Re: [Harp-L] Custom harp?

[nonidesign@xxxxxxx]

"There is a saying "a bad workman always blames his tools"....THAT is because 
"a good workman" gets the best tools that he or she can get!"


I agree with John, but there is another saying: "the right tool for the job". 
In my case I own several custom harps and like them all. I play them solo, in acoustic settings, or with low volume bands. With my own band I play standard, cheap "blow and throw" harps for certain songs so I can treat them like dirt because the music we play is very, very hard. We go for a "sloppy tight" sound (think RL Burnside's album with The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion "A Ass Pocket Of Whiskey"). If I get caught-up in the music on certain songs, and want to let go, I play those harps like I'm TRYING to ruin them. Off tune notes, reeds rattling on the plate covers, etc. are part of that sound (Sid Viscious on harmonica?). If I used my custom harps during our gigs it would be a disservice to the work that went into them and quiet honestly, the sound of a cheap harp "fits" the type of music we play better than a custom. 
When we play standard blues tunes, I switch back to regular harps that I've tweaked, and go for a more traditional sound.

I apply the same attitude towards amps. I own two Sonny Junior amps and wouldn't rely on anything else live, but I record using a cheap little Kalamazoo 2 with an even cheaper Japanese mic with dynamic element. I just like the sound of each amp for those particular purposes.


-------------- Original message from MundHarp@xxxxxxx: -------------- 


> There is a saying "a bad workman always blames his tools"....THAT is because 
> "a good workman" gets the best tools that he or she can get! 
> For years and years I bought standard harmonicas. Why? because at that time 
> custom harps were not available, or if they were I did not know about them. 
> Now almost all of my harmonicas have been "customised" one way or another. 
> This is simply because I want the best instrument available... 
> It does NOT make me a better player, but makes my job as a musician just a 
> little bit easier... And it makes me sound better!!!! 
> Best wishes 
> John Walden 
> London 
> England 
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