you should make one that you can hear only through headphones so you can play at home

Thank you. Believe it or not, this all started back in 1990 or thereabouts. It was the result of an experiment on the physics of the harmonica. At the time, I used eddy current proximity sensors to measure their motion. Then I suddenly realized that the same sensors could be used to transduce the motion to audio. The next incarnation involved piezo polymer (PVDF) painstakingly bonded to each reed. Finally, circa 2001, the introduction of inexpensive SMT sensors made the optics feasible.

You need a Brendan or Howard or Jason to come and play this thing to show how far the ting can go.

been playing blues and folk harp for 22 yrs now, wow! would love to try the electric harmonica!

So sorry for delayed reply. You are absolutely correct, the ELX does not support cupping. Think of it though like an electric guitar: you lose some acoustic expression, but you gain so much versatility. Thanks for your interest.

The ELX is an acoustic harmonica. You can play it softly, but it is not silent. We are working on a "practice mute" that would be similar to those used on a saxpahone, we have a prototype but are still working on the finished product. You can plug it through an amp but it will still make "noise" for those sitting close by!

Thanks, Wammo. We really enjoyed your visit to our shop. You're welcome any time!

First time I hear a TurboHarp. Fascinating!

why does this only have 50 thou views... this is amazing

A fair point. It would be interesting to hear a direct in clean output of this harmonica without any of the acoustic signal in the background or overdrive of the signal. Probably quite a unique tone...

@TurboHarp Dr. Jim, I can't help but appreciate people that have their technical chops together, know how to laugh & have their feet near the ground. This is really cool. Makes my heart flutter.

Wow! Too cool. I'd like to visit you next time I am in Pittsburgh. This is just very impressive stuff!

James, I am very happy you've put a movie of the Turboharp ELX on Youtube and hope you will find an way of producing this great machine soon. Sure will buy one. I use turbolids now on both a special tuned Lee Oskar and a special 20 in circular tuning from Harponline, great stuff.

Thanks for your question. The general principle would work on any harmonica. But this particular design is built around the Hohner Special-20 body. It allows you to swap harps in and out, as long as they are the same form factor. IFFFF we can gain some traction with this product, I would love to develop a chromatic version. Thanks again.