Lighten up your stage presence with the Turbolid

Here is a review of the Turbolid that was published in Planet Harmonica around 2003. I still stand by what I said, it's a great product. More info at http://www.turboharp.com

Although it's been widely discussed, I feel it may be necessary to describe the product again. The turbolids are modular harmonica coverplates designed to fit on Hohner's Special 20 models. They are made of hard plastic and come in various colors, some translucent, and are designed to replace the classic metal covers of Special 20s. Unlike the classic covers, they fit around the harmonica, on the sides as well as on top. The left hand side (where the low notes are for right handed players) is wider than the right hand side, to avoid the common problem with low keyed harps when the reeds tap on the inside of the cover if played hard.

So, in theory, what's the use ? Well, here's the pitch on Turboharp's website :

• Attractive, sleek, appearance
• Louder, less muffled sound
• Improved cupping seal
• Elimination of pesky screws
• No more fumbling to determine "which end is up"

Attractive, sleek, appearance
On the appearance issue, no question, it makes your harps look different. I received a Licorice lid (opaque black) and a Crystal Ice (clear translucent). The black one is fairly sober, it gives the Special 20 a kind of CX-12 look which can still make you look like a serious, albeit modern, blues player. The translucent one is a lot wilder, I thinks it's cool, but if you use that (or the even funkier colours available) on stage, you'd better be playing hip hop, funk, or reggae, coz' you definetely won't look like you've paid your blues dues !!! A bit like playing a slow Chicago blues on a Gibson Flying V ! Seriously though, the translucent looks way cool since you can see the mechanics, the reeds and all.

Louder, less muffled sound
I guess that's true, although I didn't find it strikingly blatant. I tried the turbolid both on a standard Special 20 that used to be way muffled... It's still muffled, maybe a little less, but not noticeably. I tried it on a customised T-Bone harp by Tim Moyer as well, and I think I can hear a slightly louder projection, although, again, I wasn't astounded by the difference. As with the CX-12, though, the difference might be more noticeable amplified than acoustic. The sound is more directed, and the microphone micks that up.

Improved cupping seal
I was expecting this to be the most obvious difference between normal harps and turbolidded ones. It wasn't. I haven't noticed even a tiny bit of difference. Maybe my cupping technique is unorthodox, but I haven't managed to make a more pronounced wah-wah with the turbolid, unless I adopt a really awkward hand position. Oh, well, wah-wah is overused anyway, so what the heck...

Elimination of pesky screws
Now here's a real convenient and practical improvement. Your harp is gapped too low ? In two seconds flat you're in there with your reed tools. Five seconds later, the harp is back online. You could even regap in the middle of a song ! Need I say more ?
Well, as a matter of fact, yes ! The elimination of screws has had a secundary but significant impact in my household: my eleven month-old son now plays the harmonica. Let me explain. Corentin (that's the name of my son) has seen me playing harp ever since he was born and, of course, wants to join the fun. But which model can you give to a kid that young to make sure he's not going to hurt himself with the screws, the corners, the back of the coverplates ? Well, none really... Hohner has a nice plastic (and safe) diatonic harp but it's life expectancy can be compared to zero...  Now I know where to go if I wanna buy a harp for a kid I know (and believe me, I do want to do that quite often !) and I suspect that Translucent Orange and Translucent Mint Green will go down well with young'uns !

No more fumbling to determine "which end is up"
I guess that's true although it's never been a major problem of mine (my harps are all labeled on the same side, so it's fairly easy to find the top).

So are there any drawbacks ?

Some people mentioned the embouchure. It's true that the embouchure is slightly different to that of a normal harp, especially on the low-end since the covers rise a little more sharply than usual. That being said, the mouthpiece protrudes sufficiently at the front in order to provide a good mouth seal, and all in all I found it a lot easier to feel comfortable on a turbolidded harp than I do on a CX-12 for example. Also, the plastic used is very sleek and allows easy sliding up and down the harp, which some metal covers don't do too well...

Some people also seem to have felt that holding the harp was harder. I found that on the contrary, it's easier than with a standard harp : the covers are deeper than standard covers which means you can put your fingers further down and therefore put the harp deeper in your mouth (with improved sound results.) Also, the covers are recessed at the back and provide a "natural" position for the fingers.

I guess the only real drawback to the turbolids are for left handed players who still play with low ends on the left : they would need to reverse the lid to have a good hold with the right hand, but then the wide end would be on the highest notes...

All in all, I feel that the turbolid is a great product. It may not be revolutionary, but it's a sound and efficient product that does more or less what it sets out to do. It's fairly inexpensve (considering you don't need dozens of them) and looks pretty cool. I would even recommend the combined use of Turbolids and I-Mics for an improved stage outfit! They even do a chrome plated lid now, for increased shine on stage!

I certainly will purchase more turbolids, if only for the kids around me, but also for my own harps, very likely. I hope they end up doing 12 different colours so that I can colour code my harps by key!

Comments

[marc]

Thanks for republishing all this great Planet Harmonica content, Ben. I read a fair amount of what was up on the main site, but I obviously missed some gems. I'm saving your previous republished review of JJ Milteau's "Memphis" until after I give it a listen (downloaded it from emusic.com over the weekend--they gave us 50 free downloads with our $10 monthly subscription or something like that).

[marc]

PS--I almost got my son (4.5 yrs old) a turboharp, but I went the cheaper route and got him a Suzuki Easy Rider--I wish I had spent the extra $5 and got him the turboharp.