Fwd: more on custom harps

["Winslow Yerxa" <winslowyerxa@xxxxxxxxx>]

- --- In harp-l-archives@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx, "alciere" <alciere@xxxx> 
wrote:


So, would I gain much with a custom Marine Band in playibility and 
comfort 
over a Lee Oskar? 
======

You would get something different. The Filiskos and Jimmy Gordon that 
I own are responsive in a different way than a Lee Oskar. They 
deliver a huge amount of energy from the reed, more even than an 
Oskar, but are both more capable of nuance and more demanding of my 
technique, especially the Filiskos - hit me wrong and they'll bite 
back, hit 'em right and they'll make you feel the love.

====

I'm thinking of getting a few custom Marine bands, for recording when 
we 
play more traditional blues and keeping the LOs for practice and live 
work. 

====

The problem is that unless you practice with the custom instruments, 
you won't get the most out of them. Admittedly, I wouldn't want to 
blow them out honking away in a loud bar. But I would practice with 
them to learn how to get them to deliver the stuff you won't get out 
of your Oskars.

An Oskar is a well-made harp and you can expect a certain base line 
of performance ability out of it. A custom will kick that up several 
notches and will open possibilities that the Oskar doesn't reach. But 
they are subtle. It takes time to find them.

One common assumption is that a custom harp is easier to play than a 
stock harp. In many cases that's true. But in some ways a custom 
instrument can be harder to play. The difference is that instead of 
struggling for basic playability like you might with a poorly-
assembled instrument, you're struggling to open up the extended 
performance ability of the custom, and to handle its sometimes 
overwhelming power.

Tricycle or fighter jet?

Winslow