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

["Bill Hines" <billhines4@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

This is also why I'm a big fan of practicing by yourself amplified
rather than acoustic regularly - it helps to reinforce that it doesn't
take a lot of breath to make a 'big' sound, just some knob turning. A
small 5w crate amp or such can go a long way toward this for practice. I
was practicing loud acoustically too until I started doing this whenever
possible (practicing with a mic and small amp). Not to mention the other
things you are working on in that scenario - your cupping technique with
the mic, etc.

Bill Hines
Hershey, PA

-----Original Message-----
From: harp-l-bounces@xxxxxxxxxx [mailto:harp-l-bounces@xxxxxxxxxx] On
Behalf Of Steve Shaw
Sent: Wednesday, September 07, 2005 4:07 PM
To: harp-l@xxxxxxxxxx
Subject: RE: [Harp-L] Special 20s "built in obsolescence"

I think the other guys are right, Tony.  Going from my own experience:
I 
started using low D SP20s about ten years ago when I was "less than 
intermediate" shall we say.  I don't think I ever made one last a whole 
month.  I was trying to play as loud as possible all the time to keep up

volume-wise with fiddles and mandolins in noisy pub settings.  I started
to 
amplify myself, and of course I had terrible amplified tone at first.  I

read a lot of very good advice about tone and projection, mostly here,
and 
worked hard on these aspects.  I can now cut through the others without
my 
amp sometimes if the pub's quiet.   A Special 20 will now last me about
six 
months before I have to do any reed-replacing (and I do use them a lot -
I 
can be playing for 3-4 hours and use that harp for 60% of the time, once
or 
twice a week AND use the same harp at home for practice).  For me it was
all 
about playing technique.

Cheers

Steve