Subject: Re: [Harp-L] Suzuki's Fabulus....Rant...Strictly IMHO :)

[EGS1217@xxxxxxx]

Martin: I don't think the issue was whether or not the harps were playable.
 They're all 'playable'.

It was more along the lines of whether the harps were consistent ALL of the
 time...Jeff wanting his harps to be exactly the same coming off the
assembly  line as the others he'd bought.  And the responses after that were
agreeing  or disagreeing about the relative merits.

As far as I can see the tuning of a guitar IS most definitely applicable.
Just ask a guitarist if it's as simple as just stringing a guitar to tune
it. If  the idea is that one has to take it back to a shop to have it 'tuned'
as you  contend,  then this falls into the same province of a harmonica
purchaser  returning a harp to the factory to have it tuned to his/her own
specifications,  does it not? (Given that most stores selling them would probably
not have  someone on staff able to do the tweaking necessary, and that most
people do buy  them either online or through the mail, as I believe Jeff
might have as  well).

As to your own issues of getting headaches at the mere thought of opening
up a harp - I quite sympathize. I get migraines: there are times I can't
bear the thought of taking screwdriver to a harp cover and have to postpone
until I can tolerate the idea..but a while back I bought a few old junkers
from  EBay just for such practice and now I'm not in the least intimidated by
the  thought of opening up my own harps.

I'd like to establish, though (for newbies) the idea that gapping  and
tuning are in any way the same type of 'fix' or 'tweaking'. Gapping - while
still needing to be done carefully, is SUCH a simple process and can even be
done by someone like myself who has absolutely no knowledge of tuning. I
wouldn't yet dream of trying to tune a harp, although I do have everything I
need (the proper files and teaching materials)...it's just a much more
involved  process.  Gapping is merely adjusting or very gently stroking the reed
to  widen (or narrow) the gap to suit one's own playing style.

I recently found myself somewhat in the same predicament as Jeff (albeit
hopefully temporarily) having suffered a severe and complicated rotator
injury  which left me in extreme distress and unable to do any of the myriad
detail type  work I was used to: knitting, typing (except one-handed pecking at
the  keyboard); creating my one-of-a-kind glass ornaments; feeding my pets,
dressing;  playing chromatic (until I practiced playing one-handed). It's
been the most  frustrating post-surgery year imaginable even with a solid 6
months of physical  therapy under my belt now for someone used to doing
everything for myself. I can  quite imagine (and empathize with) his frustrations.

I'd decided that if I was going to be stuck like this for much longer, I'd
talk 'someone' through helping me to clean and work on my harps,  either a
family member or a friend, even if I had to pay extra for their  time...set
it up as a business proposition. I'm fortunate in that a couple of my
circle are mechanically oriented and interested enough, although I've so  far
been able to muddle along with some help - they remove the covers,  I somehow
manage the rest.

Try gapping again, Martin. Forget tuning altogether for the present. Biting
 off too much at one time is what causes the immense frustration. Restrict
yourself to gapping which can bring great results and provide such
satisfaction...it'll eventually spur you on to do more,  go further...if you begin
with baby steps.  Use something  extremely lightweight and softer than the
brass reed...such as a toothpick,  orange stick over the thinnest of supports
such as a feeler gauge...you'd be  surprised how the tiniest (and perhaps
repetitive gapping)(checking after each  stroke) can improve your harp.

To be entirely honest I also very nearly ruined a couple of SP-20's before
I realized just how delicately one had to treat the reeds (thanks to Steve
Webb  of this list who first customized a harp for me years ago and made no
bones  about how badly he felt I'd knocked the gapping out of whack by being
too  heavy-handed back when I didn't know any better).

Working on chromatics also seems to teach one how to be more delicate - the
 windsavers simply won't allow rough handling, and what I've learned by
watching  videos from people like Chris Michalek, Rupert Oysler and David Payne
 working on a harp and Jimmy Gordon in person, is how much patience one
must  have...slow and steady (checking after each slight change) wins the day.
It also  explains the hours these guys put into their custom and tweaked
harps. Jason  Ricci's custom made harps go without saying...they're stunning,
when he finds  time to make them.

I'd like to propose to Jeff that he look around for someone - either a
family member - neighbour, someone/anyone who might be willing to sit down  and
take the time to learn how to open up and gap his harps for him - perhaps
by  acquiring Rupert Oysler's DVD? - or other books/YouTube videos showing
the  process, while Jeff is there to test the harp at each step.

