# A good harmonica vst ...



## Fleer (Jan 4, 2018)

... for my inner Toots Thielemans (who passed away last year). 
Does it exist?


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## rrichard63 (Jan 4, 2018)

Chris Hein Chromatic Harmonica??


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## Fleer (Jan 4, 2018)

Thanks! Also looking at some Sergio Leone style playing ...


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## Joe_D (Jan 4, 2018)

The Chris Hein Harmonica is really great, especially for jazz (like the great Toots). It doesn't work so well for dirty diatonic harp blues, but it sounds like that's not what you want anyway.


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## Fleer (Jan 4, 2018)

Indeed. Thanks, guys


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## Heizenhaus (Jan 5, 2018)

Other ones I know about are thee 8Dio Misfit Harmonica and the Harmonica by Bolder Sounds. Bolder Sounds also offer a Kontakt library with Harmonica riffs for free.


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## Ashermusic (Jan 5, 2018)

+1 for the Chris Hein.


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## synthpunk (Jan 5, 2018)

Fleer, pick up a couple Hohner's at the local shop (Mr. Music in Alston) and give it go, much better than samples IMO.

Although, I have used the Cinematique Double Bass Harm a few times for shits and giggles. http://www.cinematique-instruments.com/inst_bass_harmonica.php


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## Ashermusic (Jan 5, 2018)

synthpunk said:


> Fleer, pick up a couple Hohner's at the local shop and give it go, much better than samples IMO.



That is good advice for blues/rock like the Stones, Dylan, Lennon, etc. but not good advice for chromatic harmonica like Thielman, Stevie, etc. A chromatic harmonica takes a _lot_ of practice.


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## Reid Rosefelt (Jan 5, 2018)

Having played blues harmonica since I was in my teens, it is something that takes awhile to master. 

But if you're looking to do something like the few notes from "Man With Harmonica" in "Once Upon a Time in the West," you could probably pick that up in hours, or at least days. You can buy a good blues harmonica for $30 to $40. 

Chromatic harmonicas (with the slider on one end) used by Toots & Stevie Wonder are different instruments and easier to sample and turn into VIs.

I've never found a synth or VI that convinced me with a bluesy bent note. I'm always on the lookout for one. Not that I would use it but just because I'm curious about what modern technology is capable of. 

Like anything, if you learn a little bit about how to play an actual instrument, you'll do better at approximating it with a VI. I've heard stuff played on the DX7 harp preset that didn't sound real at all, but did have the musicality and feeling of a real harmonica.


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## Fleer (Jan 5, 2018)

Always thought I would be able to play a mean harmonica, being a flautist since 1968 or so 
But it's that Ennio Morricone sound I'm after. And sweet Toots Thielemans of course, god rest his soul.


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## Reid Rosefelt (Jan 5, 2018)

All it takes is a little practice and a lot of reverb.


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## Ashermusic (Jan 5, 2018)

The best harmonica player in the world possibly is an LA studio musician named Tommy Morgan, largely unknown to the general public. There is no style he cannot nail and no music he cannot sight read. He is considered almost irreplaceable and I think he is now around 80 years old. I have been fortunate to be on sesssions with him and he is a lovely man as well.


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## Fleer (Jan 5, 2018)

Hope he lives at least as long as Toots who got to 94. You should have seen him whistle his Bluesette


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## jonnybutter (Sep 20, 2018)

Any action on the harmonica VI front that anyone knows of?

Like a couple other old timers here, I used to have a Yamaha VL-1, and the modeled harmonica (either a stock patch or Patchman patch) was really great, esp, with a breath controller. But I have never seen a modeled harmonica again! I've searched, but no cigar. Is the Chris Hein one the only good VI still? I'm sure it's well done, but I prefer to play modeled instruments when available, and successful - and I know it can be done well, since the VL-1 had one. Any thoughts from anyone?

And yes, Tommy Morgan is great. So is Howard Levy, although I don't think he plays a chromatic. I have hired him, and he is a wonderful musician.


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## Joe_D (Sep 20, 2018)

jonnybutter said:


> Is the Chris Hein one the only good VI still? I'm sure it's well done, but I prefer to play modeled instruments when available, and successful - and I know it can be done well, since the VL-1 had one.



