Playability off-the-shelf is great for some people but not for others. I need my harps gapped at least as wide as most come off-the-shelf and there are nearly always one or two issues per harp for me. Then you have to be prepared to accept the fine-tuning of the harp as it stands. There are at least three different fine-tunings that 10-hole diatonics come in to my knowledge. SP20s are my favourite harps but I do not want the tuning they come in so I have to do something about it. I like the Lee Oskar tuning but they always have gapping issues for me. It's the music I play and the way I play. Now I can't afford to get my harps set up by customisers as a general rule (I'm amateur only and on a pension!) so I have opened 'em up and got in there in a low tech but very effective way. I know what you're saying when you say "I don't really want to go through the time and expense of learning the trade..." but you can set yourself up forever with the Lee Oskar kit and a cheapo chromatic tuner for the cost of two harps. I know what you're experiencing and I understand your trepidation, because I was in exactly the same boat years ago (and didn't have Harp-l!). But if you can find an ideal OOTB harp for your needs you're luckier than I've ever been. I've had frustrations of all kinds with every harp named on this thread so far. But I can now get a harp decently up and running in half an hour, and, though my workmanship is not up to professional standards, my harps are reliable, they respond nicely and they sound good to me and that gives me a lot of satisfaction.
Just a point of view based on personal experience! ;-)
Steve
http://mysite.wanadoo-members.co.uk/trad_irish_harmonica HEAR my CD clips: http://www.gjk2.com/steveshaw/cd.htm
From: "Rick & Dana Siekmann" <dsiekmann@xxxxxxxxxxx> To: "Steve Shaw" <moorcot@xxxxxxx>, <harp-l@xxxxxxxxxx> Subject: Re: Sp20 reedplates was Re: [Harp-L] RE: Hohner MS Date: Fri, 24 Mar 2006 07:19:01 -0600
A couple of people have said the MS harps are fine, once they been regapped, retuned, whatever. ..in my case, however, I don't have any real interest in reworking the harps for two reasons: first, I don't really want to go through the time and expense of learning the trade (I'm not that interested); and second, my ear just isn't sufficiently practiced to hear if any one reed might be a little off and in which direction. Much less a whole set of reeds. Maybe that will come with time, and maybe an interest in the technical side of things will grow too. But for now I'm just concerned with how they play and sound out of the box. (I think Popper is the same way.)
That said, are there any commonly available, affordable harps, other than Marine Bands and Sp20s that stand out for their playability off the shelf?
----- Original Message ----- From: "Steve Shaw" <moorcot@xxxxxxx> To: <harp-l@xxxxxxxxxx> Sent: Friday, March 24, 2006 4:26 AM Subject: RE: Sp20 reedplates was Re: [Harp-L] RE: Hohner MS
> >Derek Lark wrote:
>>
>>>Hi
>>>
>>>I have gone back to MS Blues Harps, got sick of the Special 20's
failing
>>>and
>>>not being able to buy replacement reed plates (and the replacement
parts
>>>from Europe plus postage in Australian Dollars are totally
unrealistic).
>
>
>
> I haven't found a significant difference in longevity between MS and
Special
> 20 reeds - neither comes near Lee Oskars in that regard but I find both
to
> be acceptable now that I've learned to be a bit more gentle when I > play.
I
> did find the low key MS plates to be problematic but I haven't tried
them
> again for years, whereas SP20 low keys were fine. Also, in response to
> previous comments, I find MS harps to be nice and responsive once I > have
the
> gapping right for my needs. I like them and have a few but they come
second
> in my armoury after LOs (because they're bomb-proof and therefore
> economical) and SP20s (nice to play, very responsive and available in
low
> D!).
>
> Steve
>
>
> http://mysite.wanadoo-members.co.uk/trad_irish_harmonica
> HEAR my CD clips: http://www.gjk2.com/steveshaw/cd.htm
>
>
> _______________________________________________
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