[Harp-L] Hello From Hurricane / Was Custom Harmonicas

["" <party_man1@xxxxxxxxxx>]

Wind Walkers & Talkers :

I sent this e-mail to Douglas Tate off list , and to my surprise he made mention I should post this , so , who am I to argue with Douglas Tate ! ! Heh heh heh .

All kidding aside , I want to first express my respects to ALL the reputable cutomizers here I have read about from the many satisfied people who purchased these artisan efforts of a state of the art diatonic harmonica , to you fellows I salute you and know you are advancing the current state of the art in diatonic harmonica perfection . Please keep keeping on brothers :)

The truth is maybe when I get lucky and get a hit going or nail a lotto I will end up with varying quivers from all the great customizers to have fun and not be in the same game of tricking out harmonicas to play superbly on , which is a time consuming task , not to mention it's virgin territory when it comes to pacticle " discovery " in the knowledge of just what it takes to do customized quality work .

I much rather play than tweak is what I'm saying here , but due to the fact of my financial situation as a child I began to learn how to tune and keep my harps in shape from necessity , and since I learned it the " Hard Way " it is a habit hard to break and it saves me lots of $ $ $ in the long run .

That said , the following is for open argument . 

    
======================================================================



Dear Douglas :

On your comments on what a customized harmonica can do for a person strikes to the core of it , yessser .

Your a pro , and you realize the power of what a really talented harmonica musician has when coupled with a really great grouping of musicians . The second thing you mentioned of relevance was the issue of being a lucky person .

Quote :

>" If you find that an unaltered harmonica allows your full potential to show then you are a lucky person... " <

End quote .


It's funny because I just came home from being part of a PBS special in Los Angeles a moment ago at KCET studios in Hollywood ( 3 hours drive to and from Palm Springs ) and was still caught up with the evening and its events so , why not check my e-mail I am still UP :). I played to the kind of audience your used to being in front of , the kind I like too and want to do more of . At this event I used Huang Star Performers , ones that I selected the same way I have selected harmonicas since I started buying them before I was 10 . A bellows is a wonderful way to get that " unaltered " harmonica to do as your last quote stated I just made reference to in this e-mail .

I don't need my ego stroked anymore at 54 , when I hear the remarks of how I this and how I did that that to a song or my stage presence ect positive stuff here and there or from list members blah blah so that is why I posted off list . ( I do appreciate the really nice comments sometimes , oh well I guess I live for them too all the time who am I fooling I'm only human too :) . But more importantly your words made a heavy impact on me because I take my talents and strengths on my harmonica for granted I suppose sometimes even if I do practice contanstly , I guess I realiz(ed) many things many don't or can't or wont for what ever reason(s) , I can't really say why I am this way as a musician , but I am really glad because I had such a ball with this sofisticated group of super special sucessfull people tonight in the audience , and I know they had as much fun too like my fellow band mates and I.

My writing to you was triggered when I realized I wow'd em again and " stole de show " ( my fellow band mates including Chan Romero word's not mine) , and soundly nailed it like the proverbial matador after the kill , walked away doing it with not " Toledo " steel in my hand ( sounds of Ernest Hemingway -- NOT ! ) but with a cheaply paid for , but really precision Chinese Huang Star Performer . I can not for the life of me understand why the use , and I mean really proper , thorough and total meticulous " Picky Picky Picky " and complete reviewing of any type of harmonica with a bellows to discover the "ONE(S) you know are worth it :)

The bellows does it all for me Douglas , I live by it to find em , some I tweak myself after a while but the truth is my respected colleague , I have used almost exclusively Huangs since 1984 save moments when I can't get them due to any number of circumstances . I get the usual suspects on hand to be had in a pinch . Because I do that and have a few SP20s and because of having a few of them I have discovered the power of the " Turbo " cover , they are with out a doubt a great significant addition to improving SP20's . How I do wish Dr. James " TurboDog " Antaki would make em fo ma Haungs . I have both Haung & Hohner Chromatic .... maybe I will get a Renny , I have to admit the way you and others have commented make me go hmmmmmmmmmmm as I contemplate the mind boggling possibilities why salivating like Palov's pooch :) I miss my 2 CBH2016s that developed legs one night .

Hope I have not bored you I realize the volume of your e-mail must be a daunting daily drudgery at times when coupled with the rest of your life , but I thought this comment I have addressed to you might be of interest one fellow musician to another . Or At least made ya go ...
hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm .....

I hope my previous e-mail made sense too :)


Easy my friend .


HR

================================================================== 

P.S.


In closing :

To find one great sounding harmonica takes time , I go through eveyone there in a particular key(s) . I keep searching and testing , kicking out the rejects till I find the gold . It is just that simple to get a really great harmonica that lasts , does over blows , and ecteras  .  You have to know how to search out the key things that tell you where this harmonica is coming from when you test it on a bellows . I was taught by a very old lady who owned a music store , she made the effort to show me so I would always have a purchase that counted , she new my financial situation and wanted to help me and she sure did . The process is simple if you know what to look for and how . 

If I don't find one in a particular music store I move on to the next one till I do plane and simply put .

Congratulate me fellow harpers this month makes it official , 50 years playing a harmonica for me - ¡ Oh ! - are my lips and lungs tired LOL .

Sincerely :

HR 

_______________________________________________
Join Excite! - http://www.excite.com
The most personalized portal on the Web!