[Harp-L] Combs...

[Steve Webb <swebb@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

Do custom combs really make that much difference? I can't imagine a Big River that would overblow, let alone overdraw.
Of course, I am mostly a SP20 player and haven't really experimented with combs..
Steve Webb in Minn.

Sent from my iPad

On Aug 2, 2012, at 7:11 PM, Larry Sandy <slyou65@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:

> Yes, all these suggestions are good advice.  I've learned a lot from many web sources and a few fellow harpers.  I also choose to take advantage of some Harp-L experts' services with perhaps lofty expectations on a few select favorites.  This week I purchased an MB brass comb, onto which I flattened and installed new Big River reed plates ( because I already had a set).  I compared it to an identical factory sample and it blew the factory unit away.  Let me tell you that this harp is exceeding my expectations a great deal.  It overblows, overdraws and plays very easily- both quietly and loud.  Next I will be doing a little reed tweaking and make a nice spalted oak cover just because.   I'll be buying more great combs real soon!
> 
>  Keep learning and improving, Javier, and soon you will become an expert.
> 
> Lockjaw Larry
> Breathing Music daily
> 
> 
> 
> ________________________________
> From: Rick Dempster <rick.dempster@xxxxxxxxxxx>
> To: Robert Rowe <robertrowe2@xxxxxxx> 
> Cc: Harp-L <harp-l@xxxxxxxxxx>; "javier.dardon@xxxxxxxxx" <javier.dardon@xxxxxxxxx> 
> Sent: Thursday, August 2, 2012 7:38 PM
> Subject: Re: [Harp-L] Oberblow beginner
> 
> All good advice no doubt. But even the best custom will play up at some
> stage, so it's always best, gradually at least, to learn to work on the
> reeds yourself. There is certainly enough info. around these days to make
> giving it a go not that hard. My 'pocket' harp is always one I've tweaked
> myself, and is forever a work in progress. For all it's shortcomings, it's
> always closer to what I want than any customiser can do.
> RD
> 
> On 3 August 2012 02:56, Robert Rowe <robertrowe2@xxxxxxx> wrote:
> 
>> You really need to get someone like Mike Fugazzi to tweak your harp so
>> that it overblows and overdraws well without sticking. Alternatively, you
>> can buy a Suzuki Firebreath which works right out of the box. I have a G
>> that I've never played, and I had never even attempted an overblow, and I
>> overblew 4 on the very first try. 5 and 6 worked first time too, as did
>> overdrawing 7 and 8. I got the Peterson out and checked the pitch, and I
>> was pretty darned close for an absolute beginner.
>> 
>> Full of myself, and wondering what all the fuss was about, I tried the
>> same techniques on my G Crossover. I got everything from a windy zero to
>> barely catching the slightest instance of a pitch shift. Clearly, my
>> success with the Firebreath was due entirely to the harp's design.
>> 
>> I got my Firebreath from Ron Hobdy at rockinronsmusic4less.com. There's
>> also a Pureharp Suzuki with the same comb and reed plates, but with solid
>> rosewood covers that allegedly deepen the already dark tone of the
>> Firebreath.
>> 
>> If you have the patience, the best customizers in the world are right here
>> on this list.
>> 
>> Sent from my iPhone
>> 
>> On Aug 2, 2012, at 12:23 PM, Javier DardÃn <javier.dardon@xxxxxxxxx>
>> wrote:
>> 
>>> Friends, I'm an overblow beginner, by the moment I'm overblowing on
>> holes 1 and 4 of a C Lee Oskar, but sometimes the blow reed get stuck after
>> the oberblow, so I can't immediately blow after the overblow. Any idea?
>>> 
>>> Any help will be welcome.
>>> Regards
>>> Javier DardÃn
>>> Javier DardÃn
>>> 
>> 
>> 
> 
> 
> -- 
> Rick Dempster
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