RE: [Harp-L] Customizing harps, Tim Moyer, life...

["John Balding" <John.Balding@xxxxxxxxx>]

Matt Smart wrote:
"I also question whether this art, of customizing harps will last....or
be around much longer. With harp companies finally paying attention to
harp players, we may just have some new harps that will make customizing
unnecessary or unique...possibly."

One sure thing about the American way of life - If it CAN be customized,
it WILL be customized. Everyone is in search of the "secret weapon".
Some find that in the Firebreath, Vintage 1923, MBD, etc. But there are
many out there who cannot take to heart the idea that a production harp
will give them the "edge" they need to stand out above the crowd; kind
of like the guy at the end of the street who always has the hood up on
his Corvette, trying to figure out how to make it go faster than the
other guy's Corvette. Either car has more power than you'll ever need,
but it is the idea of the hidden potential in, and the uniqueness of a
customized (fill in the blank), which drives us to "personalize" our
possessions. 
Everyone has different needs/styles, and for that reason, there will
always be a need for customizers of any product. In the case of
harmonicas, the list of specific needs is indeed long, as exemplified by
the many threads concerning harp adjustments and tuning procedures
contained in the Harp-L archives, and the web in general.
I have harps that are many years old, which I have given pure hell over
that time. I can pick them up and play them right now. On the other
hand, I bought two brand new Suzuki Bluesmasters (A and C) a few years
ago, and let my friend Clyde Ramsey (Pat Ramsey's son) try them out.
(Excellent player, by the way. "Plays just like Dad".) Anyway, he played
each of them for about ten minutes, blew the 4 draws out on both of
them, handed them back to me and said "nice harp, but it doesn't hold up
very well". Nice. Thanks for the evaluation. Maybe for an encore, we can
go out and play tennis with some of my mics.

I hear what you are saying, though. And for the most part, it's true.
Most players are weekend warriors like me. We are not going to stand in
line for $200 harmonicas when a $50 Firebreath is more harp than most of
us will ever "need". On the other hand, for the professionals, and those
who have special harp needs due to their propensity to blow out 4-draw
reeds, there will always be a need for the Tim Moyers out there. The
trick is to find someone with true skill, and not just good marketing
hype. Tim had the skill, from what I gather from this list. And for that
reason, his hiatus will be a loss to the harp community. But we still
have him as a "consultant"!

John Balding





-----Original Message-----
From: harp-l-bounces@xxxxxxxxxx [mailto:harp-l-bounces@xxxxxxxxxx] On
Behalf Of Matt Smart
Sent: Monday, November 06, 2006 11:03 PM
To: harp-l
Subject: [Harp-L] Customizing harps, Tim Moyer, life...

This business with Tim Moyer retiring temporarily (hopefully!) has me
thinking about harp customizing.  This may be a new thread.

Personally speaking, when I started learning about Filisko and custom
harps,
I was admittedly obsessed. I bugged anyone that would answer questions
(Pat
Missin stopped answering my emails).  I bought the Rupert Oysler Dvd
(very
helpful), bought expensive tools (including a strobe tuner) and even
recently paid Richard Sleigh a nice sum of money to give me a private
lesson
on customization.

After two years, I do a pretty nice job on my own harps.  The best
compliment I received was when Richard picked up my Low C and played it.
"Not bad."  That is the best compliment I could ever receive in my mind.

Would I ever do Tim's line of work? Probably not. I already have a back
log
of my own harps, students' harps and some local Atlanta players.  It
just
too consuming and very few people really know or appreciate what it is
worth. Richard Sleigh, if you can get him to make one, charges $200 or
more.  He played me is double-plated Low A and told me that he would
charge
someone $400 bucks to make one. Yow! I was almost tempted.

Hats off to Tim and his very cheap prices.

Then, when I recently purchased a suzuki firebreath, it really made me
sigh.  I just spent two years of my life, late night hours and lots of
money
fixing up harps when I could have purchase this $50 harp that was just
as
good if not better than the ones I spent 3-4 hours on.  I could have
used
that time to practice! Then my pride wells up and think, yes but that is
cheating. There is nothing better than laboring over your own harp and
producing an instrument that sings!

I also question whether this art, of customizing harps will last....or
be
around much longer. With harp companies finally paying attention to harp
players, we may just have some new harps that will make customizing
unnecessary or unique...possibly. Anyway, I am rambling. Good night
everyone. Love to hear your thoughts on this...
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