RE: [Harp-L] Re: Question about custom harmonicas

[Jim Fitting <jfitting@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

  I am pretty much a hardcore Marine Band fanatic myself, mostly because of the strength/durability of the reeds. These days I play 75% of the time in an acoustic setting and I play hard. The marine band stands up to my punishment pretty much right of the box, and responds to forceful playing with a full sound and great tone. I must admit I haven't played many Suzukis, but the Lee Oskars and Golden Melodies of the world do not respond well to my touch. I bought a Filisko method marine band from James Powers a couple of years ago, and it was a beautiful instrument that lasted far longer than any other harmonica I have ever bought. But even it had the tendency squelch out when I got carried away and played too hard ( which happened a lot)...In short after thirty years of playing Marine Bands right out of the box, I'm still hooked.
Jim Fitting
PS
Hey Steve, we met back in '93 in Hamburg when I was with The the. I hope all is well with you. The Harp Handbook (3rd edition) remains on the top of my reference bookshelf.



> To: harp-l@xxxxxxxxxx
> From: steve@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
> Date: Sun, 7 Dec 2008 14:03:04 +0100
> Subject: [Harp-L] Re: Question about custom harmonicas
> 
> John, your personal preferences are your affair, but this is to put  
> it mildly an extremely contentious claim. I and many other pro  
> players including a substantial number of high end customizers regard  
> the Hohner Marine Band as pretty much the benchmark harp for blues  
> and related forms of music. Buddha works on Golden Melodies because  
> he feels that for his sophisticated musical aspirations they give the  
> best results. These craftsmen choose Hohner Classic harmonicas  to  
> work on because they consider them to offer the best raw material  
> presently available for their purposes. The reason lies mainly in the  
> tone and response of the reeds. That's why I play them myself. This  
> is by no means intended to denigrate Suzuki, their harmonicas are  
> very well made even though they don't correspond to my personal  
> taste. Tastes differ, so other players (and customizers) may have  
> different preferences, but few would justify their choice by claiming  
> Hohner instruments are inherently inferior. How about trying a Hohner  
> Classic harp out of current production before making such absolutist  
> statements in public?
> 
> Steve
> 
> Steve Baker
> steve@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
> www.stevebaker.de
> www.bluesculture.com
> www.youtube.com/stevebakerbluesharp
> www.myspace.com/stevebakerbluesharp
> 
> _______________________________________________
> Harp-L is sponsored by SPAH, http://www.spah.org
> Harp-L@xxxxxxxxxx
> http://harp-l.org/mailman/listinfo/harp-l

_________________________________________________________________
Send e-mail anywhere. No map, no compass.
http://windowslive.com/Explore/hotmail?ocid=TXT_TAGLM_WL_hotmail_acq_anywhere_122008