Subject: [Harp-L] RE: Harmonca Case

[EGS1217@xxxxxxx]

That's a really cool case, Glennn - and a meticulously neat set up. No  
wonder you like it.
 
I never understood why people didn't like the pick 'n pluck foam..but then  
realized by my not being a gigging musician I'm not taking my harmonicas in 
and  out of my case nearly as often as someone having it set up on stage 
....it could  be something to do with the bright lights helping increase the 
potential of the  foam to 'flake' as well?

For me the pick 'n pluck's held up solidly for an entire year now  with no 
problems, but can you tell me where you purchased the 'new' foam you're  now 
using?  I'm definitely interested.
 
Looking at the dimensions of your case at first I wondered why you  didn't 
have your diatonics standing on end (you could have fit many more - and  
they're easier to grip that way, to my mind) - but then noticed you had an  
entire second layer beneath. 
 
In my small case I only use the middle part for a second level of  
chromatics. It works for me, but might not for others (cx-12's en masse are  heavy 
and there's only so much weight I can manage with one hand).
 
I have recently bought a bigger, vintage, faux croc Samsonite  'train case' 
(a la Derwood - he and I seem to shop at the same links) :) and  plan to 
outfit it with foam - to fit more harmonicas and my new bottle o'  blues mic 
and amp.  That case  came with keys and is sturdier (and  deeper) so will 
most likely end up being my 'travel to Conventions' air-worthy  harp case) 
while I save the Mexican leather one for local travel. The older case  is 
thinner skinned and more fragile and I'd like it to last.
 
Gigging musicians need cases like yours, though - which will stand up to  
the rigors of on-stage use.
 
Very neat.  Thanks for sharing.
 
Elizabeth
 
"Message: 8
Date: Thu, 29 Oct 2009 20:29:36 -0700
From: Glenn and  Debbie Woodhouse <gwoodhouse40@xxxxxxx>
Subject: [Harp-L] RE: Harmonca  Case
To: Harp-L Harp-L <harp-l@xxxxxxxxxx>


Here is the pic  of the flight case I setup that I described a couple of 
days ago.


_http://tinyurl.com/yjgk5rc_ (http://tinyurl.com/yjgk5rc) 


Glenn


>  Message: 4
> Date: Tue, 27 Oct 2009 23:32:51 -0700
> From: Glenn and  Debbie Woodhouse <gwoodhouse40@xxxxxxx>
> Subject: [Harp-L] RE:  Harmonca Case
> To: Harp-L Harp-L <harp-l@xxxxxxxxxx>
>  
> I bought one of those black naugahyde cheapo cases from Musicians  Friend 
a couple of years ago. It was OK but I have since moved on. I still use  
the two removable black furry harp trays from it though. I now use a $85 DJK  
flight case that came with pick-n-pluck foam,  
http://shop.vendio.com/djkits/item/956864871/index.html . Ultimately I ditched  the pick-n-pluck foam. It 
is a bit flakey and after a few reconfigurations the  case looked sloppy 
and unprofessional. I replaced it with a piece of higher  quality foam that I 
cut pockets into myself (which doesn't look as good as Hal  Iwan's foam but 
it works). This is a pretty big case at ~23" X 13" X 6". In this  case I 
have my two diatonic furry trays side by side holding a total of 22  harps. I 
have a Dunlop 9V/amy CX-12 chromatic, an embedded power strip, and a  fairly 
large cavity for misc stuff like connectors, my Lee Oskar repair kit, a  545 
stick mic, business cards, etc. I leave the mic cable and amp cable hooked  
to the pedals and coil them up in the case. For gigs, I place this setup on 
a  folding keyboard stand. I have cleanly ran all of the power and pedal 
cabling  under the foam in cut-out slots so everything lays flat and smooth. 
So the way  this case is setup, I show up to the gig, set the case on the 
keyboard stand,  flip it open, run the powerstrip cord to an outlet, plug in 
the amp cable, screw  on a mic, plug the amp into the power strip if that is 
the most convenient  outlet, and I'm ready to go. There is no hooking up 
pedals to power bricks and  1/4" cables. As the "front man" so to speak in our 
band, this setup provides an  organized and professional solution that has 
all controls, harps, etc. at my  fingertips without have to wander far from 
the vocal mic stand.

Glenn
 The ColdRail Blues Band
 www.ColdRail.com
> 
PS - I only use the MXR EQ pedal if  I am playing straight into the PA. It 
is great as an ampless "mini-amp" for  dialing out feedback, tone shaping, 
and dialing up the gain to add a bit of  crunch if desired as a low cost 
alternative to something like the Harp Commander  (thanks to Richard Hunter for 
his recommendation on this  pedal)