That Little Walter tone

[Ian Ball]

Hi, I've been lurking for a while and thought it was about time I
started taking part and asking some questions!

I guess first I should say a little bit about myself. I live in
Hertfordshire in the UK. I've been playing blues harp for around 18
months now so am still pretty much at the beginner stage, but I've been
playing at some local jam sessions and I'm keen to learn. I've had
lessons from a local teacher who also plays in a gigging band and he has
been wonderful in bringing on a group of us to this stage.

My question is around Little Walter. I've got one of his "best of"
combinations and am really into it, but can't work out how he gets two
kinds of sound out of his harp - the basic sound is the typical electric
sound, nice and mellow, but it sounds to me almost like playing a
trumpet when he blows hard.

Please, can anyone say how he manages it as it's driving me mad!? I've
tried getting that tone and it just sounds really harsh :-(

Thanks

Ian Ball
ian at ball dot eclipse dot co dot uk

[milwaukee slim]

The search for the holy grail sound
It's a combination of Mic, amp and most importantly technique.
(embouchure, cupping the mic, breathing from your diaphragm so the
sound comes from your gut not just the two inches behind the harp
(acoustic tone). Its more the volume of air not the speed. Most
beginners blow too hard.

PS
it is a long search most of us are still searching
good luck

Milwaukee Slim

Post by Ian Ball
Hi, I've been lurking for a while and thought it was about time I
started taking part and asking some questions!
I guess first I should say a little bit about myself. I live in
Hertfordshire in the UK. I've been playing blues harp for around 18
months now so am still pretty much at the beginner stage, but I've been
playing at some local jam sessions and I'm keen to learn. I've had
lessons from a local teacher who also plays in a gigging band and he has
been wonderful in bringing on a group of us to this stage.
My question is around Little Walter. I've got one of his "best of"
combinations and am really into it, but can't work out how he gets two
kinds of sound out of his harp - the basic sound is the typical electric
sound, nice and mellow, but it sounds to me almost like playing a
trumpet when he blows hard.
Please, can anyone say how he manages it as it's driving me mad!?

I've

Post by Ian Ball
tried getting that tone and it just sounds really harsh :-(
Thanks
Ian Ball
ian at ball dot eclipse dot co dot uk

[Ian Ball]

Post by milwaukee slim
The search for the holy grail sound

Oh yes. I rue the day my harmonica teacher introduced me to him! - not
really :-)

Post by milwaukee slim
It's a combination of Mic, amp and most importantly technique.
(embouchure, cupping the mic, breathing from your diaphragm so the
sound comes from your gut not just the two inches behind the harp
(acoustic tone). Its more the volume of air not the speed. Most
beginners blow too hard.

Ah, that's given me loads to think about Milwaukee - thanks. A helpful
group as ever! Mind you, I still don't see how he can change in one
song between a lovely mellow tone and then follow it with someting that
sounds like a trumpet - so cool.

Post by milwaukee slim
it is a long search most of us are still searching
good luck

Thanks. As long as we all have fun along the way, it's OK - that's what
it's all about.

Ian (must get myself a cool name) Ball
ian at ball dot eclipse dot co dot uk

[T-Bone Bruce]

Hi Ian, and welcome to the group. Nice to see another UK harp player-
I'm over the border in Essex!
I guess only one person can sound exactly like Little Walter- and
that's Little Walter, everyone has different physiology and technique.
That's a good thing, because if we all sounded the same it would be
pretty boring..
I'm sure you will find a "cool name" soon...my name is Bruce Saunders,
which isn't blues enough: hence "T-Bone" Bruce.
keep on harpin'
Bruce

[Ian Ball]

Post by T-Bone Bruce
Hi Ian, and welcome to the group. Nice to see another UK harp player-
I'm over the border in Essex!
I guess only one person can sound exactly like Little Walter- and
that's Little Walter, everyone has different physiology and technique.
That's a good thing, because if we all sounded the same it would be
pretty boring..
I'm sure you will find a "cool name" soon...my name is Bruce Saunders,
which isn't blues enough: hence "T-Bone" Bruce.
keep on harpin'
Bruce

Thanks T-Bone - cool name! I'm very near the border - Harlow's only six
miles away! Are you going to the Mayfest on Sunday? (see
http://www.mayfest.org.uk/) Some good bands there, in particular Nine
Below Zero.

