Re: [Harp-L] Over-priced Custom Big Rivers and the Future of the Blues

Tom,

Kind thanks for the mention and I agree with most of what you are saying, but must quibble a little with you on custom harps. No offense obviously, this is a great discussion and really exciting and much better than when people attack each other personally on other some other forums that will not be named.

I will tell you why I do what I do today. The whole reason I now make a living at making harmonica parts/harmonicas is because I felt that as a player, about 10 years ago, that my stock harps were HOLDING me back. I did not feel that I could achieve my full potential of tonal ability and agility by playing stock harps any longer. So I spent the next several years obsessively chasing the better playing harp and it has transformed into a full time job, but also has made be a much better player!!! One of the biggest examples is that I transitioned to full tongue blocking and I could not bend the lower notes well. With customs I CAN. Now I am sure there are better players that can, but man it sure was easier learning that with a nice setup harp. Plus, I cannot describe the pure joy I get from going out to our shop, hand crafting a perfect harmonica comb and customizing a harmonica that plays light years better than the stock harmonica.

The GM that Mike Fugazzi was selling that you mentioned was not just a custom setup---it had a full overblow/overdraw setup which is crazy hard to do and in comparable terms that same caliber of harp is sold by Joe Spiers for $300 plus. The benefit of that harmonica is that it opens up all kind of extra notes and bends that are impossible to get on a stock harp (somewhat like the new Suzuki). So in that instance, I think it does make you a better player. Just listen to Todd Parrott rip through the overbends and I think most would agree. He using specially designed Spiers overbend harps to do that and even a player of his caliber could not make a stock GM do that!

Here are a few examples to make my point about why customs can make you a better player, in my humble opinion:

Example 1: I had a student recently that could not nail the 3 bend. We did a lesson on bending, then the 2^nd lesson I opened up his harp and customized draw 3. He hit the bend instantly and almost cried because he was so relieved. I think that is a case in point where custom or custom work does make the player better. Coincidentally, my first lesson with any student now involves about 15 minutes of me taking apart their harmonica and re-gapping the first 6 reeds for free. I want to give them any edge I can.

Example 2: I love low harps, but it is impossible to play them well stock or get the volume you need. Richard Sleigh built me a Low A double plated and the thing is crazy loud and responsive. Not even a Thunderbird plays that well. This really expands my repertoire because it allows me to sound different than other players with low octaves. No other player, no matter what skill (and we live in a town with Joe Lee Bush, a Little Walter mentee) can match me on those low harps in volume unless they buy a custom one. No way stock low harps just don't cut the room. Now a stock D harp sure, but not lows.

Example 3: Have you ever played a custom from the Filisko guild? I would be interested to see if you felt the same way after playing one. Someone let me play their Filisko D harp once and not only was it the most responsive harp I had ever played, but it had sick tone and was 3 times as loud as any stock marine band or deluxe. You can audibly hear the volume and tonal differences in acoustic and amplified settings. A louder harp is certainly easier to play and doesn't really require much force. Plus there are huge tonal differences. You can really hear it. Which, according to Rupert Oysler's fabulous dvd, the secret to Little Walter's tone was that he played so softly. Allowing the harp to have its natural warm tone. If you have a really loud custom harp, you can achieve that kind of tone because you are not flattening the notes that much. I think that makes you a better player too! Unfortunately, Joe no longer takes orders, but I believe Richard and Jimmy Gordon do, although long waits to get one.

Example 4: I built a custom GM for a customer and he emailed me two weeks later and said that he had been playing in the same bar for years weekly and for the first time a customer came up and asked what so special about that harmonica. It sounded so different than the others. It was a custom C with overblow setup and as he said, much louder than a stock GM and allowed him to get some nice extra notes with the overblows.

Example 5: I build custom harps for a pro player in Atlanta that gigs multiple times per week. He is a fast hard tongue blocker and was blowing out harps every 3-4 months or so. The ones I build him last years (sans a few re-tunes) and he tells me they are a lot louder and that they never stick. Which was a problem with his stocks. So I would assert that having a "stick free" harp would make you a better player. Plus, he tells me that he only needs half the amount of exertion (vs. a stock) so he is actually able to be more nimble and play faster on customs. I think that is a good example of making a player better.

