Re: Tuning, Amps, FAQs

[Barry Schaede <barrys@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Tuning tips: 1) Buy the Lee Oskar tool kit just for the booklet that comes 
with it. 2) Read the Steve Baker book The Harp Handbook. 3) The 2 books 
by Blackie Shackner The Complete book of Chromatic and Diatonic Repair 
and Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Harmonicas are both worth a 
look.
Tuners:  Get a self locating tuner.  I use a Seiko ST 1000 because 
they're reasonanbly priced.  Theyu can be calibrated from 438 hz to 445 
hz.  They're self locating in that if you play a note the tuner tells 
you what the closet one is called.  They also will sound any note over a 
7 octave range.  They resolve well +or- 50 cents and they're both analog 
with a needle and digital with led readouts. Yes Korg and others make 
fine tuners too they just cost more or don't have all the features I 
value.  

What amp to buy?  What sound do you want?  there are many on this list 
that will tell you to go out and buy a vintage tube amp.  Not me even 
though I gig with one.  My first amp was a solid state Yamaha practice 
amp with an 8" speaker and a 12 watt output and to this day I regret 
selling it.  I played for years through a Sunn solid state coliseum 
stack.  Not an ideal setup but it worked.  The answer to what amp should 
I buy is what amp fits your needs.  The only way to really answer the 
question is to know better what you like in terms of sound (reverb, tubes 
vs solid state etc) and what your budget is and how you're going to use 
the amp.  It's all opinion anyway.  Anyone who says anything else is 
lying.  opinions my own  FJM