Re: MISC CATCH-UP UPDATES



At  2:03 PM 10/27/94 -0700, Barry Schaede wrote:
>Now correct me if I'm wrong abpout this Hugh.  You earn your living
>playing harmonicas.

Which means I live essentially on the poverty line.

>When one breaks you can't wait for a spare.  Money
>is an issue.

Correct.

>So what you do is buy a new harmonica for $24.00 instead of
>the reed plates for $12.00 or less.  Why not buy a few reed plates ahead
>in commonly used keys like C,G,A,D,F and set them aside for when the
>others go bad?

Two reasons:

1) Barring a premature death, I find that once a plate needs replacing the
rest of the harp is getting distinctly second hand - chrome on the cover
plates has worn off (I seem to be death on chrome, my saliva must be about
as corrosive as Alien blood - "In space, nobody can hear you blow harp"),
bent and dented cover plates, cracked and distorted combs etc.

2) In the case of premature death, it's as likely to be an Ab or an F# as
the 'commonly used' keys you mention.  I play the positions a lot, and work
out with bands. who tune down a half step.

Yes, I'm hard on my harps ... I get drunk, I drop them and step on them, I
hammer them on the floor or hose them down when a reed gets stuck, I throw
them at my drummer when he goofs off, I juggle with them, carry them around
sans case in my pockets and generally treat them like dirt.  My road case
is packed according to the theory that once everything is thrown in there
and the lid forced closed, nothing is going to rattle around!

>If you bought them from Farrel you wouldn't even have to
>worrry about the postage bite because of his $2.00 flat rate.

Now if I could just buy Ultimos from Farrel I'd be a happy man.

>
>Silly me

Wrong.

>I have about 75 reed plates in a closet at all times.

When I emigrated from the UK, I had to leave a decades worth of 'closet'
junk - aboout 75 spare diatonics (including a full set of SilverTones and a
half set of Pro Harps), five chromatics, several chord harps, about 3lb of
assorted ironmongery (screws, reeds, rivets, tools etc), several hundred
useable reed plates and a biiiiig cardboard box full of cover plates and
combs.  Plus of course I had to sell several thousand bucks worth of amps
and effects at an outrageous loss.

>No I
>didn't buy them all at one time.  5 or 6 as I could afford it.

I would *love* to order $60 or so's worth of reed plates now and again and
stick them in the closet, but right now I can't afford to.  I've been here
two years and have only had a work permit for the last six months.  I've
been starting from scratch with almost no earning power.

>When I
>break a harmonica I go to the closet pull out the appropriate key,
>replace and adjust it and I'm on the road in less than 15 minutes.  FJM

Lucky old you.  Give me a couple of years and I'll be back in that enviable
position.  Until then I can't afford to stockpile new reedplates or play
instruments that break within three months of regular use.

   -- hugh






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