[Butcherknife]

David H. wrote: Little Walter supposedly used a Masco amp that the
Sonny Jr. is based on. He also apparently used a Danelectro Commando
that Gary (Sonny JR's manufacturer) has offering for sale. He also
reportedly used: a tweed Bassman, a Premier amp, a National amp, and
probably lots of others. They all are most likely good amps.

"Supposedly" is the key word here. I've talked to literally dozens of
people who saw Little Walter play, played with him, recorded with him,
and were around him, and not a single person has EVER been able to say
for sure *exactly* what amp he used at any time in his career.
People have given descriptions - "it was an amp with a lot of speakers
in it" or "it had separate speakers that came away from the amp" - but
most of the amps he's supposed to have used are just the amps that
people have been able to find that most closely fit the descriptions
they've heard.
No one I've ever spoken to about it - and I've talked to a LOT of people
about this over the last 20 years or so - seems to know any real details
like which amp was used on which recording session, etc.

The best info I've ever got in all of my searching is this: A harp
player in Atlanta who says that when he was 16, he saw Little Walter
play at a big theater, has said that Little Walter was using a Premier
amp on stage.
Little Walter's former guitarist Dave Myers says he thought LW was using
a "Macon" PA system to play through. And Louis Myers, Dave's brother who
also played with LW in the '50s, said LW played through an
"International" amp that had two separate speaker cabinets with several
small speakers in each cabinet.

The "Macon" PA system Dave spoke of was probably a Masco, and the
"International" amp MAY have been a National, but I've gone through
Stacks of old National catalogs from the '50s and '60s and never found a
National amp that matches this description. The assumption that LW used
a Danelectro Commando is based only on the fact that it is a guitar amp
that closely matches the description Louis gave.

BTW, I think it's interesting to note that although the Tweed Bassman
seems to the amp of choice for harp players today who are going for the
"Little Walter sound", I've never come across any evidence or even a
suggestion that he ever used one.

It's also wroth pointing out that there wasn't really a specific Little
Walter sound - if you listen to his recordings in chronological order,
you discover that the amplified sound changed with almost every session
he did. Sometimes it was really harsh and distorted like on "Rocker",
other times it was relatively clean. It sounds to my ear like he may
have had a different amp with him each time he went into the studio, so
to try and pin his 'sound' on any one amp is futile.

What I do know is that he went through a LOT of different amps. He
apparently didn't take very good care of his equipment, blew out a lot
of amps, and would replace them with something new whenever he had a
problem that couldn't be easily fixed. Jimmy Lee Robinson, who played
with him for 4 years in the '50s, said that LW would play through
literally anything that was available, and didn't seem to have a
preference or a favorite amp.

In fact, he said that when he played gigs around town, he never even
brought an amp with him - he would just play and sing through the PA.
(Remember that most inexpensive PA systems at that time would have been
good harp rigs - an Astatic mic and a low powered tube amp with a couple
of extension speakers were fairly standard.) And on sessions he would
sometimes use whatever amp was at the studio. So basically, whatever
WORKED and was loud enough was good enough for him.
Scott
P.S. I played a gig through a borrowed Sonny Jr. last night, and I have
to say it's one of the best sounding, most player sensitive harp amps
I've ever come across. Definitely the best new amp available for harp by
a long shot.

This was posted on alt.music.harmonica all credit goes to the original
posters.

[Podunk Phill]

Little Walter's Effects

Mainly echo and/or reverb. The recordings Little Walter made as a leader are
somewhat more heavily effects-laden than his work accompanying Muddy Waters
and others, but there is echo/reverb present to some degree on almost every
session after 1951. At the earliest sessions, this would have necessarily
originated from the studio - there were no outboard units or amps with
built-in reverb yet available.

A lot of research has been conducted (by Scott Dirks and others) into Chess
Records' early recording techniques, and as a result we now have a clearer
picture of how these recordings were produced, In response to a recent
request for info, Scott filled me in with the following details:

"Contrary to popular belief, most of the classic Chess blues sides weren't
recorded at Chess Studios, which didn't come into being until around 1955.

Universal Studios was the premiere recording studio in Chicago for years,
and to his credit, Leonard Chess used Universal exclusively until his own
studio was up and running.

