[Harp-L] Good , bad harps From a newbie

["Abner Galdos" <cdgaldos@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

NEWBIE.
I just took apart all my Lee Oskar and Horner's to clean up.  This was my first time taking these puppies apart. I was very impressed with Horner's sp20 with the respect of the 6 screws holding the reed  down and how heavy the reed was, it felt solid.
Hohner's Marine band I like because its my first. I don't like the small screws holding the plate. so far I cant unscrew them. The flat head that they use seems harder to work with.. all the others have Philips and they grip the Philips screw driver. 
The Lee Oskar's have only 3 screws holding down the reed plate. The reed seems a tad bit lighter.
Turbo Harp has a transparent plastic cover, its also tapered down to the higher keys and a bit fatter. it took me awhile to get use to it. they also have no numbers on the holes. At first I was lost, but after playing for an hour it just came natural.  I do like the sound, and my wife says its has a solid tone to them. Playing the hi notes was sweet. I had to learn to use very little air There are 8 Philips screws holding down the reed. Since this is new ( I just got them Friday) I not  unscrewing the reeds.

I'm not a musician, I don't have an expert ear. I don't know if something is on key or off.  I just can tell what I like.
as of right now I find the Turbo Harp to be the best put together harp 8 screws and the sound is sweet.
I made an 11 min recording jam with a buddy ( acoustic guitar) of mine. its not bluesy at all. I'm having so much trouble getting that sound. 
I would love to get all your opinion on it but I have failed at all attempts to send them to friends.

My final thought on all this is simple.  We all have our likes and dislikes. One day I may try a different brand and or get a customized one and feel different.  Right now I'm not married to any brand so I feel good playing the field.  
I do 100 % agree that any harp out of the box (that has a respectable name) should do their best to produce the best quality harp.  Each manufacturer has to understand that they are a repeat business and they can easily sell up to 12 harps on one brand.  The know very well what needs to be done.
Since money is getting tighter and not all of us can customize harps, its would be nice to know you can buy a harp and enjoy right out of the box...
sending Harps back even under warranty cost money (shipping) so your investment now cost a bit more.....



abner (blueyes, the only thing that's blue)
  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: steve@xxxxxxxxxxxx 
  To: harp-l@xxxxxxxxxx 
  Sent: Tuesday, March 24, 2009 12:25 AM
  Subject: [Harp-L] Good harps, bad harps



  Reading the posts today on Marine Bands quality (or lack thereof) just points out what we should all know. Nobody likes the same thing. 
  I have played almost every brand of harp over the years. Every brand has good and bad. 
  I'm a SP20 player, though i also play a couple of Bushman Delta Frosts. I don't care for Marine Bands. I set up a D Marine Band earlier this year for someone and it was a terrible harp out of the box. I tried a Big River D and it was literally not playable and, even after a lot of work, was barely playable. Those are just my personal experiences.
  But I think Sp20 harps out of the box are usually pretty good. Chris, whose opinions I hold in high esteem, doesn't like them.  When I first tried Bushman harps, I didn't like them. Then I found that some tweaking made them work well for me. Right now, my A Delta Frost is my best harp.
  I don't overblow, but I also don't play hard. I play little blues. My band is more of a country/country rock type of music. 
  Anyway, you know what they say: Opinions are like asses.. everybody has one.
  Steve Webb in Minnesota
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