Killer harmonics

Andy DePaule · Post by **Andy DePaule** » 17 Oct 2023 1:30 pm

Not quite steel guitar, but killer harmonics and no pedals needed with the buffalo horn wammy bar.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QTOhFnWOeCE

Seems to me like the kind of music any steeler would like?

Glenn Demichele · Post by **Glenn Demichele** » 17 Oct 2023 1:47 pm

Wow. Bass player has a lot going on too. I'm surprised how good the sound was. Sounded like a magnetic pickup, but couldn't see any cords anywhere. Thanks for posting.

Joachim Kettner · Post by **Joachim Kettner** » 18 Oct 2023 3:38 am

Masters of their instuments!

Mike Neer · Post by **Mike Neer** » 18 Oct 2023 6:14 am

Absolutely love this!

Instrument is called the đàn bầu. If you want to learn how to get the most out of harmonics, this is the stuff.

Oliver Samland · Post by **Oliver Samland** » 18 Oct 2023 3:11 pm

Very nice, sounds beautiful!
So it's basically a single string pull release direct gear? The only lever (and at the same time "changer finger") raising a couple and lowering even a couple more notes? I'd be curious to hear a rendition of Night Life on that copedent.

Jon Voth · Post by **Jon Voth** » 18 Oct 2023 8:06 pm

Been to China twice, bought several instruments, really researched about them (I know it's not China) but never ever seen that!! And of course it's a thousand years old!

Really cool stuff, thank you for sharing. And I would suck at it just like harmonics on the PSG.

Andy DePaule · Post by **Andy DePaule** » 20 Oct 2023 12:04 pm

They don't have Dan Bau in any other country but Viet Nam where it's very popular.

The pickup is a small pole magnet wound with fine coil wire. Looks like a sewing machine bobbin.
The original instruments were acoustic, but so quiet they were not often used.
Now with the pickups they sound to me a lot like a pedal steel with an E-Bow.
I just love that sound.

I also had never heard someone playing bass on a Dan Bau before so after all these years it was new to me also.

Usually they have just one string made from music wire about like a 0.020 plain.

The pick is wood and looks like an icecream stick.
As you can easily see they get the harmonics with their palm edge.

The whammy bar is made from Buffalo Horn.
I guess you could call it pull release, but there is no mechanism other than the player's perfect touch on how far to push or pull the whammy bar to alter the string pitch. Guess it would be like playing a pedal steel without any positive stops and trying to get it right!

Ian Lambach · Post by **Ian Lambach** » 7 Nov 2023 8:55 pm

This video is really weird!

Did you guys notice that they are miming and not actual playing live?! Their hands are not matching the vibrato, the drummer misses hits, and there are no mics or cables.

https://youtu.be/k6ERWC7JhdA?si=H7ej0TEF9pmHxQc7

This woman is awesome. She has vibrato like Robert Randolph

I really like the saturated diy sound that the pickups in dan baus seem to have

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Killer harmonics

Killer harmonics

Thanks guys, Questions answered