"Universal owner/chief engineer Bill Putnam built his own tape delay machine
using a reel-to-reel....(and they basically) used three different methods to
get delay and/or reverb: (1) An empty tiled room with a speaker at one end
and a mic at the other (the classic 'echo chamber,*) (2) a massive plate
reverb unit, and (3) the slave reel-to-reel that was used solely for tape
delay."

At least one harmonica book has stated that Little Walter used an Echoplex,
an outboard unit made up of an endless tape-loop cartridge. That book goes
so far as to say that the Echoplex can be clearly heard on "Juke," "Mean Old
World," "Sad Hours," etc. Problem with that analysis is that the Echoplex
wasn't yet invented or available (nor were it's predecessors the EccoFonic
or EchoSonic) in 1952 when those songs were recorded. The effect we're
hearing on them is no doubt the aforementioned reel-to-reel device built by
Putnam.

Nevertheless, the Echoplex is a handy unit for today's harp player. If
you're in the market for one, keep in mind there are two versions: the
earlier tube variety and the later solid-state model. Some folks claim
there's little difference; to my ears, though, the more fragile tube model
is richer sounding. The "echo" aspect may not be that much different, but
when used with a high-gain instrument (like harp through a mic,) the tube
unit breaks up into a warmer distortion. Unfortunately in today's market,
the vintage tube model commands more than twice the price of the solid-state
version.

This is an excerpt from a book by Tom Ball called Sourcebook of Little
Walter/Big Walter Licks for Blues Harmonica

Podunk Phill Of Jerkwater USA

[Ian Ball]

"Podunk Phill" <***@hotmail.com> wrote in news:%dJle.1497$***@newssvr30.news.prodigy.com:

Podunk, Butcherknife,

Wow, you two guys really know your stuff!! All I've got to so far is
that the Fender Bassman '59 is "the" amp for harps and everything else
tries to sound like it! Bear with me, I've got a lot to learn...

I'll need to go off and do a lot of thinking and listening after that,
but I'm not sure it tells me why he gets the lovely smooth tone at one
point, but can change it in the same track to somethng that sounds more
like a trumpet. I guessed it must be technique, but could be amp I
suppose. I need to listen more.

Thanks guys

Ian Ball
ian at ball dot eclipse dot co dot uk

[Jeffo]

Do they ever....great info on LW!!! Thanks!
One note for you, though, Ian: just be aware that the modern '59
Reissue Bassman is not the same animal as the old originals referenced.
Still a fantastic choice for most harp guys, but hardly the one and
only decent harp amp you can find and afford these days. That Sonny
JR. Butcherknife was liking (BK I'm assuming from your comments it was
the new 4/10?) is closer to what the "orginal" '59 Bassman was, and
sounds far different than a RI (Re-issue)'59 Fender Bassman. Keep your
eyes open for vintage amps and check the Harmonica Masterclass
amplifier museum and New JT30 Page websites for some other greats and
the comments about them. MAny of those (like the '60's Magnavox 4/8"
and Premiers, various Gibsons) can be got for '59 Reissue money or less
and you'll get GREAT real vintage tone (but less volume from most
mentioned). Can't beat the Reissue for volume, though, and mine were
very reliable too, good to lug around to gigs and jams, a fine
"working" tool. "Real" '59 Bassman, and that Sonny Jr. too go for some
very serious cash ($2,500. USD for the Sonny, and stupid money for a
good real '59), if you can find one and I'm sure they are VERY scarce
there.
This above is just opinion masquerading as fact, but I'm not the only
one. If you find an amp that you'd like opinions on, many here can
provide their two cents as the journey for the equipment side of that
tone production has been a long and interesting one for heaps of us.
Work on getting that nice airtight cup and breath control/volume thing
though, that's got to be the biggest key...which becomes totally
obvious when you hear a good player getting awesome tone from the PA
through a vocal mic. All the good guys can.
Jeffo

Post by Ian Ball
Podunk, Butcherknife,
Wow, you two guys really know your stuff!! All I've got to so far is
that the Fender Bassman '59 is "the" amp for harps and everything else
tries to sound like it! Bear with me, I've got a lot to learn...
I'll need to go off and do a lot of thinking and listening after that,
but I'm not sure it tells me why he gets the lovely smooth tone at one
point, but can change it in the same track to somethng that sounds more
like a trumpet. I guessed it must be technique, but could be amp I
suppose. I need to listen more.
Thanks guys
Ian Ball
ian at ball dot eclipse dot co dot uk

[Robbie and Laura Reynolds]

When you hear the same recording going from smooth to a honking trumpet
sound, it could be from overdriving the microphone.

