Leej, thanks for reviving this one (as well as for starting it in the first place).

Jeffp: Use a D harp to play crossharp blues in A (the straight diatonic harps I carry in my bag and the keys I play them in are: Bb in F, F in C, C in G, G in D, D in A, and A in E. I also use these in their nominal keys in fiddle tunes, and they can be played in their relative minors as well (C for Amin, F for Dmin, G for Emin, D for Bmin, etc), although I prefer to use Lee Oskar natural minors or LO Melody Makers, both of which have the low, resolving tonic in the relative minors (a C harmonica has two low G notes but no low A note).

The only Hohners I buy now are the Big Rivers--I think plastic combs are the way to go, and the Big Rivers are held together by rivets, rather than the tiny nails Hohner uses on the Blues Harps. Out of the box, the Lee Oscars are the best: they don't have to be broken in. The reeds are already easy to bend.

By the way, somebody above (Leej?) said that overblows are blow bends. Not so. Blow bends are blow bends: holes seven, eight, nine, and 10 can be bent (lowered in tone) on blow notes by changing the position of the tongue, just as holes one through six can be bent on the draw. Hole number six can be RAISED in tone by blowing hard, overblowing. The blow bends are a bit more difficult than the draw bends, but they're there. Hole #9 can be bent furthest.

One more note, then I've gotta get breakfast, go to the dentist, then head over to MacWorld Expo in the city. I've mentioned him in several threads, most notably in one I started in regard to him: Corky Siegal. His "Chamber Blues" ensemble is a total gas, and makes a great statement about the use of the harmonica in any kind of music. It is just plain flat out the most expressive of any instrument, with only the human voice in competition--mostly because of its ability to use the expressive force of language. Violin and other bowed strings are expressive, certainly, but don't come close to the good old pocket harmonica, which is also capable of producing tones as clean and beautiful as any Cremona instrument.

--seed