[Harp-L] Re: Cheap harmonicas



Thereâs not much point in a learner driver buying a junker
car with a dodgy clutch and gearbox, shot electrics and dud brakes and
expecting to learn to drive well. But
thereâs not much point in a learner driver buying a Ferrari either!
Most beginners Iâve come across arenât interested in
disembowelling their new harmonica to make it work better. They arenât into gapping, tuning or sealing -
but just might take the coverplate off to get a bit of lunch out of the reedplate. They need something that has a good chance of
working acceptably well straight out of the box. I
ALWAYS recommend a plastic comb â why introduce another âdegree of difficultyâ with
a wooden comb when itâs not necessary? Availability is an issue too (particularly in Australia) â but much less
so now with internet shopping.
Beginners try too hard and will give the draw 4, draw 5 and
blow 7 (amongst others!) a particularly hard time (and the draw 2 wonât
work). Beginner bending is also hard on
harmonicas. So I recommend something a
bit tougher than the cheaper Chinese harmonicas. I find itâs hard to go past a Lee Oskar or a
Special 20. Both meet all my criteria
for a beginner â plastic comb, available most places, tough, replacement
reedplates, reasonable price.
I suggest to beginners that the concept of buying the âlatest
and greatestâ âholy grailâ harmonica that will improve their playing incredibly
is probably not worth it â at least until they having been playing long enough
to realise that they have reached a level of skill whereby their current
harmonica is the weakest link in the equation and they therefore need to move
on from their Taurus and get a Porsche 911.
Itâs also easier to drive multiple vehicles if all the
switches and levers are always in the same place, so my harmonica âfleetâ is all
the same brand. Even the small
differences between a Lee Oskar and a SP20 can add a difficulty I prefer to live
without. And it looks like it could be a
long time before my playing is âconstrainedâ by the limitations of my
harmonicas!
YMMV!
Maka


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