Re: hohner vs oscar--Custom harps

[Pat Missin <pat@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Randy Singer wrote:
>
>Hi Pat,
>
>I love the lee oskars, but your response begs this question
>
>If it is true, as you state, that Lee Oscars are not usually customized 
>because "less work needs to be done to them", would not it stand to 
>reason that we will get a better custom harp from a lee oscar because 
>you are starting with a better product to begin with?

I think they are generally a more consistent product out of the box,
although to be fair, I do have to say that Hohner's production
consistency currently seems to be the best it has been in years.

However, some people just prefer Hohners, in the same way that some
guitarists prefer Fender or Gibson. Some people would rather play a
sealed wood comb than a plastic comb and of those that prefer plastic
combs, many of them prefer the tone of the Special 20 to that of the
Lee Oskar. You can't really argue with personal taste.

There are trade-offs with the Lee Oskar too - most notably they
require more work to set them up for overblows.

However, many of the things most commonly associated with the
day-to-day work of the jobbing harmonica technician (comb sealing or
replacement, cover plate modification, polishing out file marks on the
reeds, etc., etc.) are simply not necessary on the LO because of its
design.

 -- Pat.