Thanks for your note.

As for seeing Big Walter live, I have seen him many times, as well as Little Walter, and so on. James Cotton (and his band, including guitarist Luther Tucker) lived with me when they were playing in Detroit during the 1960s. Etc.

It is true that Big Walter had large hands and these undoubtedly helped to shape his tone. But from my experience of seeing Walter in person and listening to his recordings, as you mentioned, he could play with that tone with or without a mic, AND perhaps more important with or without cupping his hands. He could hold the harmonica up with two fingers and he still had that same tone, more or less.

My own opinion is that, aside from being a natural genius at the instrument, he got his sound from use of the mouth, cheeks, throat, diaphragm, and who knows what else. I also feel that he had played most of his basic riffs/style so long that he was very comfortable with it. This, and the fact that he played with the beat for the most part, gave him a kind of stability. Notice that he tends to keep a beat with his melodic lines, kitting all the eighth or sixteenth notes, rather than waiting them out. More often than not, Horton would alternate blow and draw notes to better keep the rhythm, gain air control, and establish a steady flow. His turnarounds are classic studies of economy, grace, and the preservation of air!

Regardless of what reasons I might imagine, it is a fact that no one has the loose, easy, sense of space and time that Big Walter has. This is very evident when he is coupled with musicians that also share that particular sense of time in their playing, like Johnny Shines, Johnny Young, and so on. Even with musicians with much less sense of space, Walter manages to somehow slow things down for everyone and stretch that musical space to allow some relaxation. Horton's musical activity actually created more space for those who played with him.

And there is the fact that he had a profound sense of note selection, coupled with a benign musical sense, with more than a touch of humor. It seems evident to me that the music we hear from Big Walter is the result of a long process of paring down and getting rid of excess. He does not run endless lightning-fast scales or meaningless runs, but carefully honed notes that have great depth and meaning, aside from their tone -- the product of a lifetime of background rhythms reduced to what we hear on the records.

The choice of good notes is something I believe a harmonica player is born with. Most play too much. Big Walter was supreme, in my opinion, in this. He seldom overplayed. Paul Butterfield is another player with a sparse, but meaningful note choice. I spent a fair amount of time around Butterfield, since he was the first player I actually got to know.

I can see I am getting carried away here in my appreciation of Big Walter. Thanks for listening,

Annie: This new feature has had a spectacular liftoff. You start with an interesting question from Michael Erlewine about mic selection; you give an interesting answer; then James Cotton Bankd's friend from Detroit blows us away with a great, great comment. Hark! the Herald Angels Sing!

Hello, Michael. I had the opportunity to play over at the Skellig in Waltham recently. For it, I brought along my BeyerDynamic M300N. The house had a Shure SM58 and the host (Tom Bianchi) and I agreed that the Shure was warmer & better.

I didn't attempt to cup either of them, but simply stepped up and played about 2 - 6 inches away from the mic.

However, I like the Beyer for recording purposes, because it's sensitive enough to capture sound of the room acoustics. Overall, it's records a pretty bright sound.

Hope this helps.

Just a little side comment about Big Walter; those that saw him will recall that he occasionally would place the mike against the side of his throat while blowing harp for a really unique tonal effect. Where did he come up with that!? Strange, but when he did it, it just worked. While playing with Floyd Jones it would seem like things were getting a little raggedy, and then that pure genius for tone and showmanship would just bust through. Walter could be remote, but there was this almost child like purity that came out in his being and in his music.

Dear Miss Annie,
Can you tell what harp you are using and what key on Some of These Days,if you would please.If you've just a shade of time, I reckon you're busier that a cat in brand new sandbox, I'd sure enough be thanking ya,let alone be slap tickled to death if you could let me know.
Thank You Very Much
Yours in Need
Gary

Hi Annie. Jim McBride here from Atlanta, thanks again for the great harmonica seminar you gave our club. Everyone loved it and you made a lot of new fans here.

I have a question about playing through vocal mics. I play in a duo and I like to play some songs through the vocal mic on a stand. The problem I have is that its very sensitive to my distance from the mic and I have a hard time keeping a consistent volume. I'm using a Shure SM57 mic. Any advice on this? Thanks. Jim McBride

hi annie.thanks for the music first of all.
i got something in my heart.....
are the marine band, still good out of the box or its time to cry?
nico.

What is your harp-rig sett-up?Do you play 1,2nd 3rd positions?..Mike..harp2please@yahoo.com

The Hohner Marine Bands are better out of the box than they were 10 years ago. That being said, it's still difficult to find that perfect harmonica every time. I've been buying the new Marine Band Deluxe lately and they are a little more durable.
My main amplified rig when we play as a duo is an Astatic 200 (with the stem but no switch) that was refurbished by the amazing Dennis Gruenling. I play it through a Boss RV-3 Reverb/Delay pedal going into a little old Fender Vibro-Champ with a 10-inch speaker. I mostly play cross harp (2nd) and straight harp (1st) with Paul, but I do enjoy playing 3rd, 4th, 5th, 11th, and 12th positions on occasion.

Hi Annie! I was wondering if you know of a good amp tech.. I have a fender bassman reissue that does not break up.. I changed the tubes to 5881's & it didn't do much..I am in NH..any info would be appreciated.. Also I have a rod piazza custom astatic that keeps blinking out on me. if you know anyone who fixes mics also! Any recomendations for a good smaller amp too!! THANKYOU!!! Fan for years!