Re: [Harp-L] pre-war harmonicas

["Rick Dempster" <rick.dempster@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

Re old harmonicas (I posted something like this a few years back) -
anybody have any kind of contact point for Jon Bon Jovi? Some years back
(like about 20) he waltzed into the Queen Victoria building in Sydney
(Australia) and bought up the whole stock of brand new 1930s Boomerangs,
from an 'antique/collectables' shop (plus ald adverts. enamel signs etc.
etc.) whcih were European-made (forget which company) for Alberts, the
big music wholesaler here.
Being not rich, I had managed to buy just a few, including a low-octave
F and a C & A standard diatonic. I also had a chromatic on lay-by, but
Jon took that with him as well before I got back there (I live about
1000 kilometres south in Melbourne)
These were/are beautiful harmonicas, both to look at and play. 
What the hell did Bon Jovi do with them? Greedy beggar!
If someone knows him, please ask him; and say can I have my chrom. if I
pay the balance owing (about $Aus30.00)
Yeah, right.
RD

>>> <brianstear@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> 21/06/2007 15:37:10 >>>
From: Captron100@xxxxxxx 
Subject: [Harp-L] Pre-war harmonicas 
To: Harp-L@xxxxxxxxxx 
Cc: brianstear@xxxxxxxxxxxxx 
Message-ID: <c13.18f5eb70.33aadbf7@xxxxxxx>
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In a message dated 6/16/2007 9:46:28 P.M. Eastern Daylight Time, brian 

writes:

Can someone help me to understand why a majority of the 10-hole 
pre-war 
harmonicas ( Echo-Richter tuned, Orkester, etc ) I buy off Ebay play  
sooooooosmooth, incredibly easy ( next to no air to activate the reeds
), and  sound full 
and strong? It's like night and day, even compared to today's Special 
20's.
If I could buy harmonicas like this all the time, I'd gladly pay  twice
the 
price of a regular one!

Brian, i don't think i've ever seen a pre-war harp, but in my
experience,  
the reason harps play well is due to good manufacturing - close
tolerances,  
airtightness of the harp, and proper gapping.
  My questions to u - how do u know that they are pre-war harps?   And
aren't 
u afraid that the harps u buy on ebay would be over-played and that 
they 
would need tuning?  Or don't u care, because they are collector's 
items?  Just 
curious.
ron - FL Keys

Ron, I'm basically basing my definition of a pre-war harmonica on the
the fact it has a 6-sided star in the middle on the back. I actually
didn't buy these harmonicas soley for playing purposes. I do harmonica
workshops in the schools, and I buy them for the kids to look at so they
can marvel at what I present to them as the " tin sandwich ".
 But that doesn't take away from the fact that some of them play great!
They help to bring out the nuances of my playing.   Brian
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