-- fjm <mktspot@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote: Matt Stuart writes about getting a lesson in harmonica set-up/repair from Richard Sleigh. Having spent some time across a table from Richard I can confirm that it's time well spent. If for no other reason than to see how he approaches the problem solving involved with diatonic harmonica manipulation. I'll transplant a reed if I'm forced to and I've retuned an entire harmonica to low A. Over the years I've touched up the tuning on my various customs and I've even bought a composite comb and assembled a ground up custom on my own devising but I'll confess that when they work out right I can't tell you why. That leaves the whole process somewhere in the realm of magic for me.
Off the shelf harmonicas are getting better again but the contrast we're seeing is more due to how abysmal they'd become rather than how good they currently are. What is required to make a superb instrument customised to an individual's requirements is well beyond the scope and capabilities of any normal manufacturing process. I don't think Hohjner or any of the other harmonica manufacturers are missing the boat by not serving this market niche. They sell millions of units in a year. Beyond an airtight instrument the biggest difference that can be made in a harmonica is in the tuning. Tuning schemes are subjective and myriad and good tuning takes time because of the tendency of the reeds to not stay put when you tune them the first several times.
Robert Bonfiglio talks about the necessity of being able to handle your own chromatic set up. I do think he's correct in that the basics, gross reed offset and tuning of octaves and intervals are all well within the capabilities of most players. Maybe it's like being able to change a flat on your car. Most times you'll be able to give a quick call to AAA but sometimes you'll need to for what ever reason just change the flat and get on your way. It's nice to not be totally helpless. As Robert points out it's almost impossible to actually hurt a reed by manipulating it. If it snaps off it was dead anyhow. fjm
Hi, This post is so abolutely dead on the money!!!!!!! What too many people seem to thick they can get a Rolls royce quality while paying at a price of a beat up, junk box used Chevy on its last legs, so for the general public, this is a HUGE reality check here. If the manufacturers all did what the customizers all do, they'd be paying just as much, if not more than from a customizer, because of the extra added production line costs involved, all of which is VERY labor intensive, and the these very SAME people constantly complaining about all of the quality issues they percieve will also be complaing about the cost they have to pay, and remember, who gets the added production costs passed on to in the price you pay?? YOU DO, like it or not!!! Yep, once again, a cold, hard, brutal reality check.
Sincerely, Barbeque Bob Maglinte Boston, MA http://www.barbequebob.com MP3's: http://music.mp3lizard.com/barbequebob/
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