A lot of guys are of the opinion that the best tone comes from very
small amplifiers working at full volume and distortion. If you need
more volume, you can put a PA microphone in front of the speaker. There
are lots of good amps out there. The most common practice among harp
players is to buy one and keep it until you find another one that sounds
better, and then repeat the process continuously for the next twenty
years.

Post by Ian Ball
Podunk, Butcherknife,
Wow, you two guys really know your stuff!! All I've got to so far is
that the Fender Bassman '59 is "the" amp for harps and everything else
tries to sound like it! Bear with me, I've got a lot to learn...
I'll need to go off and do a lot of thinking and listening after that,
but I'm not sure it tells me why he gets the lovely smooth tone at one
point, but can change it in the same track to somethng that sounds more
like a trumpet. I guessed it must be technique, but could be amp I
suppose. I need to listen more.
Thanks guys
Ian Ball
ian at ball dot eclipse dot co dot uk

[T-Bone Bruce]

Hi Ian,
Man, I cannot believe I did not know about Mayfest.. unfortunately I
can't make it. At least I'll be blowing some blues on Saturday as a
guest at a local gig near Chelmsford.
I'm waiting for my shaker mic to arrive in the post, so I can try it
out with some amps- usually I play into the PA through the vocal mic or
the bands singer/harpists Green Bullet depending on the jam.
I wish I had the funds for a whole load of vintage equipment but I just
can't afford it.
one thing I have used to get echo/reverb effects with harmonica is the
ZOOM 505II multi effects pedal, which is intended for guitar, and I
picked up for £39 in London a couple of months ago. it has reverb,
echo or delay (you can only use one at a time of these), plus various
distortion effects etc, most of which you won't use, but hey, have some
fun. Another good bet (if you can find them) might be Behringer's line
of effects pedals. Their website lists the RRP for the UK as £22,only
a couple of quid more than a Lee Oskar harmonica, and they produce both
a reverb & a delay pedal. I haven't found anywhere stocking them yet,
but if I do I'll try one. The website lists release date as "2nd
Quarter 2005".
Enjoy Mayfest & have a pint for me...
Bruce

[Ian Ball]

Post by T-Bone Bruce
Hi Ian,
Man, I cannot believe I did not know about Mayfest.. unfortunately I
can't make it.

Well, it was a great day. There was some great blues and harp playing.
Nine below zero were there and did a great live set as always - they are
good musicians and enjoy themselves so much on stage as well you have to get
carried along with them! Mark Feltham was sublime as usual - I've never
heard that guy play a bum note! In some ways he's inspirational, but in
others so depressing as I know I'll never be that good :-(

Post by T-Bone Bruce
At least I'll be blowing some blues on Saturday as a
guest at a local gig near Chelmsford.

Cool, hope it went well.

Post by T-Bone Bruce
I wish I had the funds for a whole load of vintage equipment but I just
can't afford it.

I'm very much like you - you don't get much choice at a jam session anyway.
My teacher has a Marble amp that I've played through a couple of times and
it's really nice, but as they start at around 4-500 notes, I just 'aint that
rich! Mind you, most of the tone comes from the player anyway :-) For home
use I've got a cheap Marshall MG15DFX that has some effects built in, so I
use a little gain on the overdrive channel and a small amount of reverb.
Works OK.

Post by T-Bone Bruce
Enjoy Mayfest & have a pint for me...

Thanks - I had several, just to be on the safe side :-)

[ben bouman]

Hi Ian

Who's your harpteacher???

Ben Bouman
Holland
--
www.marbletones.com
www.marble-amps.com
www.harmonicainstituut.nl

Post by Ian Ball
I'm very much like you - you don't get much choice at a jam session anyway.
My teacher has a Marble amp that I've played through a couple of times and
it's really nice, but as they start at around 4-500 notes, I just 'aint that
rich! Mind you, most of the tone comes from the player anyway :-) For home
use I've got a cheap Marshall MG15DFX that has some effects built in, so I
use a little gain on the overdrive channel and a small amount of reverb.
Works OK.