Since the Chris Hein Harmonica has phase-locked samples, it plays more like a Sample-Modeling or Audio Modeling virtual instrument than it does like a collection of samples, IMO. It is easy to sculpt very expressive lines with it.


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## jonnybutter (Sep 20, 2018)

Thanks Joe. I'm going to pick it up this weekend.


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## X-Bassist (Sep 20, 2018)

jonnybutter said:


> Any action on the harmonica VI front that anyone knows of?
> 
> Like a couple other old timers here, I used to have a Yamaha VL-1, and the modeled harmonica (either a stock patch or Patchman patch) was really great, esp, with a breath controller. But I have never seen a modeled harmonica again! I've searched, but no cigar. Is the Chris Hein one the only good VI still? I'm sure it's well done, but I prefer to play modeled instruments when available, and successful - and I know it can be done well, since the VL-1 had one. Any thoughts from anyone?
> 
> And yes, Tommy Morgan is great. So is Howard Levy, although I don't think he plays a chromatic. I have hired him, and he is a wonderful musician.



I have Chris Hein (got it on sale) and like it, many articulations, just takes some time and skill to master it.

The free harmonica from bolder still has some good samples in kontakt:
http://www.boldersounds.net/index.php?main_page=product_music_info&products_id=82

These free riffs are even better (from what I remember)
https://www.boldersounds.com/index.php?main_page=product_music_info&products_id=83

These I don’t have, like the Bass hamonica from Cinematic Inst (€32):
https://www.cinematique-instruments.com/inst_bass_harmonica.php

Some newer choices like this from Auditory labs ($26):
http://www.auditory-lab.com/Harmonica.html

Sonivox has one for $20 that I haven’t seen before:
https://sonivoxmi.com/products/details/harmonica

And sampleism has a small one for $5:
https://www.sampleism.com/product/harmonica


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## Vovique (Sep 21, 2018)

TigerTheFrog said:


> All it takes is a little practice and a lot of reverb.


Absolutely. One of the instruments that sound great simply recorded into a MacBook built-in mic in any room.


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## Reid Rosefelt (Sep 21, 2018)

X-Bassist said:


> I have Chris Hein (got it on sale) and like it, many articulations, just takes some time and skill to master it.
> 
> The free harmonica from bolder still has some good samples in kontakt:
> http://www.boldersounds.net/index.php?main_page=product_music_info&products_id=82
> ...



A free demo of the SONiVOX harmonica can be downloaded https://sonivoxmi.com/products/details/harmonica (HERE). I wasn't crazy about it. Reverb.com sells it for five bucks HERE


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## bigcat1969 (Sep 21, 2018)

Dunno if any of these fit the bill for the awesome Mr. Fleer, but free CC0 / PD from Sam Gossner's samples. About 65 megs total and easy to delete at any rate...

http://www.mediafire.com/file/u6ir374c2p7itmg/VCSL_20_Special_Harmonica.zip/file
http://www.mediafire.com/file/eyc90739pep2t54/VCSL_20F_Special_Harmonica.zip/file
http://www.mediafire.com/file/bcnjpxzdrpauuub/VCSL_64_Super_Harmonica.zip/file


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## SchnookyPants (Dec 21, 2018)

TigerTheFrog said:


> A free demo of the SONiVOX harmonica can be downloaded https://sonivoxmi.com/products/details/harmonica (HERE). I wasn't crazy about it. Reverb.com sells it for five bucks HERE



Looks like it's down to $2.50 now.


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## SchnookyPants (Dec 21, 2018)

Ohhh, this kind of stuff drives me NUTS!

So I go to check out the Auditory offering, which includes a chromatic as well as diatonic (Blues harp style). The diatonic is what I'm looking for.

They offer two audio demos - one of each type. The first one is of the chromatic, and it sounds fine, but I'm really enthused to check out the diatonic "marine band" type. So I let er' rip and... booooooooo... Its friggin' Stevie's "For Once In My Life", which can only be done on a chromatic - and it says "Diatonic"! These people need help.

It drives me nuts, I tell ya'!


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