[Harp-L] Re: Special 20 mods

[Mike Fugazzi <mikefugazzi@xxxxxxxxx>]

I highly recommend the following:

Richard Sleigh's book, "Turbo Charge Your Harmonica" -
http://customharmonicas.com/r-sleigh/

and

Rupert Oysler's DVD - http://www.harprepair.com/

IMO, both are easily worth the money and then some.  Reed profiling is
by far the most useful customizing skill and both of these resources
cover it in great detail.  That more than just about anything else
will help you get a better harp.  The DVD also goes into repair, which
will help you maintain your harps.  There are only two real cons when
starting this part of your harmonica journey.  1.) Practice 2.) Start-
up costs

You don't have to buy a bunch of pro gear to start tweaking, but once
you get beyond some gapping and maybe embossing, you'll need the tools
to tune, flat sand, and clean.  Most the basic stuff is cheap, but you
end up buying enough that it really adds up, lol.

Kinya Pollard's resources from www.harmonicasessions.com are great
too.  They will give you good advice and great resources for tools.  I
can't say enough about how much the book and DVD are worth the money,
especially for someone just starting out.

On Feb 21, 12:59 am, Mike Best <mike.b...@xxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
> I find the concept of harp modifications fascinating, and I especially like the idea of mods which can make my harps more responsive.  I hate it when I buy a new harp and it comes out of the box all "mushy".  Sometimes I can improve it by pushing the offending reeds closer to the reed plate, but it's a pretty hit-and-miss process.
>
> Rather than trawling through the internet picking up tips here and there, can anyone point me towards an article or site which covers such mysterious things as gapping and embossing?  I play Special 20's exclusively if that's any help
>
> On the subject of Special 20 mods, I've heard that people squash in the back edges of the cover plates which has the effect of opening up the back of the harp and "letting more sound out", thereby making a louder harp.  But having a louder harp would mean that I wouldn't need to turn my amp up so much, and my '59 Bassman RI doesn't sound any good unless it is cranked up to about 6 or so (and that's with low gain preamp tubes).  So maybe this mod isn't such a good idea after all?  I would be interested in hearing others thoughts on this.
>
> I would love to deal directly with a custom harp modifier but I don't know of any here in Australia!
>
> Cheers
> Mike