Lastly, I know some people will not believe this. But, if you are a decent player (that does not play too hard) good custom harps should last you longer than stock. I'm not going to give away all of, my trade secrets, but at the very least a well gapped harmonica doesn't have to swing as widely in the slot, creating some stress relief on the reed and extending its life. By the way, reed gapping is the hardest thing to do on a custom. It has taken me years to do it well. That is the true Tao of custom harmonica.

I think that when you get at a proficient playing level, it is a good idea to try customs to see what is possible because it can really enhance your playing. But really a C harp should be easy enough stock. Get an A or a G or a Low F, then you will be amazed how much easier they are and how much fun you can have. I know a lot of good players that avoid lower keyed harps just because they are harder to play stock. If you go to my website, our slogan is "Helping you become the harmonica player you want to be." Everything we do is designed to help you unlock your potential as a player, whether you have me build a custom or you buy the parts to build your own.

So, it is a good idea to learn the basics of flat sanding, installing a flat comb, and reed gapping. Rupert's DVD is the best resource out there and while I do many things differently, it does give any starter a good idea of what to do! BUT customizing is a difficult trade, the DVD will not make you a pro. And so, at some point make it will make a difference in your playing if you buy a good custom. If that was not the case, I don't think you would go to many customizers sites and see them list wait times of several months.

No offense to anyone and thanks again for the nice words Tom. I know you are a numbers business man by trade and it is nice to see your perspective here.

Matthew Smart

www.hetrickharmonica.com


On 9/13/2012 4:20 PM, Tom Halchak wrote: 
I have been enjoying this conversation that has been sparked by comments
about the SUB-30. It has gone off in some interesting tangents.  It really
feels like there are a bunch of guys sitting around, perhaps sipping on
their favorite adult beverage, and having an open and honest discussion
about what is important to them.  So many great points have been made and I
would like to add my commentary to some of the things said by a variety of
people.



In the interest of full disclosure I think it is important for you to
understand where I am coming from because my comments will certainly be
influenced by my perspective as an after-market harmonica parts guy.  I have
been playing the harmonica for right at 40 years so I have witnessed
first-hand the escalating prices of harmonicas over the years.  I have also
been in the after-market business since January 2011 so I have torn apart
and reassembled more harps than the average guy. At this particular moment
in time I have over 500 combs in stock, about 200 sets of powder coated
cover plates and easily 200 harmonicas.  This is not meant to be an
advertisement.  I'm just sayin..



Let me start by pointing out that the people who read and post on harp-l and
other harmonica centric forums are a different class of people.  Not better
or worse - just different.  My guess is that the average harp-l contributor
is far more knowledgeable about and been playing the harmonica far longer
than the average harmonica player.  Brendan stated that "The diatonic
harmonica is the biggest selling instrument in the world - in terms of units
sold."  On some of the old Marine Band boxes Hohner printed words to the
effect of, "Hohner employs 6,000 workers and produces 20 million harmonicas
a year."  Twenty Million a year for the past 100+ years!  That's a lot of
harmonicas and a lot of harmonica players.  How many subscribers does harp-l
have - 200, 500, 1,000?  Whatever the number, it is a very small percentage
of the harmonica playing population.  Most of the stuff we obsess about
never even enters the mind of the "average" harmonica player.  Does that
mean this stuff is not important?  No. Of course it's important.  After all,
SPAH is the Society for the Preservation and ADVANCEMENT(!) of the
Harmonica.  We're the ones who want to see progress!  But let's understand
that as far as the harmonica is concerned, we have much higher standards
than most.



Ken Deifik asked, "Does anybody like the Suzuki UltraBend out of the box?"
I do.  It plays as well out of the box as any other good harmonica.  Could
it be made to play better with some "customization"?  Of course - but name
one harmonica that can't be similarly described.  The last guy who tried to
build an "Out of the Box harmonica that was as good as a Custom" famously
went down in flames.  I'm not saying it can't be done, but so far nobody has
built a successful company that could make this claim.



