Fwd: [Harp-L] Question about custom harmonicas



Begin forwarded message:

From: "John F. Potts" <hvyj@xxxxxxx>
Date: December 6, 2008 7:55:56 PM GMT-05:00
To: Ben Bouman <fitgo@xxxxxxxxxx>
Subject: Re: [Harp-L] Question about custom harmonicas

Ben,

I've never played a Seydel, but everything I've heard about them is positive.

But, I'm not talking about how a particular harmonica sounds to the audience, I'm talking about how different brands of harps feel, respond and perform in the hands of a particular player (me). A lot players will sound better than I do no matter what brand of harmonica they play because they are better than i am. And I'll probably sound better than a player of lesser skill and experience no matter what brand of harmonica i play. But I'm referring to what brand or model of harmonica I interact with in an optimum manner that allows me to most readily and easily recreate the sounds I hear in my head that i want to play on the harmonica when I perform, while allowing me to stay in tune with the rest of the band. And no matter how good a player is, playing an airtight harmonica with good compression will always be a more positive experience for the player than playing a leaky harmonica that has poor compression.

Getting a Seydel to test drive has been on my to do list for a while.

	Best regards,
		JP

On Dec 6, 2008, at 7:30 PM, Ben Bouman wrote:

I only use Seydel 1847 harps for my beta-harps because I love the sound of these harps with steel reeds and I believe in the longevity of the long slot steel reeds....but I also love the sound when a GOOD player plays on a Marine Band ......or a Suzuki..or....
How about this question.... when you hear a player without seeing him or her, can you tell what harp he/she is playing (which brand...custom harp or out of the box....) or is it 99 % the sound the player produces on a harp?
regards
Ben Bouman
www.beta-harps.com
www.harmonicainstituut.nl
www.marble-amps.com

----- Original Message ----- From: "John F. Potts" <hvyj@xxxxxxx>
To: <harp-l@xxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Sunday, December 07, 2008 1:04 AM
Subject: [Harp-L] Question about custom harmonicas


Here's my question about custom harps: Why do customizers only customize Hohners? I don't like Hohners. I'd rather play Suzukis. A custom Hohner would be an improved version of a harmonica i don't like in the first place. Presumably, a customized Suzuki (I'm not talking about a Fabulous here) would be a better product, because the stock harmonica that the work is performed on is a better product to start with. A custom Hohner is an improved version of an inferior product. A custom Suzuki should be superior because the instrument that is being customized is superior to start with.

I played Hohners for 26 or 27 years before i switched to Suzuki, so i have a substantial basis for comparison. I have a strong preference for certain characteristics of the higher end Suzukis which i understand not all players will share. Others may not find these characteristics desirable. But the QUALITY of the higher end Suzuki instruments--compression (air tightness), depth and consistency of tone from reed to reed, responsiveness etc., is indisputably superior to any stock Hohner I've ever played, (and I've played A LOT of them). Accordingly, i do not understand why customizers choose to perform their precision work using a Hohner platform and only a Hohner platform as a starting point, and why none of them are customizing Suzukis. (Or Lee Oskars for that matter).

Maybe it's because necessity is the mother of invention-- Hohners must be worked on in order to perform well, while Suzukis and Lee Oskars perform reasonably well out of the box. Since Hohners HAD to be worked on in order to be playable and Hohners have been around longer, the technicians performing the precision work necessarily started out working on Hohners. Perhaps they simply stuck with customizing the brand they became most familiar with, and so they now use the Hohner platform exclusively by default. It's human nature that people tend to stick with what they are familiar with.

Maybe I'm only displaying my ignorance by putting up this post. But the difference between ignorance and stupidity is that ignorance can be cured with information. Enlighten me.

JP
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