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After eight years of continuous development, based on feedback (no
pun
intended) from many of the world's greatest harmonica players, we're
happy
to announce the all-new, completely reimagined Harmonicaster electric
harmonica. A true electric instrument, with steel reeds and inductive
magnetic pickups, it has a vibrant and exciting native tone rich with
sustain, you can play as loudly as
you want without feedback, and it's compatible with any effects
device or pedal, greatly expanding your tonal palette. Most importantly, you can take the harmonica to musical places where it hasn't been before. Imagine
being one of the first musicians to get to play one of Leo Fender's
electric guitars or one of Laurens Hammond's innovative new organs. I
can't imagine what you can do with the Harmonicaster any more than Leo
Fender could imagine Jimi Hendrix but I'm not imagining the fact that
you have to go back to the first bluesman who cupped his harp to a
cheesy PA mic and plugged in to find as groundbreaking technological
development for harmonica players as the Harmonicaster represents.
Working with Lace Music Products we have developed a purpose-built version of their revolutionary Alumitone guitar pickup. At just 1/16" thick, it may be the thinnest pickup ever made, thin enough to slide into our harmonicas, out of the way, so you can play them just like any other harp with your favorite technique, pucker or tongue blocking, all bends and overblows included.
Our harmonica components are custom fabricated for The Electric Harmonica Company in Klingenthal, Germany, by Seydel, the oldest harmonica company in the world (established in 1847, before Hohner), using the same durable and great sounding stainless steel reeds as they use in their Session Steel harmonicas, highly regarded by harp players around the world, along with Seydel reedplates and combs. While we think our harmonicas sound best as part of the Harmonicaster system, they're fully functional harmonicas that can be played with a cupped mic or acoustically. When playing conventionally, the open, parabolic coverplates project a rich tone.
The two pickups (one for each reedplate) are mounted in compact, lightweight housings that contain controls located at your fingertips, a premium multi-contact PureTone 1/4" output jack for connecting to an amplifier, and a switch to toggle between humbucker and single coil pickup tones.
The Harmonicaster will be offered in two models, the Harmonicaster Standard, with passive volume and tone controls, and the Harmonicaster Artist, with a rechargeable, onboard preamp with 20 dB of boost, active EQ, and a sustain control. The sustain control on the Harmonicaster Artist is supplied by and used under license from ISP Technologies, the acknowledged leaders in audio control tech.
The Harmonicasters are lightweight and compact. The Harmonicaster
Standard weighs less than 200 grams with one of our Harmonicaster
harmonicas, while the Harmonicaster Artist weighs in at 306 grams.
Compare that to 348 grams for a JT30 with a Marine Band and 424
grams for a Green Bullet with a Marine Band.
While size and weight are important, the most important thing about
the Harmonicaster is how great it sounds and what you can do with it. You can hear some samples
below.
Changing keys is simple and takes just seconds. Just remove the
harmonica from the housing and replace it with another. The pickups
slide into the harmonica and it snaps
securely into place, thanks to powerful, embedded rare earth neodymium
magnets, and you're ready to go. The basic package comes with one
Harmonicaster harmonica in the key of A, but we'll be offering
additional
Harmonicaster harmonicas in keys
from Low F to High G. Special and custom tunings will also be available
on special order. Harmonicaster harmonica
coverplates are color coded and embossed with key signatures so you can
identify keys immediately, even on a poorly lit stage.They are sanded
and polished in a 12 step process and then clear coated for a durable
glossy, mirror smooth playing surface.
Speaking of color, the Harmonicaster housings will be available in
black or
silver, as well as more that a dozen custom colors.
The Harmonicaster is a high quality, professional grade musical
instrument, made with the best components we can source.
The Harmonicaster is proudly "Made in the Motor City" from
domestic
and imported components. As mentioned, our harmonica components are
made in Germany by Seydel. The pickups start out as
aluminum blanks laser cut in Reno, Nevada. We form them into shape,
laser cut and install the magnets at our own shop here in the Detroit
area,
and send them out to
Lace in
southern California, for them to add their Alumitone magic. Our circuit
boards are made in China by JLCPCB, one of the world's largest PCB
makers with surface mount operations done in Asia and through-hole
components added here in Michigan. Final
assembly of the Harmonicaster is
done in our shop where we 3D print the other parts.