Hello there!

[Jamie Dolan <jamiedolanchrom@xxxxxxxxxx>]

Hello there!
I am new to this list and thought it only wise to introduce myself to the g=
roup before the rumours spread :)) But, I am sure this will be so long as t=
o scare everybody off! For anybody with too little time to read it all thro=
ugh (I know the feeling) just skip to the last paragraph :))
I am a chromatic harmonica player living in Scotland, a student of Douglas =
Tate and have taken a keen interest into not only the playing, but also the=
 building of the instrument. I have been playing the harmonica for some tim=
e now yet only really been in touch with a few other players (there rather =
thin on the ground in Scotland!). I am hoping this may change that:)) There=
 is only so much I can say about my playing, and I do not like to (or feel =
I have cause to) boast, so instead I will tell whoever wishes to read, abou=
t my dabblings in the construction of the harmonica, and through my writing=
s, I hope you will better get to know my personality and perhaps even wish =
to strike up a conversation. So, here goes...
It is not much of a surprise one of the first questions I ask a harmonica p=
layer, is 'what type of instrument do you play', considering the way I work=
 and how I have been influenced by those players I do know. I started off o=
n a simple 270, before rapidly progressing to a Meisterklasse in the hope t=
his would satisfy my wants for a good harmonica. Unfortunately, it didn't q=
uite happen that way. Very quickly I realised I couldn't buy the kind of in=
strument I was after (well certainly not on my budget!), and having the cha=
nce to play Douglas' Renny a number of times didn't help matters (even the =
prototypes, which he called 'horrid', were vastly superior to anything I po=
ssessed). So, I started tinkering with my old 270. At that stage that only =
really meant opening it every day to see how it ticked (resulting in the sc=
rew holes wearing out and the spring snapping, leading to my first harmonic=
a hodge-podge, held together by masking tape and a large safety pin), but q=
uickly I started actually altering the instrument with what few tools I had=
, buying spare parts and constucting my own Hard Boppers and re-valving any=
 slot in sight. But, bored still, I started designing and looking into cons=
tructing my own instrument (which was planned to be much akin to Douglas' s=
tainless steel 270).
But, me being me, I would keep changing the plans here, tweaking them there=
, until I had a completely different instrument. I have been helped by so m=
any people, engineers I ever knew I knew, e-mail correspondents, Douglas, h=
armonica shops around the world and I kindly silversmith from nearby. The s=
ilversmith I found after calling all of them in the country trying to find =
prices for a block of silver, only to discover one of them was already maki=
ng harmonica bodies for the late Bill Stewart. He, much like myself, had st=
arted looking into making one for himself after looking at prices of other =
harmonicas and finding them just a tad too much (not that they're not worth=
 it. If I had the money, I would pay ever last penny!). We are now working =
together for him to make me a set of covers and a mouthpiece. The comb I am=
 getting milled by a friend of his out of titanium or stainless steel (as h=
e has his own silver ones). We aren't making harmonicas together, he is mak=
ing what I want and seperately making something himself. Anybody who has re=
ad this far and would actually like a description of the design, just ask a=
nd it will be posted. The deadline of completion is October, when it will b=
e presented at the NHL festival.=20
Anyway... I would like to offer what knowledge I have gathered to this grou=
p. I do not pretend to know everything, but I do know a good fair bit, so j=
ust ask and if I can help, I gladly will, and if I can't, I won't pretend t=
o know the answer:)) Ask me what stuff you may normally ask any harmonica t=
echnician, and don't be surprised to see me asking alot too.
All the best
Jamie Dolan

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