Re: [Harp-L] cuxtomizing lee oskars

[Eric Nielsen <ericbarnak@xxxxxxxxx>]

Hi Rich,

LO's are definitely worth tweaking. Back when I was first learning to
overbend, they were one of my harps of choice. With proper gapping, they
were more responsive to my playing style. I just pulled out an old LO I
set-up years ago and it played well--even the overblows and 'draws.

The overbends on LO's do have a tendency to produce a high pitched squeal.
This can be minimized or eliminated with careful playing technique and the
application of small pieces of tape to the reeds. This topic has been
covered on the list before, so you should be able to find it by searching
the archives.

I am not a customizer, but by learning some of the basics of harmonica
set-up, I have been able to make almost any harmonica more responsive to my
needs. A good customizer could do much more.

LO's are great harmonicas, and are set-up pretty well out of the box (in my
experience), but, if you can't find a customizer to work on one, why not try
tweaking them yourself to see if you can improve them. Start with one of
your least useful harps. Rupert Oysler has an excellent DVD on harmonica
customizing:

http://www.harprepair.com/

And there is some great material on the Internet. Search topics such as
harmonica customization, reed gapping, etc.

Eric