you know, like years now.

00:31:53.843 --> 00:32:02.432
I just use the pedal connected to the PA and I can sound good wherever I play without having to worry about feedback or anything.

00:32:02.511 --> 00:32:03.773
So who's that knocking?

00:32:04.834 --> 00:32:06.134
Oh, it's Brendan Power.

00:32:06.174 --> 00:32:07.195
Hello, Brendan Power.

00:32:07.236 --> 00:32:16.203
Welcome to the podcast again.

00:32:16.243 --> 00:32:16.844
Hey, guys.

00:32:17.984 --> 00:32:20.067
Hi, Neil.

00:32:25.152 --> 00:32:28.654
Hi, Andre.

00:32:28.734 --> 00:32:31.856
Hey, Brendan.

00:32:34.799 --> 00:32:37.583
So it's x-reed.com.

00:32:37.603 --> 00:32:39.865
I'll put the link on the podcast page.

00:32:40.425 --> 00:32:41.186
So tell us about this.

00:32:41.326 --> 00:32:47.133
I think you originally started this with a Hungarian guy, and then Andre's sort of taken over from that, yeah?

00:32:47.252 --> 00:32:47.953
Yeah.

00:32:48.515 --> 00:32:48.954
About 10

00:32:48.994 --> 00:32:54.800
years ago, I think I did it with Zombo Kovacs from Hungary, a brilliant engineer, designer.

00:32:55.382 --> 00:33:03.631
He came over to Canterbury, and we did some work with the Suzuki Sub-30 replates and made quite a few innovative harmonica, diatonic harmonicas with them.

00:33:04.030 --> 00:33:44.213
Zombo had to go back to Hungary and so X-Read sort of went into abeyance I suppose you could say but I kept the website going then Andre and I got to know each other well I heard of him through Facebook and we started corresponding and he sounded like a really nice guy so anyway I invited him over to Canterbury and he's been over probably four times now from Portugal just flown over yeah maybe more and helped me basically do small limited releases of some of my harps a slip slider mark three I think overblow booster mark two and basically sort of work intensively in the workshop together then modular reed harmonica and then basically the end of it and put out these harps

00:33:44.714 --> 00:34:07.479
so i've seen the description of your different roles in your in your partnership so obviously you're busy with your inventing many different things brendan as we all know so so you're the product concepts design and prototyping guy and andre's the product concepts uh testing a hand customizing an assembly so um yeah a good good partnership there and you're able to um you know you think up the the wonderful ideas and Andre helps you put those into practice

00:34:07.499 --> 00:34:43.141
yeah it's not strictly black and white like our very little first little thing that we put out which we whimsically named the Obi-Wan Canobi it's basically a little overblow booster part for hole number one that was Andre's concept so he came up with the idea for something like that because so many people can overblow but hole number one is tricky so he said oh you know it'd be great if we could find a way and he suggested a few things but then I came up with a really simple and easy way to do it using a kind of foam stick on foam part and but that was andre's original concept and i sort of came up with how to make it work so that's a real collaboration so yeah it's kind of a mixture

00:34:43.862 --> 00:34:50.190
there's an example of andre playing that on the thunderbird which of course is a low tune harmonica and particularly difficult to get overblows on so

00:34:54.914 --> 00:34:58.260
There's

00:34:58.300 --> 00:35:02.047
also a nice recording of you guys playing together, Rumba Blues.

00:35:02.208 --> 00:35:05.916
Obviously you did a little recording when you're playing together over there in Canterbury.

00:35:19.585 --> 00:35:21.266
How are you liking Canterbury, Andre?

00:35:21.306 --> 00:35:22.909
You obviously like it if you keep going back.

00:35:22.929 --> 00:35:24.851
You like visiting the big cathedral there.

00:35:25.371 --> 00:35:27.293
Yeah, no, it was really nice.

00:35:27.672 --> 00:35:31.195
That recording was from the first time that I visited Brandon.

00:35:31.476 --> 00:35:34.398
We had a wonderful time for the first time.

00:35:34.438 --> 00:35:40.463
Imagine for me that heard Brandon ever since I started playing the harmonica.

