Tech: What harmonica did Utah Bruce Phillips use?

Subject: Tech: What harmonica did Utah Bruce use?
From: GUEST,lefthanded guitar
Date: 17 Apr 23 - 12:51 AM

I was listening to one of my favorite Utah Bruce songs, on youtube, the Goodnight Loving Trail. This is not a live version it's from his album. On it, he plays a very sweet yet robust sounding harmonica. Does anyone know what type and brand of harmonica he used on this song? ?I'd like to get one for the next time I sing this venerable tune at a song circle.

Btw, I was in for a bit of an inflationary sticker shock when I bought a new harmonica last week. I was thinking I'd   get a batch of them, and found out that my Blues Harp now cost $60! Weren't they like $ 20 a few years ago? I was glad however that I prefer the Blues Harp to the Marine Band harmonica , which was being sold at my local music store for the unbelievable price of $170! So I didn't buy a batch of harmonicas, but I did buy one. However , if Bruce's harmonica is not $500 LOL ...and still available ...I'd like to buy that one too.

Subject: RE: Tech: What harmonica did Utah Bruce use?
From: Long Firm Freddie
Date: 17 Apr 23 - 03:52 AM

If I had to guess (and I make no claim to expertise) I'd say it was something like a Hohner Echo Tremelo.

There's a YouTube video of a concert at Ohio University in 1981 where he appears to be playing a double sided version - these are still available, key of C on one side and G on the other,

LFF

Subject: RE: Tech: What harmonica did Utah Bruce use?
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 17 Apr 23 - 06:33 AM

Well it's a tremolo, but it's hard to identify which one. The fine tuning is slightly out of kilter with the other instruments (some notes sound slightly flat), which does suggest a Hohner tremolo. The Echo models were compromised-tuned to something between Just and 12-tone equal temperament. When I played them I couldn't live with that so I stripped them down and retuned them to 12T ET at A=442 (typical for harmonicas), by which I mean the higher-pitched of the two reeds in each hole, in order to get them in tune with all those chaps who tuned up with cheap digital tuners. Quite a job with all those double reeds!

In the end I stopped using them because of that tuning issue, and also because of the fragile wood comb which was inclined to swell and even chip. It didn't help that the reedplates and covers were nailed on rather than screwed, which meant that everything was ever so slightly looser when you reassembled the harp. I found the sound relatively weak (you wouldn't pick up on that in a miked-up recording) and that the reeds were inclined to drift slightly out of tune, which messed up the tremolo on some notes. Then there were the missing notes at the low end, as the harp was tuned down there the same as a blues harp. Incomprehensible.

My tremolos are Tombo Band Deluxes in D and G. They are brilliantly loud, they are solo-tuned so no missing low notes, they stay in tune and the plastic combs are much better. Also, they come tuned to 12T ET. Great.

The double sides were useful (my CD has me playing City of Savannah on a D/G one which I flipped at the modulation of the tune), but they were way too much trouble for someone who needed hard-working harps every Friday night! By the way, my most-used harps are not tremolos but blues harps retuned to the Paddy Richter tuning. I highly recommend the Suzuki Promasters. I've steered clear of Seydels as I had early failures with a couple of their Session Steel harps - and I'm a gentle player. Others' mileages do vary.

Subject: RE: Tech: What harmonica did Utah Bruce use?
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 17 Apr 23 - 07:19 AM

Incidentally, I've just discovered that my playing of City of Savannah as mentioned above is on Spotify, though my old mucker Davy Hynes hasn't credited me, the naughty boy! You can find it on the album Harmonica Ireland by Dave Hynes. My friend (and superb luthier) Martin Cole and I made that recording in Martin's studio in 2004. As I said, I was using a D/G double-sided Echo (that setup was hard to get then so I dunno about now!). Davy sells, or used to sell, Tombo harps but there isn't much of his playing on the album. He was mainly the track curator! I still have that Echo, gathering dust somewhere, dropped down the pecking order in favour of those two Tombo Bands (sold to me by Davy!)

