RE: [Harp-L] Neck Rack--a testimony + a story

["MLeFree" <mlefree@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Chris Bowser wrote:
> Hi, we too have the Neck Rack from the company in Germany K&M ,
> but ours has the Weltmeister Name on it, in the beginning it had
> K&M on it,but then Weltmeister had them make for them with their
> name,  we have a hard time keeping them in, and people that order
> them love them and say they wouldn't use anything else, we took
> all the other neck racks out of our stock!
> I am waiting on my new Banjo to arrive so I too can enjoy my
> Weltmeister (K&M) Neck rack!

I can vouch for what Chris says about the Weltmeister/K&M neck rack.  Very
high quality materials and workmanship--FAR superior to any chromed
wire-style neck rack I've seen.  Far more comfortable, too.  $20 very well
spent.

I bought one a coupel of years ago so I could noodle around with my guitar
and play harp at the same time, hoping to draw attention away from my poor
guitar playing.  ;)   Unlike the wire racks, the WM rack is very sturdy.  It
has a highly functional "hinge" system that uses large knurled plastic knobs
to tighten up the "sandwich" design hinge that really clamps down on your
harp.  There is ~no~ tendency to allow your pressure on the harp swing the
"hinge" open mid-song (a big problem with the flimsy wingnut approach unless
you're an ostrich).  It has a plastic sleeve on the "neck loop" that
contributes to the fact that it doesn't cut into your neck (it's larger
diameter than wire, too).  The round knobs prevent any pointed edges from
poking into your chest.

I should draw special attention to the spring mechanism and jaws that clamp
the harp in position.  The jaw springs are ~very~ strong (really; so much so
that it takes some practice to use them, as you'll see in a minute).  These
"jaws" are covered with thick (hard) rubber pads with a nice non-slippery
surface to them.  The jaws, incidentally, are wide enough and the rack is
sturdy enough to hold my 16-hole Hering chromatic with ease.  The top rubber
pad has a groove along the inside of its length. This groove forms a channel
into which the flare on the back of a harp's top cover plate fits.  This
makes for a positive grip on the harp--most harps that is.

This leads to a little story about the WM rack.  I only use SP-20's and
Hering 1923 diatonics.  Both of these have distinct ridges along the back
side of their cover plates.  They are held very solidly in the WM rack.  I
liked my WM rack so much that, after seeing my teacher Harry struggle with
his antique Hohner wire rack throughout his performances, I bought him one.
When you have the WM rack in your hands you can tell that it is a finely
made, quality tool; so much so that it makes the wire racks look like some
bent-up coat hanger contraptions your kid made.  When I gave it to him, I
could tell that Harry was genuinely excited about it after so many
embarrassing on-stage moments fighting his old rack.  His next appearance,
in which he opened for Tab Benoit and Jimmy Thackery, happened to be in the
next couple of days.  When he took the stage I saw from the audience that
Harry had the WM rack on.  I also knew that it was only the second or third
time he'd used it, but I figured that he'd finally have a set in which he
didn't have to fiddle with his neck rack.  Well, I was wrong.  In fact the
WM rack caused a bit of a disaster!  After he sat down (Harry plays slide
guitar, bass drum, and harp simultaneously) he picked out a harp and started
to put it into the rack.  I could tell he was having problems (sadly, he has
a crippling disease in his hands so he isn't very dextrous--a point worth
noting when considering the WM rack).  After a moment or two of wrestling
the really stong spring-loaded jaws, horror struck.  The harp suddenly
experienced lift-off and rocketed about 10 feet across the stage!  My heart
sank because I felt responsible as had I really talked the rack up before
giving it to him.  If it weren't for me, Harry would have been doing just
fine!  As it was, with the crowd of 500 anxiously waiting for the opening
song, he had to get up and walk around to pick the errant harp up off the
stage floor way out in front of his bass drum where it had "touched down".
Then I watched for what seemed like an eternity as he approached his kit and
took off the WM rack and tossed it aside, replacing it with his rickety old
rack.  He returned to his seat and thanks to his 40+ years of on-stage
experience, Harry's professionalism carried him gracefully through what
quickly turned into a terrific set.  And, contrary to my fears, he never
said a word to me, except "That's OK" when I apologized after the gig.

As a postscript, Harry's beef with the WM rack is that it doesn't grip harps
like the Golden Melody that don't have a ridge on the back of their cover
plates to fit the groove in the top rubber pad nearly as well.  My only
concern is that I need three hands to overcome the strength of the jaw
springs and insert a harp.  Your hands are probably stronger than mine,
though...

So, now you know all about the WM/K&M neck rack.  Would I buy another?  In a
minute--for myself.  Would I give one as a gift?  Not on your life!  8^)

Happy neck racking,

Michelle