00:35:40.583 --> 00:35:44.186
I saw his website and I thought, wow, this guy really can make anything.

00:35:44.206 --> 00:36:12.797
It was almost like a dream come true to get to meet him and actually play with him and know like and just spend time like talking about harmonicas it was such a positive experience that uh months after we said okay like let's try to release like another model because i think because x reads x read website was out like for such a long time and brandon had so many ideas like in the oven i just wanted to be part of all of them you know like to help as much as i could

00:36:13.458 --> 00:36:22.967
yeah fantastic yeah and he definitely needs to help with all the wonderful ideas he comes up with to uh to get them out there so so let's talk about your latest creation, which is called the More Bends.

00:36:23.307 --> 00:36:25.289
So this is the blues harp with a soul button.

00:36:25.349 --> 00:36:27.331
So I'll let you guys explain what it is.

00:36:27.371 --> 00:36:33.038
Okay, well, I came up with the idea probably 2017 was when I first started designing it.

00:36:33.079 --> 00:36:48.735
And the concept is actually, you know, the broad concept of it is similar to the slip slider, which is essentially getting more bends out of the diatonic harmonica by using the existing reeds, but finding a way to create new pairings.

00:36:49.396 --> 00:36:57.684
So So for instance, like say if we take hole number six on a C diatonic harmonica, you know, you've got the blow G reed and the draw A reed.

00:36:58.045 --> 00:37:01.869
Through interactive reed bending, you can bend the A down to the G sharp.

00:37:02.028 --> 00:37:04.032
You know, you get a nice little bend on the sixth draw.

00:37:04.231 --> 00:37:06.713
But the sixth blow can't be bent anywhere.

00:37:06.753 --> 00:37:09.177
You know, you can do an overblow on it, but you can't bend it down.

00:37:09.516 --> 00:37:22.311
So with the slip slider, Zombo Kovosh's concept really, the entire draw reed moved along to the right so that the five draw moved over into the same space as where the sixth blow was.

00:37:22.351 --> 00:37:31.920
And suddenly you've got a reed pairing where you've got a blow reed, the sixth blow, the G, which is higher than the draw reed, which was originally in another hole to the left, but now they're in the same hole.

00:37:32.222 --> 00:37:37.166
So that means, of course, you can bend the G, you know, with interactive reed bending down to the F sharp.

00:37:37.447 --> 00:37:39.009
So anyway, that's how the slip slider did it.

00:37:39.188 --> 00:37:41.652
The moor bends uses a different approach.

00:37:41.891 --> 00:37:49.159
If you think of the blow reed and the draw reed on diatonic harmonica, normally the blow reed and the draw reed are lined up, you know, vertically, you know, perfectly in line.

00:37:49.360 --> 00:37:58.989
With the more bends, I basically displace the draw reed plate by half a hole, if you like, and the cone has actually got 20 partitions instead of 10.

00:37:59.231 --> 00:38:05.998
So each reed, each blow reed is in, there's 10 slots, and then there's 10 slots for the draw reeds, but they're isolated from each other.

00:38:06.277 --> 00:38:10.161
And then there's a slider on the front, and that actually unites the two reeds.

00:38:10.543 --> 00:38:17.469
So in the default position, you know, the G in hole 6 and the draw A are in the same airstream.

00:38:17.510 --> 00:38:32.262
So you just bend the 6th draw as an But when you move the front slider, it basically closes off the 6th draw and brings in the 5th draw, the F note, to be in the same airstream via your mouth with the G read.

00:38:32.503 --> 00:38:34.545
And that means you can suddenly bend that G read.

00:38:34.724 --> 00:38:39.148
And the cool thing about it is that nothing changes on the harmonica, so it's very airtight.

00:38:39.369 --> 00:38:42.911
There's only this moving mouthpiece, but that sits very tightly on the front of the harmonica.