[Ian Ball]

Ah, Ben, you know him quite well I think - Keith Parker. I do recall seeing
you play some time ago - you came along and demo'd the Marble amps in
Bishop's Stortford at the Half Moon. I came along to see but I'd only had
one or two lessons then so didn't play at all. If I recall at one point
there was a guitarist and four harp players jamming on stage that
afternoon - if only it was always like that :-)

If only I could justify getting one of your amps... :-)

Post by T-Bone Bruce
Hi Ian
Who's your harpteacher???

[ben bouman]

Hi Ian

Keith is the wholesaler for Marble in your area...
I was indeed at the Half Moon....nice to do a worskhop over there.
A while ago I was in Bristol to do a workshop for Keith durng the NHL
festival....great place, met some nice people.
This year I will come again to Bristol.

Ben Bouman

[T-Bone Bruce]

Ian,
Glad you had a good time. Hope you were spared the ill effects next day
of those pints!
Mark Feltham has always been one of the UK's great harp players. I've
never had the good fortune to see him live, although I have seen Paul
Lamb, and Steve "West" Weston (who must be seen & heard to be believed!
-he came to a blues jam in Chelmsford once and smoked the rest of us
harp players there totally.. I could have hung myself with the mic
cable! It wouldn't have been quite so galling if he wasn't also such a
great pianist too....)
I only got called up for a couple of numbers at the gig: there were
quite a few guests. Did Canned Heat's "Let's work together" & the
Rolling Stones "sympathy for the devil".(it wasn't a "blues" gig so I
count myself lucky if I get a blues number.)
It was the first time my son, who is 8, had seen me play in a band
setting. Normally he complains about the noise when I'm practising at
home! At the moment I'm working on tongue blocking, which most
experienced players say is essential for the chicago sound. it is hard
work as i've always been a "puckerer". I can't say i've noticed a
difference in tone yet... mind you Paul Butterfield was a puckerer and
had good tone.
It must be good to have a teacher.. I've learned most of the stuff the
hard way, from books and records. Then I hardly played harp at all for
7 years as my ex-wife didn't like the harp. (The lesson here: never
marry someone who doesn't like blues harp!)So I've only got back into
playing just over a year. Having someone to show you how a technique
works saves an awful lot of time. Must be cool to try out those Marble
amps.. I'm "ampless" save for a Marshall MS2 and my own homebuilt
"smokey" amp. Hopefully my shaker crystal mic is arriving soon..
looking forward to trying it out.
Keep on Harpin'
Bruce

[Silk]

"There are lots of good amps out there. The most common practice
among harp

players is to buy one and keep it until you find another one that sounds
better, and then repeat the process continuously for the next twenty
years."<<

I love that description of "The Quest for Tone", Robbie... It's true
that there always seems to be something better than what you're playing and
something else that you can add to your arsenal. It's really part of the
fun, Ian, as well as the frustration, in playing harmonica.
I have finally settled on one amp for live performances and another for
practice and studio work. My choices are just a small portion of what
people have decided on for their rigs and many will say I'm crazy for my
picking these amps. I've run "the gauntlet" in searching for what sounds
best for me and finally my bandmates and I agree, I can be heard, and I'm
comfortable with my sound. On the other hand, someone like Jeffo, has had
many more hours on stage than I have (of course he's much, much older...)
and his ultimate choice was to pass on what I use and go to something else.
I've heard clips of Robbie's home-spun amps and they sound better than
anything I've ever played, with him playing through them....So what's the
answer? Play what you like, ignore any and all rules and have fun. Vintage
gear is cool, no doubt, but I don't think that the argument for using
vintage gear is proportional with it's ever increasing costs. There are
many choices that will work for you and the hunt is fun, but don't burn your
rent money on what someone else says will work for you, until you try it
yourself....
Later, Silk

[Robbie and Laura Reynolds]

Post by Silk
I've heard clips of Robbie's home-spun amps and they sound better than
anything I've ever played, with him playing through them....

You can't be serious. I thought they sounded good, but not THAT good.

[Jeffo]

Silk, thanks for not mentioning that when I've "passed" on what you use
and moved on its usually not until I've drilled few holes in it, spray
painted the bright red Tolex a flat black and stuck some leopard-skin
naugahyde on wherever I like.. THEN I decide I don't like it so much.
Sound has absolutley nothing to do with it, it's just a fashion show to
me. 'Course I'd NEVER do that to a vintage amp....unlike you I got
respect for the elderly.

