Are you looking for harmonica accessories; a pedal effect, a stomp box, may be a harmonica holder or an amplifier emulator? After reading this article, you will gain even more information about your favourite musical instrument.
As soon as we commence learning to play harmonica, we start getting knowledge about some of its most useful accessories too such as a suitcase, to carry it anywhere safely and yet without any hassle, a harmonica support; so as we may be able to play it without using hands (e.g. if we want to play it along with a guitar), and then effects modules such as delay, reverb, chorus or amplifier emulators. There are some other accessories that can provide great advantage to your harp; for instance, stomp boxes, usually made of wood - that produce a percussive sound similar to that of a drum - when we hit them with a foot.
Let's begin evaluating each of them starting with the bags used to transport harmonica. You must agree that if you wish to study this musical instrument seriously, there is no stopping after buying just one or two; you can't help buying them as you come across different harmonicas with the passage of time, ending up stocking 10, 20 or may be 30 instruments in your repository. At that point, carrying two or more in your pockets, either encased in small plastic boxes or enclosed within cloth wraps isn't suffice, you need a bag or a suitcase then, for their transportibility.
In this scenario, there are many solutions available in the market; from small cloth bags - containing up to 6 harps - to luxury wooden suitcases covered with tweed that allow to carry microphones, cables and other accessories too, let alone the instruments. The prices for such housings vary from a few dollars for a fabric or leather sheathing, to $100 or above for a wooden suitcase upholstered and covered with precious material. Make selection for harmonica casing according to your usage preferrences: no matter how much money you spend on this accessory, this is the one worthy of such expense.
A harmonica holder: whenever you wish to play harmonica without involving your hands; let's suppose you plan to play the harp and a guitar simultaneously, then a rack - support for harmonica - becomes an indispensable accessory for you. This object, usually made of metal or a combination of metal and plastic both; hangs around the neck, freeing our hands for multi tasking, as well as allowing us to keep the harp in front of our mouth at a comfortable distance, where we can play it with ease after embracing some adjustments.
The harmonica rack is an extra priviledge for those who complain of suffering from pain, either in their arms or shoulder joints, which refrains them from moving these bodyparts easily; for this reason harmonica, along with this accessory, becomes the only instrument that can be played by persons dealing with dysfunctional upper limbs. This is a unique feature not be underestimated at all.
There is yet another distinct harmonica support that lets us fix it to a microphone shaft. It can also be used in the same context - with the same benefits - where we are required to sing and play at the same time. Personally, I prefer ordinary harmonica rack when I sing, because it doesn't make me stay closer to the microphone stand always, and I like one of its features more, i.e. it stays firmer in front of the mouth.
Effect modules: if you fancy adding a delay or reverb, or a sheer change in the sound of your harmonica, you may take benefit from these electronic accessories that are otherwise used with a guitar normally. There are effects pedals of many types (including battery powered too) which are capable of completely distorting the instrument sound or to just enhance it a little bit. You can really go crazy with vast variety of choices available, but all you need to know is that - to use these accessories - you ought to have a microphone (usually the bullet type) and to connect it with the effect unit input. The output of the device must then be connected to an amplifier.
The Amplifier Emulator: this accessory is really beneficial if you want to administer the sound of the harmonica in coherrence with an existing amplification system. The amplifier emulator is used with a bullet-like microphone and is the same one as used with guitars. You connect the microphone to this effect and the treated sound is sent to the external amplifier through the output jack attack. The basic difference between this device and a real guitar amplifier is that the former, neither has the power section that can produce volume nor it has any speaker.
The stomp box: an object usually made of wood that produces bass rich sound like the sound of an acoustic kick drum. There are many types of stomp boxes available in the market; from those made of handcrafted wood - with custom engravings on them - to the bizarre creations that use the most varied materials such as rubber, plastic or cork. There is a capsule inside this accessory, similar to a microphone or a pickup like those of guitars. These elements, when hit, produce a signal that shall be turned into sound. The stomp box has a jack output to connect it to the amplifier.
The Maintenance Kit: If you want to know more details about the inside of the harmonica and want to make amendments or repair it yourself; you need to buy accessories such as limes, screwdrivers, nails etc. There are some special kits available also that contain everything you need to maintain your beloved instrument.