00:38:43.492 --> 00:39:19.447
So basically, it's like pressing a button and then suddenly a read like 6th blow or 5th blow or seven blow that you normally can't bend you just press a button bang suddenly they bend you know you can put vibrato on them they bend down a semitone and the same principle happens for two blow and then in the top octave with that very same single movement you can suddenly bend your eight draw your ten draw so it's basically you press a button and all these previously unbendable reeds now become juicy sweet interactive reed bends with just using the existing reeds on the harp so that's how it it

00:39:20.048 --> 00:39:39.188
so great yeah so I hope people were following that I was but getting your head around it can be although it's actually quite a simple idea as you say isn't it just move along and be able to draw the you know the reed next to it it's a great idea and so I understand it gives you 14 reed bends instead of the usual 8 without doing overblows

00:39:39.369 --> 00:39:59.570
yes and I have to thank a guy from Sweden called Edvin Vedin he came up with the idea for the extra on the top there's actually 11 blow reeds and you know there's normal 10 on the bottom so it's got 21 reeds and it was that extra reed that you know made the 14th bend and thought oh well this is great now well let's put find a way to put it out and that's where i asked help me

00:40:00.032 --> 00:40:13.025
so the extra six bends that we're getting so is it the sort of missing ones as in the two blow the five blow specifically that we're getting or so you can't bend everything it's it's the kind of ones where you can't get them without doing overblows

00:40:13.085 --> 00:40:24.362
is it yeah it's the two blow um you can bend now a semi-tone so you can get that missing note down there um the five You can bend it so like you can get the missing the E flat on a C harp.

00:40:24.402 --> 00:40:26.045
You can bend that E down to an E flat.

00:40:26.666 --> 00:40:30.353
Then the sixth blow, you can bend that down to the G to the F sharp.

00:40:30.414 --> 00:40:31.856
So that's the, you know, that's that major.

00:40:32.641 --> 00:40:36.867
And then on the seven blow, you can bend that down to a, you know, a B flat.

00:40:37.387 --> 00:40:41.132
And then on the top end, you can bend your, you know, your D note.

00:40:41.313 --> 00:40:45.179
Like four draw in, you know, on a normal harp, you've got C and D, you can bend the D.

00:40:45.820 --> 00:40:49.925
Now on the top end, you can bend that D up there, just like you can bend four draw.

00:40:49.945 --> 00:40:52.668
So your eight draw bends a semitone down to the C sharp.

00:40:52.869 --> 00:40:59.056
And then finally in hole number 10, you've got, you know, your A note, which bends like hole six from A down to G sharp.

00:40:59.077 --> 00:41:03.914
So it basically gives you all the missing bends that are, that are, Does

00:41:03.934 --> 00:41:06.657
this allow you to play the diatonic completely chromatically?

00:41:07.257 --> 00:41:07.898
Yes, definitely.

00:41:08.278 --> 00:41:11.041
For me, that's the really interesting part of the more bands.

00:41:11.280 --> 00:41:25.534
Some people are going to be happy with the added expression they can get on a 6th, for example, if they want to blow the 6th hole and have a very expressive scoop to get to the G note from F sharp.

00:41:25.634 --> 00:41:26.373
It works well.

00:41:26.574 --> 00:42:22.452
But I was always interested in the chromatic aspect of that, because since I use the overbands, it's not so hard for me to figure out like what's going on and try to get those notes via normal blow bands you know like on the first two octaves and draw bands on the last octave it does just that because whatever space you have like between you know like imagine the fourth hole the draw note you have the D and the E on the fifth hole whenever you have like that difference missing like a semitone now with the more bands when you press the slide you can immediately get that note via a normal bending yeah you have like the complete scale and and also it works similarly to do over bends to myself because the embouchure that I get to do the over bend four five and six are similar to a blow bend in the middle octave as well so for me it just worked right away for for that type of playing

00:42:22.945 --> 00:42:30.331
Hey everybody, you're listening to Neil Warren's Harmonica Happy Hour podcast, proudly sponsored by Tom Halcheck and Blue Moon Harmonicas.

00:42:30.873 --> 00:42:35.036
This is Jason Ritchie here telling you I love Blue Moon Harmonicas.

00:42:35.117 --> 00:42:42.603
I love the combs, the covers, the custom harps, the refurbished pre-war marine bands, and nobody's easier to work with than Tom Halcheck.

00:42:42.902 --> 00:42:45.244
www.bluemoonharmonicas.com

00:42:45.806 --> 00:42:47.987
Could this be the death of overblows?

