Re: custom diatonic harmonicas

[Howard Chandler <chandler@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Hey Bob,

I checked out your site, and at 90 bucks for 6+ hr's work, your rates 
are quite reasonable.  As you might have surmised, I'm hell bent to try 
and learn how to do some of this kind of work myself.  I don't expect 
I'll ever make a career out of it though and fully expect my first 
endeavors to both less than top notch, and take considerably more time.

I was just curious though, which of the various operations that you 
perform on a MB consumes what percentage of time?  For a beginner, what 
operation will it be most likely for me to screw up beyond all 
recognition.  Do you have any tips for avoiding these mistakes.

Like I said, at this point I intend to give it a go, but should I become 
disillusioned, and admit defeat, I'll let you know, and will likely be 
ordering one of your harps.  Chances are, that before this is all over, 
I'll be ordering one sooner or later anyway, just to see how it should 
be done.  Of course, the question is, should I scrape up the dough and I 
try an XB40 first?

Sincerely

Howard Chandler


yeehaw@xxxxxxxxxx wrote:

>Hi Everyone,
>I can't help making some comments on the recent custom harp thread.
>Some people seem to be of the opinion that it is a simple process to turn
>a stock harp into a professional instrument.
>Nothing could be further from the truth! Anymore then I could watch a
>video, and read a book or two about rebuilding automobile engines, and
>then rebuild one myself, and have to rely on it to get me to gigs.
>If I only had to go to "work" and it broke down on the way, I could just
>call in sick, but music is not like that! I absolutely have to be where I
>am supposed to be and my instruments have to be in tune and if one of my
>harps blows out during a gig, I absolutely need to have a replacement at
>hand.
>So, if you are going to "customize" your own harmonicas, you should
>seriously conceder how important they are to you, and what your motivation
>is for doing so.
>Even though I am a full time customizer and musician, I conceder my set of
>Filisko and Sleigh harps one of the best investments I ever made!
>I had no idea how much of a difference there was between a stock harmonica
>and good customized one, until I was able to actually play one, and really
>give it a workout!
>So, lets conceder motivation. If blowing harp is just a hobby and you
>enjoy tinkering, then by all means see if you can improve their
>performance by gapping them, or whatever else you want to try, but
>conceder this, I have been doing this full time for several years. It
>takes me a full days work to customize a harp, and I know what I am doing.
>If you are going to experiment, then expect to ruin allot of harps!
>If I call in a plumber or electrician to work on my house, I expect to pay
>him a days pay. If a customizer spends a day working on your musical
>instrument, then he also deserves a days pay. Right?
>Anyway, IMHO if you want the best instrument you can get, buy one from a
>good customizer.
>All the best,
>Bob Meehan
>145 Keenan Ave
>Goose Creek, South Carolina 29445
>phone 843-670-3154
>web site bobmeehan.net
>
>
>
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