And Robbie's amps do rule. Robbie, a little secret advice: he'll pay
anything....if it's red.
Jeffo

[Silk]

Well, I was serious...but you can easily talk me outta just about
anything, Robbie, just ask Jeffo...And I only have one red amp....
Seriously, Your amp clips are very impressive and go to show that
different amp/tube/speaker combos are viable choices for any player. As the
honorable "Mason of the Northwest" stated earlier, check out Dave Barrett's
Masterclass site and look over the vintage collection of amps and
mics....They are all way different and all still very suitable for harp.
Dennis Oellig (aka "Mr.. microphone") really has a good handle on what
makes good "harp-sound", sound even better. He loves the sound of these
little Valcos and Oahu amps from the 50's (just certain ones)...Sonny Jr.,
who has admittedly done his homework, too, comes out with a Bassman 4x10"
clone, with 3 kinds of speakers in it (sounds awesome!)...There are old
PA-heads and accordion amps that are in high demand for harp. There's a guy
(Jr. Johnny) whose using old organ amps to build new harp amps...they get
great revues, too.
I usually play through 4x 10" Harpkings, which most revues say make you
sound just like Rod Piazza... I wish that were true, I'd love to cop Rod's
sound! Although, the 70 watts that these amps pump out, have much to do with
their sound and "playability" for me, my other favorite amp is just 7-1/2
watts and gets played just as much... It just goes to show how different
amps suit different players styles and sounds. As I said before, there are
no rules, just different ways to go and lots of choices for everyone.
Don't get bogged down with the opinions of people who tell you what amp
Little Walter played to get his sound. It's a ridiculous concept. The
reason he got his sound was because he played his harp in his own style and
could master the use of lots of different pieces of equipment...If it was as
simple as copying a rig, there would be many Little Walters today playing
through the same amp. Instead, you have some great players who can emulate
Walter's style and feel, but they all use different rigs to do it.
Silk

Post by Jeffo
Silk, thanks for not mentioning that when I've "passed" on what you use
and moved on its usually not until I've drilled few holes in it, spray
painted the bright red Tolex a flat black and stuck some leopard-skin
naugahyde on wherever I like.. THEN I decide I don't like it so much.
Sound has absolutley nothing to do with it, it's just a fashion show to
me. 'Course I'd NEVER do that to a vintage amp....unlike you I got
respect for the elderly.
And Robbie's amps do rule. Robbie, a little secret advice: he'll pay
anything....if it's red.
Jeffo

[Robbie and Laura Reynolds]

Post by Silk
Well, I was serious...but you can easily talk me outta just about
anything, Robbie, just ask Jeffo...And I only have one red amp....
Seriously, Your amp clips are very impressive and go to show that
different amp/tube/speaker combos are viable choices for any player. As the
honorable "Mason of the Northwest" stated earlier, check out Dave Barrett's
Masterclass site and look over the vintage collection of amps and
mics....They are all way different and all still very suitable for harp.
Dennis Oellig (aka "Mr.. microphone") really has a good handle on what
makes good "harp-sound", sound even better. He loves the sound of these
little Valcos and Oahu amps from the 50's (just certain ones)..

When I was in Dennis's basement a while back I saw his amp collection.
He says that he tailors microphones to the type of amp that the customer
plays, so he has to have several types on hand for testing. He has a
lot of cool stuff, although I didn't get to hear any of it while I was
there. His basement is like a microphone and amplifier museum.

[JOB]

Hi Ian Ball - A combination of (usually) crystal mikes like an old Astatic
30 bullet or the 30 biscuit and a real good tubeamp will theoretically give
you the mechanical tools...the rest is up to you!!!
- JOB

[Ian Ball]

Thanks JOB, I'm clearly going to have to save up my pennies - the mike isn't
too bad for second-hand, but the amp may be a bit more difficult! In the
meantime, there's still a whole lotta work to do on the acoustic tone :-)

Post by JOB
Hi Ian Ball - A combination of (usually) crystal mikes like an old Astatic
30 bullet or the 30 biscuit and a real good tubeamp will theoretically give
you the mechanical tools...the rest is up to you!!!
- JOB