00:42:48.387 --> 00:42:58.217
For people who do overblow, could they use this and think, actually, yeah, this gives me everything may be do you think this could potentially replace people who play diatonics as overblows

00:42:58.818 --> 00:43:24.365
people who already use overblows will probably find it confusing because they're so used to the reed popping up for instance to get that f sharp you know they'd overblow hole five now um to get it um you bend hole six which is for most people you know beginners starting that's more natural you bend the note but people who've been spending a lot of time overblowing for years and years they would find it harder to adjust to so they'll probably just continue you their overblows, I should imagine.

00:43:24.626 --> 00:43:29.291
For people coming in to the harp as a beginner, they're going to find the bends a lot easier to get.

00:43:29.331 --> 00:43:33.956
And also, in my opinion, as most of people's opinion, normal bends sound better.

00:43:34.255 --> 00:43:40.922
They're more expressive and juicy and sweet and soulful than most overblows, unless, you know, the harp has to be tweaked to the max.

00:43:41.563 --> 00:43:50.793
You know, overblows can sound good in the mouth of someone like Jason Ritchie or Howard Levy, but for many people, it's not so easy to get a sweet sound out of an overblow, whereas a bend is easy.

00:43:51.153 --> 00:44:00.143
So in that sense, yes, theoretically it's good but it has to come out in the form of a you know in a cheap mass-produced harmonica so until it does that nothing's going to change really

00:44:00.824 --> 00:44:16.460
yeah so so what about someone like myself you know who plays diatonic and chromatic you know but like you say you can get those sweet juicy bends on the diatonic which which aren't quite there on the chromatic so could it be you know something you could use if you used to play on the chromatic that actually you can apply that to the diatonic more

00:44:17.021 --> 00:44:24.552
well on the chromatic you can half valve the chromatic so you can get bends out of it yeah but yes certainly you can play the diatonic chromatically with bends.

00:44:24.612 --> 00:44:32.750
I mean, I think a chromatic harmonica that's half-valved has got huge amounts of potential in terms of, you know, expression.

00:44:32.789 --> 00:44:37.681
So it's kind of like another approach to getting chromaticism when you're using bends on a chromatic or a half-valved chromatic.

00:44:38.273 --> 00:44:49.231
So yeah, but in terms of a small format that looks like a blues harp and behaves like a blues harp, sounds like a blues harp, the more bends is more accessible to most people who just play the harp, you know, and just want more bends.

00:44:49.670 --> 00:44:51.954
Well, and that point is really critical as well, isn't it?

00:44:51.974 --> 00:44:54.137
The fact that nothing changes on the harmonica.

00:44:54.177 --> 00:45:00.208
You can play it completely normally like a Richter-tuned harmonica, diatonic, and then you can throw in these extra bends.

00:45:00.228 --> 00:45:01.530
So that's the real beauty of it, isn't it?

00:45:01.550 --> 00:45:03.773
You don't have to change anything to be able to play this.

00:45:04.577 --> 00:45:05.940
Yeah, that's right.

00:45:06.460 --> 00:45:16.411
You've started putting videos out, explaining in more detail, so we don't have the time to go into great detail, but you guys are going to continue putting videos out and explaining how it works and what you can do with it.

00:45:16.552 --> 00:45:23.119
And Andre, you've already put out some recordings of you playing, so there's you playing Amor Benz, playing some blues.

00:45:23.460 --> 00:45:25.322
There's also you playing Mystic.

00:45:25.362 --> 00:45:28.025
You've got that more jazz melody that you can play using it.

00:45:42.273 --> 00:45:46.005
Brendan, you've got an example of you playing a turnaround.

00:45:46.025 --> 00:45:49.173
They've also got Todd Parra, who's recorded a song on there for you.

