Hello @expat48,
I know my father’s expression. He played, among other things, Saxophone and the various types such as alto, tenor, soprano and baritone saxophones the term was used.
Regards from Astrid 
Interesting stuff.
Before I retired I was in the medical field, but now I’m able to delve into anything that appeals…astronomy, rockets, music etc etc.
Thanks for all your feedback man.
3 Likes
On my guitar is a tone knob. On 10( fully open) it’s bright. In 0n 10 it’s much less bright. It’s the same note. I’d be interested to see the pattern on an oscilloscope. Someone said on the harmonica it has different frequencies but that can’t be it because it would be a different note. I suspect that the sound of a note is very complex and not a simple sine curve. Different tines gave the same general shape and vibrations per second but have many different peaks and valleys within that curve.
3 Likes
Hi @ingog
Your first sentence (quoted above) is wrong. On different instruments you get different combinations of harmonics with different amplitudes, although each type of instrument is playing the same note. The result is a very complex wave from each instrument.
In your second sentence (quoted above) you correctly recognize this complexity. It is this resulting complex waveform that makes it possible for us to recognize the sound as coming from, for example, a trumpet or a saxophone or a harmonica even when we cannot see which instrument is being played.
Studying the physics of sound will help you understand this.
Regards,
– Slim 
2 Likes
Nice discussion in this thread, really enjoying it and a lot to think about. Thanks guys.
Cheers
3 Likes
I can see there is a serious link here between physics and human biology. Aren’t we amazing creatures.
Slim you are truly a no nonsense deep thinker.
3 Likes
My understanding is the comb material effects overall pitch. Aside from certain keys starting higher. F, E, D, C, B, A, G are high to low. I do have a low E and a low F. Eb older is higher pitch in that mix. But when I looked into having a custom made one, cherry had a darker tone than maple, and new ones some have bamboo and the resin ones, got a couple east stop, they seem bright.
But over all I think you can just control that with experience. Though I did collect some cherry wood and plan on making a comb for this opera old timey harmonica. I kept the plates.
1 Like
As I stated above, comb material does not influence pitch (the identifiable note), but the comb itself (even microdifferences in reed chamber length, width & shape) does influence the complex combination of frequencies (harmonics) that is generated. This, in turn, is perceived by the listener as the same tone (note/pitch) but having a different “tone color” (resulting in descriptions such as sounding “lighter” or “darker”, etc).
– Slim
3 Likes
Cherry is warmer, Maple is hardwood, bright and clear and Birch is also a bright wood, bamboo seems to be also. However I will make a cherry one and find out. Cherry is softer, but the bush cherry I have is very hard.
The reed length and material decides pitch and note, the chamber size also. My daughter played clarinet back in the 80’s, the first a cheap resin one, then I met a guy with a wooden clarinet. They played the same, but one was harsh one was mellow,
1 Like
Hi @GreenStamps
Good luck.
The only “honest” way to settle the question about the tonal influence of comb material is to perform a “double blind” test, ideally also using a machine to blow and draw the notes in order to eliminate all possible differences in playing technique (tongue position, throat muscle involvement, air flow speed and pressure, hand cupping, etc.).
Of course there are other components that also must be kept identical: the reeds and reed plates, the cover plates and the exact same dimensions of the different combs (chamber width, length, 3-D shape,etc).
Any other sort of test will most likely result in you hearing exactly that which you “expect” to hear (test bias).
Regards,
– Slim
3 Likes
Meh, I’ve been playing over 60 years, perhaps my ears are better or worse than yours, also I know tonewoods, like an sg of mahogany is darker than say red alder, also les paul has maple top and mahogany base to maintain brightness. Woods affecting tone has been known for centuries. now the harp is a tiny little comb, so the influence may be negligible, but I don’t really care.
So, I could care less, how blind everyone is. But when I make my cherry comb, I’ll drop a line on here.
@expat48 - GREAT QUESTION!!! Everything affects the tone A LITTLE BIT. The shape of the cover plates, the material of the comb.
