[Harp-L] Buddha harp big-up

[David Dix <dixdr@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

In the last week I've received my first Buddha Harp from Chris
Michalek and I'd like to tell you all what a wonderful harp it is.
It's a GM (Buddha harps are Chris' top-of-the-range and I think he
only does Golden Mels this way) in C and it plays beautifully, and
very loud. Overblows on 4, 5 and 6 are very natural and easy-to-get,
and the harp has that juicy brightness that you usually get only from
a properly set up Marine Band. (Why not get an MB you ask? Dunno,
I've just got to like GMs recently. They're easy to take to bits and
reassemble, and besides, i've got two sets of custom MBs already)

Chris does the usual arcing, embossing, gapping etc but he also
subjects the Buddha harps to his own "reed de-stressing" process
which, he says, is where the added volume comes from.
All my other Golden Mels now sound a bit sad and muffly by
comparison.

The price is comparable to what Ben Bouman charges for his souped-up
Seydel 1847s, so if they are as good as the Buddha Harp our friend
hhdealer1 can be reassured he has not been ripped off. In fact a
Betaharp is next on my list to get if the pound sterling ever
recovers. Just watch and listen to the clips the wonderful
Christelle "la Reine du Fer du Gob" Berthon has uploaded to YouTube
for proof.

Speaking of which, for those who haven't found them yet, Chris M. has
some very useful clips on YouTube too, particularly the ones
explaining 11th and 12th positions.

chrs

DD
London