00:46:05.634 --> 00:46:12.972
others people can go and check it out and listen to it and obviously get a bit of a better idea in more detail about how it actually works and what they need to do with it yeah

00:46:13.594 --> 00:46:22.177
yeah it's really early days we've only just started shipping out the first one so we'll have to see in six months or a year you know how you know what the reaction is but we hope it's good

00:46:22.626 --> 00:46:48.188
yeah well it sounds sounds great but i think one thing that people might hesitate is um you know when there's these different sorts of harmonicas you know you've already got your set of diatonics right so you think oh if i like this thing i might have to go and buy whatever six more diatonics to get all the keys that i want so so there's always that challenge isn't it and obviously the other things that you brought out as well right brendan there's always this kind of yeah they're great but for them to become mass popular i guess that's quite a hard nut to crack for you definitely

00:46:48.728 --> 00:47:46.108
oh we've been talking about that and we we said okay maybe more people wouldn't have like a second or a third more bands but to have one you know like especially imagine like in the key of C can be very interesting to explore the possibilities because for example some people that have played for more time like they can comfortably play maybe like in three positions like three main positions and then they avoid like some positions in which they could play but they are missing that very important note you know like that would be an over band and so they just avoid it all together with the more bands they have the opportunity to use like a C harmonica and play maybe five or six different keys with more ease could be something you know like interesting to get they started and if they feel okay this is the instrument for me they could get like a different key and we can only hope that this becomes popular and in the future like more harmonicas can feature that

00:47:46.809 --> 00:47:53.317
so you're building them I think aren't you Andre yes you're on sort of holiday over the summer but your next batch should be going out I know Yes,

00:47:53.918 --> 00:47:56.222
I'm working on the first orders.

00:47:57.583 --> 00:48:07.961
I think it's about 15 harps that I'm working on here that I want to get delivered before I go to my vacations and then I'll return and keep on going.

00:48:08.001 --> 00:48:10.565
But I have all the parts here to make them.

00:48:10.686 --> 00:48:16.576
So whenever a new request, a new order comes, I can start right away to work on them.

00:48:17.838 --> 00:48:17.918
Okay.

00:48:18.434 --> 00:48:28.061
Yeah, that's our kind of working method or business model, I suppose, is, you know, I mostly come up with the designs and everything and then get the parts made here.

00:48:28.081 --> 00:48:31.184
I spend huge amounts of time perfecting everything and testing.

00:48:31.525 --> 00:48:34.027
That means sending things back and forth to Andre.

00:48:34.248 --> 00:48:45.797
And then when he says, yes, this is good and gives us thumbs up for, you know, so I can make this thing and it works well and it's bulletproof and reliable, then I get a whole batch made here and, you know, 3D printed or whatever.

00:48:46.018 --> 00:48:58.382
And all the other parts, springs, screws, you know, whatever, and then put them all to Andre, and then we start taking the new orders, and he does the wonderful, you know, hands-on love and care into each harp.

00:48:58.402 --> 00:49:01.369
So when they go out, you know, they've been made by a top customizer.

00:49:01.389 --> 00:49:03.052
You know, that's the way we're doing it.

00:49:03.681 --> 00:49:04.382
Yeah, great stuff.

00:49:04.422 --> 00:49:10.108
And you mentioned earlier on about, you know, for these things to become really mainstream, they've got to be kind of mass produced, right?

00:49:10.288 --> 00:49:14.891
So is that something that, you know, it's kind of cottage industry, you're kind of building everyone by hand, which is great.

00:49:14.931 --> 00:49:16.512
I'm sure they're very well put together.

00:49:16.572 --> 00:49:21.097
But, you know, you can only make so many of those, right, doing it in that way.

00:49:21.197 --> 00:49:27.061
So is your hope that one day you might be able to sort of sell it to, you know, one of the manufacturers or, you know, what do you think?

00:49:27.663 --> 00:49:28.903
Yeah, definitely.

00:49:28.923 --> 00:49:31.726
I mean, we're just basically putting them out, seeing what the reaction is.

00:49:32.327 --> 00:49:41.315
And if people like it, it just It gives a little bit more, I suppose, of a boost if I go to a harmonica manufacturer and say, look, you know, this is working and people like it.

00:49:41.797 --> 00:49:45.581
And so obviously one barrier to all these things is how much they cost.

00:49:45.701 --> 00:49:48.443
So I think there's two price ranges, isn't there, Andre?

00:49:48.884 --> 00:49:58.253
Yes, they have the standard version doing like some basic gap adjustments on the stock, you know, like on the stock parts to make sure everything is playing well.

