Re: [Harp-L] Customizers

[Jonathan Ross <jross38@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

> > I don't think so.
>
> I didn't think you would. But if you look at the wording, you will  
> notice that this statement of mine is ver open ended and in reality,  
> amounts to nothing tangible being said.

Glad you said so not me.  :)

> Let's say (for example) that one customizer is really easy going,  
> laid back and, what with coming from a country that has been bombed,  
> takes the attitude that "It's not the end of the world".
>
> Ok, then YOU, yourself, are easy going, timid, a masochististic self  
> depricating self concious type. So you order something and it comes  
> in correctly. But wait. What if it doesn't? Well, THAT customizer  
> will work with you until it is right. And it doesn't matter what the  
> problem IS. YOUR fault, HIS fault, NO ONE's fault. Doesn't matter.

From my experience craftsmen who start out with a laidback attitude  
rarely attain particulalrly high levels of quality.  Many become  
laidback after getting the experience (usually with a lot of emotional  
investment early on) and learning that most anything can be fixed, but  
I rarely see it as a good starting point.  Unless we're talking  
experimental artists and such (ie, some of the odd musical instrument  
makers), but that's not the case here.

> Now let's say there is another customizer who is moody. One minute  
> he can be the nicest guy in the world, and then the next minute, he  
> blows his top, and is given to fits of bad temper. He knows what you  
> need better than YOU do. While (admittedly) he is the one with the  
> expertise, you are the one paying. Hmmm, hard guy to work with.

Perhaps, though his product may in fact be superior.  If he learned  
how to make a truly custom instrument (as opposses to a souped-up one)  
then he must at least be somewhat amenable to input.  Part of this  
depends how we define custom harmonica, for me it indicates set up  
particularly for me and my playing style, not just some generic style.

> Right, and Dick Gardner, Jerry Murad, Bill Romel, Mike Easton, and a  
> number of others. What I'm saying is attitude is also a big factor.

I wouldn't disagree, but I would merely add it into the other  
qualities I mentioned, while still being a more fluid factor than many  
of the others (such as hearing).

> I have worked on my own harps since the beginning. It's  a grueling  
> drudge.

I would agree, and that's one thing that sets the best techs/ 
customizers apart: they've actively wallowed in that drudge, joyfully  
even for years on end. I remember one of them telling me he was going  
to spend a nice relaxing evening tuning a chord-harp.  My idea of he'll.

> I can do it, but my hands are no longer any good, and I need a LOT  
> of magnification. I don't generally do work for anyone else...because:
> 1... If they sound really good, it's because they are so great.
> 2... If they sound bad, it's because of your lousy harp work.

I can assure you, that's the nature of the musical instrument  
business, not just harps.  But every so often you get praise for your  
work, and it's most gratifying when it comes from the performer  
themselves.

That's one of the reasons that I feel feedback is so important, both  
public and private.  I remember a Howard Levy interview (in HIP, IIRC)  
where he said that he couldn't do what he does without his Filliskos.   
I can imagine that even someone as implacable as Joe was very  
flattered and happy to read that.


JR Ross