Comin Home Baby with Richard Hunter and Annie Raines
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Meet the Pros
The Pro Page
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Welcome to our Pro Page, where some of the best professional country, rock, jazz, blues, and classical harmonica players in the world tell you what records they listen to, what harmonicas they use, and the gear they use to perform and record.
We inaugurated this page with our friend and top rock harp pro Jimmy Gordon. We’ve since added country, rock and bluegrass monster Mike Stevens, New York studio master Rob Paparozzi, Nashville session pro Kirk “Jelly Roll” Johnson, jazz chromatic and diatonic master Clint Hoover, UK-based jazz and classical chromatic master Julian Jackson, acoustic blues master Tom Ball, amplified blues tone master Dennis Gruenling, the world’s leading classical harmonica virtuoso, Robert Bonfiglio, double World Champion and diatonic blues/jazz master Carlos del Junco, Irish harmonica master Brendan Power, rising blues star Annie Raines, and now master player, composer, and harmonica manufacturer Lee Oskar!
Stay tuned for more pages on top harmonica professionals worldwide!
Hunter's Effects, Recommended Gear
Hunter’s Effects Settings for the Digitech RP200
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If you want to know what setups were used to get the sounds you hear on Hunter’s electric harp pieces, you’re in the right place!
We began in June 2002 with a setup for the Digitech RP200 multi-effects pedal that Hunter used for The Slide Song and Sade Tekno, the electric pieces that he released to subscribers to the Jacked In series of recordings in May and June 2002, respectively. (The subscription list is no longer active.)
Hunter's Effects
Effects We Love (and Don’t)
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There are a LOT of great effects boxes out there, and prices are lower than ever, especially when you look at what you get for your money. But not all effects boxes work well on harmonica. This page is all about the stuff we’ve tried and liked (or disliked, as the case may be), and why. If you’re thinking about buying a new Screaming Whatsis box for your harp setup, take a look here first.
Audio/Video, More Video, Recommended Artists & Recordings, Recorded Performances (live and otherwise)
Audio/Video, Harmonica Player’s Resources, Hunter's Effects, More Video, Recommended Artists & Recordings, Recommended Gear, Recorded Performances (live and otherwise)
For the Beginner
Harmonica Resources for Beginners
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This page is expressly for beginning harmonica players.
It contains links to valuable resources for beginners, broken out into three categories:
Answers and Advice
Check out our new PRO PAGE, where top players in country, blues, jazz, and rock harmonica talk about what they listen to, the instruments they play, and the gear they use!
Harp-L Harp-L is an Internet mail list whose subscribers include many of the world’s best harmonica players in every style. The site provides access to a list of harmonica related current events and resources on the Internet. Also includes online archives that contain answers to many beginners’ questions. Answers to most other questions can usually be obtained by posting inquiries to Harp-L. SUBSCRIBE TO HARP-L!
Harmonica Beginner’s “To Do” List A page by John Watts that provides plenty of useful advice for beginners. Down-to-earth, concise, hits a lot of the important stuff. Recommended. NOTE: as of October 1998 this site has recently been upgraded, and in my opinion is now one of the best harmonica resources on the Internet.
Michael Will/The Diatonic Harmonica Reference – an outstanding site full of dead-on harmonica info, including great links, instructional material, illustrations, etc.
Society for the Preservation and Advancement of the Harmonica (SPAH) SPAH provides a lot of resources for harmonica players, including links to pages for many leading players, links and addresses for harmonica resources such as manufacturers and technicians, and so on. A very important site for harmonica players.
BassHarp’s International Harmonica Gig List A comprehensive listing of performances by harmonica players worldwide. Updated weekly, maintained by Danny Wilson
Instruction
Breathing Exercises Beginners often want to know how to get a big sound on the harmonica, and a big sound requires strong breathing. This page will tell you how to breathe for a big sound.
Pouring Rain Music: pages on Huang Harmonicas, Jon Gindick’s Harmonica Instruction Catalog, artists and label promotion, publishing and distribution plus other blues and harp related links
Jack’s Gospel Harmonica Page – informative site offering lots of harmonica-related info plus Christian philosophy. Note: we’re not endorsing the philosophy per se, but it’s a big part of the site, so we feel obliged to mention it. Harmonica-related information is in big supply at the site also.
Instruments, Software, and Tools
Coast to Coast Music
Coast to Coast offers some of the best prices anywhere on a wide range of harmonicas, amps, and other tools. We’ve done a lot of business with them over the years.
Angela Instruments Terrific site for amped players, offers lots of information on amp construction, including schematics, info on tube choices, etc. Great source for tubes and other parts too.
Doc Doc’s Place: MIDI Files Terrific collection of MIDI files, including drum tracks and patterns, blues, etc. Great for jamming along if you’ve got a General MIDI sequencer/synth (or even just a soundcard).
Guitar Amp Tone, Guitar Effects Placement, and Techniques for Tube Amps and Hybrid Guitar Amps A terrific site loaded with information about tube amps and their applications, including specific info on amps for harp. Recommended.
Meet the Pros
Tom Ball's Favorite (Harmonica) Things
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Tom Ball began playing guitar at the age of eleven and took up harmonica three years later. As a teenager he was a founding member of the Yerba Buena Blues Band. In 1979 he teamed up with guitarist Kenny Sultan, a partnership that to date has resulted in seven CDs (Flying Fish/Rounder) and performances in concerts, festivals and tours all over the world. The Ball & Sultan duo has appeared on television internationally, played for audiences of 300 million via Voice Of America, been featured on the "Levi’s 501 Blues" commercials, and appeared as frequent guests of National Public Radio. Their music from the film "Over The Edge" won them the prestigeous Telly Award in 1994, and they were the only musical act in America to play all four venues of the 1984 Olympic Games.