[Harp-L] Out of the Box Harps

[Warren Bee <wlb@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

FJM mentioned this the other day; this forum is a pretty small sample of the
world of harmonica and its players. Listen to Tom Ball, he plays Special
20's right out of the box. When I first met Phil Wiggins I think he said he
is an out of the box Marine Band guy. Paul DeLay, God rest his soul, played
Big Rivers. The harmonica universe had been around a long time before
"customizer" and "tweaking methods" emerged. For less than $30 you can get a
pro quality, playable out of the box harp. Of course there can be
exceptions. I always have an inventory of cheapo harps on hand to give away
or sell to the curious and interested kids and adults that cross my path.
Just last month I gave a Hohner Blues Band to a gal I know. That is a $5.00
retail harp. I pay $2.00 each wholesale for them. Made in China by a
machine, I doubt if any hands touched that instrument in the factory other
than packaging after it was assembled. After I gave it to her she asked me
to play it for her. I have had Misty on my mind a lot lately so for some
reason that is what I started to play. As I approached the 5 over-blow I
started to cringe wondering what would happen. Guess what? It popped right
up for me! I was blown away myself that an out of the box $5.00 harp could
pull that off, but it did. New players have to get the "Nike" mentality and
"Just Play", no matter what harp is in your mouth. To me the key for a
beginner is that the harp is at least in tune. I must say that modern
manufacturing technology actually can produce even cheap harps that are
reasonably in tune. The journey of making music on the harp will be a long
road that won't stop until you stop breathing. Just breathe and enjoy. Piece
by piece it will come together. Remember when you first got your drivers
license? Even a rusty old Pinto or Vega that started and moved forward would
make you happy. You don't need to have a Mercedes right away to hit the
road!

 

Now with all of that said I must say that I am truly blessed to own a bunch
of high-quality harps. Some customized. They are a great to have if you can
afford them. I am glad that I started accumulating these toys after many
years on stock harps. I blew out a lot of them over the years. Custom harps
in the hands of beginners can become an expensive hobby. If you can afford
the luxury go for it. If not, do as 99.9% of the harmonica world does and
enjoy a stock harp. There are many great choices available from a nice
handful of manufacturers.

 

Warren Bee