This would also further avoid what I'd also further posit, which is that
even perfectly gapped and tuned harps being sent through the mail - via  any
method, can be banged around sufficiently to knock them 'out of tune'  and
even if the harps were sent back and forth to the Seller several times for
fine tuning is no guarantee of perfection with the end result.

Further, I fully agree with those who say that one is always better off in
the end having an exact idea of what's going on underneath the covers of
one's  own instrument.  No knowledge is wasted.

Even for a $200 diatonic - for the length of time they last, the  amount of
music one can produce with an instrument costing so little  COMPARATIVELY,
has to be taken into account when one is discussing differences  in other
instruments: guitars, saxophones, trumpets, pianos and the like.

Robert Bonfiglio just recently played his harmonica acoustically with a 
full orchestra to wild acclaim. I'd pretty much guarantee that the diatonic
he used for that part of his program cost less than any other instrument in
the room, yet he was the star of the show!

In my humble opinion, for what they cost we play the lowest  priced
instrument for the quality of music we can get out of them. We've  consistently
tried to get the rest of the world to stop thinking of our  instrument as a
'toy'...so perhaps it's time WE stop thinking of it as having to  be as a
toy....or how it was 50 years ago?

If we think of an IPod as a 'toy' (electronic, but still a 'toy')....how
many of them need tweaking or 'refurbishing' and are inconsistent out  of the
box? People think nothing of spending a minimum of a couple of  hundred
dollars on them, plus lots more for all of the accessories, and  frankly
between IPods and cell phones, more of THEM are 'poorly manufactured'  yet
accepted by consumers all the time.  I think the focus on harps  is just a wee bit
too narrow given how much junk is being produced by  companies every day.

Elizabeth

Message: 11
Date: Mon, 25 May 2009 15:58:53 -0700 (PDT)
From: martin  oldsberg <martinoldsberg@xxxxxxxxx>
Subject: Re: [Harp-L] Suzuki's  Fabulus....Rant...
To: harp-l@xxxxxxxxxx, _bad_hat@xxxxxxxxx (mailto:bad_hat@xxxxxxxx)

Fjm wrote:
"If I read correctly Jeff's latest communications to the list  it seems as
if what he is objecting to is not a particular reed set up per  se but
that the range of factory set ups is so wide and inconsistent.   In the
case of a $50 instrument that might be an unfair  expectation."

Is it "unfair" to expect a 50$ instrument to  be playable? DonÂt think so.
WouldnÂt it be "fair" to expect some  middle ground factory settings that
were consistent and workable for the typical  player? Based on years of
harmonica production. I think so.
Tuning the guitar, as was mentioned by another writer, is not applicable:
thatÂs  an inherent feature of the instrument. If, for some reason, one of
your guitar  strings on your brand new guitar doesnÂt ring, you go back and
complain and they  fix it for you.

Jeff has some problem with his hands,  preventing delicate work on
harmonicas; I have another problem, in my head: I  get an instant headache just as
soon as I have to take those cover plates off  from the instrument. Re-tuning
makes me physically ill; gapping -- donÂt mention  it. Last time I tried I
ruined a brand new GM, broke the reed off. Got so  furious I threw it at the
wall, bouunced from the radiator and took a chip out  of an antique table.
Bummer. DonÂt call me when youÂve got something in your  home that needs
fixing.

A pal at a local jam said heÂd  bought a customised harp, set him back 200
Euros. Of course, thatÂs a way to go.  Problem was that he was now afraid to
play it, it was so expensive  ...
Tough being a harp player these days.

Cheers,
Martin
--------------------------------------------------------
Date:  Mon, 25 May 2009 08:03:43 -0700
From: fjm <>

If I read correctly  Jeff's latest communications to the list it seems as
if what he is objecting  to is not a particular reed set up per se but
that the range of factory set  ups is so wide and inconsistent.  In the
case of a $50 instrument that  might be an unfair expectation.  I also
don't think this is the nature  of a free reed instrument.  Joe Spiers
offers products that will play  over a much wider range of inputs than a
stock instrument will.  Tombo  does a good job of manufacturing both
assembled harmonicas and reed plates  that are within a fairly narrow
tolerance.  Not that I'd play one  without regapping it but I certainly
would not be afraid to step out in  front of an audience with an out of
the box Lee Oskar.   fjm

------------------------------
>From Jeff: "Why not? I'm not saying  everyone will like lets say sp 20's,
MB's MB
> > Deluxes, etc, but once  we find a harp we do like, why can't it be
> > manufactured the same  way every time? Why do we settle for such poor
> > manufacturing from  all the companies. We wouldn't if we were buying
> > anything  else"
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