Now, Richard Sleigh claims that he can hear the difference between a single lacquered pear wood comb in the Marine Band 1896 and the triple-lacquered pear wood comb in the Marine Band Deluxe. Like @Slim, I’d have to see him do a double blind test to believe that!
I do think that comb has a SLIGHT effect on tone because when the reeds vibrate they will bounce a bit off of the comb materials in the chamber before traveling out to listeners ears. As to whether this change in tone is indeed perceptible…it would be quite a bit of work to create satisfactory scientific experiments on this subject so in the meantime we’ll all have to indulge ourselves in our opinions.
But, undoubtedly, the MAIN THING that effects the tone of a harmonica is the Material, Shape, and Position of the Reeds - the objects that are generating the tone with our breath.
My Joe Spiers harps sound different than stock Hohner harps because of the way he works the reeds. It’s rather astounding.
Now that we’ve belabored shop talk about gear, LET’S GET TO THE HEART OF THE MATTER.
ALL HARMONICAS sound thin if you put them in front of a fan.
What makes any harmonica sound HUGE and WARM and BRIGHT in all of the BEST ways, is the way it resonates in our mouths and throats.
Note that Brendan Power makes Konsheng harmonicas sound AMAZING. (They don’t sound like that when I play them! 
)
So while we’re on this topic - Vowel shapes, throat position, and hands have even bigger impact on tone than reed materials, shapes and positions.
“Uh” or “Oo” like Book are the WARMEST sounds. Also, opening the back of the throat and lifting the soft palette are worth exploring in this regard!
“Ee” is the widest BRIGHTEST sound on the harmonica. Sonny Terry was a master of using this ultra-bright tone especially on the -4, without having to play super-loud, which Joe Filisko refers to as “Icepick Tone.”
And of course, closing the hands around the harp (or playing into a coffee mug, or the harp wah with hand covered) produces the warmest tone, and playing open produces the brightest tone.
And then of course we could go down the rabbit hole of mics, pedals, and amps.
@blues_harp_cat welcome to the forum and great catch! Like @Slim said, brighter tones are more harmonically complex waves with more overtones, and warmer sounds are simpler more fundamental waves, which is why if you listen to a sine wave it has a very mellow, warm tone.
2 Likes
Regardless of harmonica, guitar, trombone, tone is pitch, or the frequency of the note, 440hz is A, but so is 110 (4 times 110 is 440) 110 is a lower pitch or tone.
2 Likes
No, that isn’t it.
When you breath in & out of a harmonica, do you just breath in most instances, or whisper ta, or other sounds?
3 Likes
Hi @Paulyz
This is varied and depends upon the effect and feeling that I wish to produce.
Regards,
– Slim
3 Likes
Thanks, but I mean in general.
3 Likes
Green stamps
Pitch is the auditory attribute of a sound, while tone is more about a sound’s quality. Though these differences might seem confusing, they are actually pretty easy to understand.
You know the pitch of a sound by how you perceive its frequency. In musical terms, people speak about a sound’s pitch by assigning it to a musical scale.
You should read this: The Difference Between Pitch Vs Tone - Sloan School Of Music.
Cheers
2 Likes
Hi @Paulyz
I too mean “in general” because that is the way that I play. Basically said, you should practice all of these “attack” methods regularly to develope a feel for what effects you can produce and then be able to use them without even thinking about which method to use. Instead you play while being guided by your feelings. You might even play the same phrase 2 or 3 times in one song, but using different “attacks” each time.
Do you think that professionals like Luke @Luke or Will Wilde or Jason Ricci always play any given song always using the same “attack” methods for each of the different notes or parts of the song?
Regards,
– Slim
3 Likes
Well said brother @Slim! This is where SO MUCH of the individual expression and color comes from in one harmonica player versus another: using various articulations versus just breathing… all these nuances…
I love how you said: You might even play the same phrase 2 or 3 times in one song, but using different “attacks” each time. So true! This is where feeling takes over.
The purpose of all technique is to clear the way for maximum expressiveness.
So the goal is to learn, try, explore, and practice as many things as possible so that whatever comes from within can make it out unadulterated.
Rock on!
3 Likes