00:49:58.474 --> 00:50:22.956
And then we have the custom version in which I definitely am going to do like more reward i'm going to change for the reeds i'm going to do some more embossing i'm going to reshape the reeds and make like everything to make sure like the harmonica plays to its fullest potential the price for the standard version is a 215 pounds and the custom version is 300 pounds

00:50:23.554 --> 00:50:27.717
Yeah, so the customization is the usual customization you would do to a diatonic.

00:50:27.777 --> 00:50:29.398
It's not specifically for the more bends.

00:50:29.960 --> 00:50:37.106
There are some things that are a bit specific to that model because now you are going to do like blow bends on the lower octaves.

00:50:37.846 --> 00:50:50.297
You need like a slightly different type of adjustment between the reeds to make sure that both, you know, like the draw bends will work well and also the blow bends will work well without any rattling or squeals or anything.

00:50:50.496 --> 00:50:53.280
So it requires a bit of a...

00:50:53.519 --> 00:51:00.628
But the core work of embossing and chamfering the reeds and fine-tuning is the same.

00:51:00.648 --> 00:51:07.135
You'd think it's worth paying that bit extra to get it customised just to make sure it's nice, given the fact it's a more expensive diatonic, yeah.

00:51:07.635 --> 00:51:13.021
Most customers so far went for that, so I'm quite excited to hear the feedback.

00:51:14.041 --> 00:51:18.786
Is there any concept that you might take them to any of the festivals and at least demonstrate them?

00:51:19.027 --> 00:51:23.431
I guess you can't let people try them because of hygiene reasons.

00:51:23.472 --> 00:51:52.163
yeah we were thinking but this is too much of a short notice this year like maybe to go to spa you know like and to be like the proper place to to show that but yeah that's definitely something that we've been discussing and for the the next event you know like try to be present and take the harmonica with us like several harmonica some to try and we have like a ultrasonic cleaner or something to to clean like in the way for people just to experiment that

00:51:52.802 --> 00:51:58.048
so what about any future plans to make anything else in the pipeline?

00:51:58.929 --> 00:52:25.657
Yeah we do we've got as Andre said there's things in the oven but he's going on holiday soon and to finalise these other things would require another visit to Canterbury so they'll be quite a few months down the line but yeah we've definitely got some plans for some cool new stuff but we're focusing now on the Moorbands and then that'll be towards the end of the year or maybe even next year that we come out with something new.

00:52:26.280 --> 00:52:28.306
So thanks so much for joining Brendan Power.

00:52:28.326 --> 00:52:29.710
I'll just quickly finish off with Andre.

00:52:29.791 --> 00:52:30.934
So thanks so much for joining.

00:52:31.416 --> 00:52:31.858
My pleasure.

00:52:31.918 --> 00:52:32.139
Thanks.

00:52:32.239 --> 00:52:33.141
Great talking to both of you.

00:52:33.463 --> 00:52:33.844
Bye for now.

00:52:34.369 --> 00:52:53.726
great so yeah that's great collaboration andre that goes well with brendan so yeah just quickly finish off with yourself so yeah a question i ask each time is a is the 10 minute question if you had 10 minutes to practice what you spend up 10 minutes doing so maybe you could do this from a customization point of view to sort of if people were starting out customizing what's the key things you'd recommend they uh they start doing

00:52:54.588 --> 00:53:36.010
well i think with customizing it's a bit like i'll do an analogy with uh with amplifiers some people just desperately get an amplifier and try to modify like everything about it change the circuit to get that particular sound and the sound is not the amplifier itself but there are a few things that are definitely going to make a big difference imagine like I say like with amplifiers if you change the speaker you are going to get like the biggest possible change you can never hear like from the amplifier just by changing the speaker all other things are just details you know and I think with customizing and with reed work, it's a bit like that.

00:53:36.070 --> 00:53:51.706
The most basic things, just getting the reed plates straight and correcting the gaps, you know, like adjusting and get like a more balanced height of the reeds already is going to make like the harmonica play much better.

00:53:52.047 --> 00:54:29.847

Andre Godoy Coelho (and Brendan Power) interview

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