Subject: RE: Tech: What harmonica did Utah Bruce use?
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 17 Apr 23 - 07:30 AM

We poor harmonica players have to develop three different kinds of muscle memory if we want to play chromatic, tremolos and blues harps. Get used to one (blues harps in my case), and the holes in the other two aren't in quite the right places, at least to start with. I played Carolan's Concerto on a blues harp routinely, then, somewhat cockily, decided to play it on a chromatic in front of people. Disaster! I'm on YouTube somewhere playing that on a Special 20 low D in a garden in Spain in 95° heat but I haven't looked at it for years. You can see how gorgeous-looking I am if you can find it... :-(

Subject: RE: Tech: What harmonica did Utah Bruce use?
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 17 Apr 23 - 07:39 AM

Me again ( sorry!) - I've just found another of my tracks, uncredited again, on Harmonica Ireland, the Dublin Reel/The Wind That Shakes The Barley. Those are the only two tracks of mine on that album, honest!

Subject: RE: Tech: What harmonica did Utah Bruce use?
From: Joe Offer
Date: 17 Apr 23 - 11:58 AM

Utah Bruce? Bruce "Utah" Phillips wrote Goodnight-Loving Trail. He lived the next county north of me in California. Same guy?

-Joe-

Subject: RE: Tech: What harmonica did Utah Bruce use?
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 17 Apr 23 - 12:22 PM

That's him, Joe. I had a touch of confusion myself when I looked him up in order to reply to the thread.

Subject: RE: Tech: What harmonica did Utah Bruce use?
From: Long Firm Freddie
Date: 17 Apr 23 - 12:35 PM

"We poor harmonica players have to develop three different kinds of muscle memory if we want to play chromatic, tremolos and blues harps."

Same for us poor concertina players switching between Anglo, English and Duet systems.

LFF

Subject: RE: Tech: What harmonica did Utah Bruce use?
From: Mark Ross
Date: 17 Apr 23 - 12:39 PM

I was Utah's sideman over a number of years. He played a double sided echo harp, C & G. They also make them D & G, and F & Bflat. It was this model; https://www.amazon.com/Hohner-Echo-Harp-54-64/dp/B01MXTUPC1

Mark Ross

Subject: RE: Tech: What harmonica did Utah Bruce use?
From: GUEST
Date: 19 Apr 23 - 06:06 PM

Mudcat was down for a few days so I'm just getting back now. So a big thank you to Mark ?? for telling me the exact harmonica that Bruce was playing, and for the link. You must have some wonderful stories about playing with Utah Bruce. Please feel free to share a few, if you like.


I have one myself, maybe not such a big story, but was fun for us at the time. A bunch of friends were going to see him at Cafe Lena (years ago of course). Before the concert we stopped to get a snack (can't remember if it was in Lena's or a coffee shop) But there at a table was Bruce. Someone in my group smiled & waved and said hello; and he was kind enough to invite us all over to his table . Very warm, down to earth fellow. I unfortunately was so star struck that I said not one single word to this poor man,other than gaping at him as if I d just seen a UFO landing - but he smiled at me kindly all through dinner as he chatted amiably with my friends . . He was always a joy to see on stage and is probably vastly underrated as a songwriter; all I know is that all through these many years later, his songs are still being proudly played at song circles and the like.

Also thanks to Steve, and I enjoyed hearing your music on youtube. And thanks to Freddie as well; I guess I am going to have to learn a new way of playing this instrument than the Blues Harp but as I always say: with a harmonica, you can hit a wrong note, but you can't hit a bad note.( Or is it the other way around ??) ? Anyway it'll be fun to try in the future.

Subject: RE: Tech: What harmonica did Utah Bruce use?
From: GUEST,PS that was me lefthanded guitar on previous
Date: 19 Apr 23 - 06:09 PM

I am the OP but forgot to sign in.