Re: [Harp-L] Special 20s "built in obsolescence"

["Bob Maglinte" <bbqbob917@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Tony Renshaw" <tonyrenshaw@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
To: <harp-l@xxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Tuesday, September 06, 2005 9:50 PM
Subject: [Harp-L] Special 20s "built in obsolescence"


> I am 1 year into things, and am getting frustrated with the ease at which 
> the Special 20s blow out, or actually bend out. This last C of mine lasted 
> only about 3 weeks and I don't think I was working it all that hard. In 
> fact, I have been in different keys of late, so I reckon it hasn't lasted 
> well at all. It seems they go flat quickly, and I reckon it is the tuning 
> method in the factory that puts many diagonal scores in the base of the 
> reed, where it later cracks. Not good method I reckon. If the reeds need to 
> be flattened initially, well there is something wrong with the initial reed 
> design. I would have thought a reed should only have to be sharpened by the 
> factory. If I am right, well this is built in obsolescence. I was told by a 
> seasoned performer that he uses Lee Oskars as they are significantly 
> stronger reedplates. Is this true? Even my one and only customised is off 
> pitch on one hole using my guitar tuner, and my ear too surprisingly, but I 
> daren't take to the base of a reed intentionally. Any advice or opinion 
> gratefully appreciated.

Hi,
All of those things are contributing factors, and Lee Oskars do last longer, 
but the one IMPORTANT thing NOT being said here is your playing technique, 
which DOES play a VERY significant role in how long ANY harp stays in tune 
or gets blown out in terms of how soon it does happen.  Most harp players, 
ESPECIALLY if they tend to be blues oriented players have a tendency to play 
with excessive breath force AKA playing WAY too damned hard ALL the time, 
often having NO clue that they're guilty of this, or know and won't admit it 
to ANYONE, most ESPECIALLY themselves, and I think this is what's happening 
here, and this is often THE most common cause of most player's problems with 
their harps, and playing them too hard ALWAYS leads to blowing out harps 
quick, knocking them out of tune quick, playing with a wet mouth, (and in 
the case of playing harps that have unsealed wooden combs like the Marine 
Band) swollen combs, poor tone, poor intonation and articulation, and from 
what you describe, I"m pretty sure that this is your REAL problem here. The 
correct amount of air pressure is just enough so that you don't wake up a 
baby that's sleeping in the very next room. Most people who play with 
excessive breath force nearly ALWAYS play it even harder when they're 
bending notes. Harps are seldom ever perfect out of the factory, but a HUGE 
part of the problem stems from many players' own playing techniques, 
something most players REFUSE to deal with as a part of the problem, which 
75% of the time is what's the REAL problem here. This is NOT a diss, but you 
may need to seriously reexamine your plkaying technique and habits first 
before blaming the instrument and/or the manufacturer.

Sincerely,
Barbeque Bob Maglinte
Boston, MA
http://www.barbequebob.com
MP3's: http://music.mp3lizard.com/barbequebob/