Look at it this way.  Take what most would describe as an "Intermediate"
player.  They are proficient at draw bends on the bass end of the harp and
blow beds on the treble end.  They can't over-blow.  They can't do single
reed valved bends on a valved harp.  Hand them a SUB-30 and, without any
improvement in technique or skills and you've just added 6-8 notes to their
repertoire.  Out of the box!  Give the average guy a choice between buying a
$65 Crossover or Session Steel and tell them that it will be six months to a
year before they can use over-blows or valved bends musically, or they can
spend $200 and be able to play the same notes TODAY and I suggest to you
that many will fork over the $200.  So yeah, out of the box it is a pretty
damn good harp.



What about the price of harps and custom harps?  Harps, like everything
else, are getting more expensive.  Does it really cost Suzuki that much to
make a SUB-30 that than say a Manji?  I dunno.  I have no idea how Suzuki
determined the price.  But if the 30 reed diatonic is indeed the harmonica
of the future and given that the patent has expired and anybody can build
them, how long will it be before others enter the market.  Supply and
demand.  Maybe competition will help drive prices down.  Maybe not.  We'll
see.  I'll tell you what I find ironic though is that interspersed among all
this talk about paying $200 for a SUB-30, we've got Mike Fugazzi advertising
a custom Golden Melody for $250.  No offense to Mike.  I'm sure his custom
harp is worth every penny.  A Golden Melody is a $35 harmonica that has been
turned into a custom harp with an asking price of $250.



So let's talk about customizing harps.



Matt Smart has made a number of excellent points in his posts recently.  He
brings a lot of experience to the table and makes a lot of sense.  Matt
posted a comment recently on Facebook urging customizers to teach their
customers some basic skills, such as gapping.  I couldn't agree more.  Matt
and I are both very comb centric because we are both in the business but
here's my take on the subject.  If you take the average harmonica, flat sand
the comb (or replace it with a quality custom comb) and flat sand the draw
plate to eliminate leaks, then adjust the gaps  - nothing more than that -
you will have a harmonica that will meet the needs of 95% of the harmonica
playing population.  A perfect example of this, by the way, is a direct
response to the question posted by Michael Montgomery about the Big River.
In the beginning of the summer I picked up 30 new Big Rivers at a very good
price.  I offered them on my website with your choice of any custom comb for
$35.00.  All I did was flat sand the draw plate, replace the comb, check for
leaks and ship them out.   No gapping.  Just like they came from the factory
with a better comb and flat sanded reed plates.  The feedback has been 100%
positive.  They all turned out to be nice playing harps.  Are they over-blow
monsters?  No, but I don't think that's what my customers were looking for.
These simple steps are something that anybody can do.  Reed work is another
story all together.  With the exception of the Marine Band which is still
assembled with nails most harps nowadays can be taken apart with a
screwdriver and made into better playing harp very easily.  Doesn't it make
sense to acquire some of those minimal skills?  If more people did you would
hear a lot less comments like, "I played the XXXX-Harp 20 years ago and it
was a piece of junk" (therefore all XXXX-Harps are junk).  It is entirely
possible that all that piece of junk needs was to adjust the gaps on the
reeds and it would have been a perfectly good harp.  Not every out of the
box is a winner and neither are they all lemons.  But it my firm belief
that, unless you are talking about $10 Chinese toy harp, the vast majority
of harps from the major manufacturers, Hohner, Suzuki, Seydel and Lee Oskar
can be made to be good playing harps with a little bit of TLC.

My friend Harvey Berman in New Orleans, a wonderful gentleman and a very
fine customizer, created a thread on MBH asking if you really needed a
custom harp.  Here's the link:



http://www.modernbluesharmonica.com/board/board_topic/5560960/1568722.htm



If you watch Dave Barret's interview with Joe Spiers, you will come away
with the same impression.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ie7tsb28Ywk



Most people really don't need full blown custom harps.  I do not believe
that customizers are guilty of overselling but I do believe that many people
buy custom harps because they think it will magically make them better
players.  I hope these are not the same guys who are complaining about $200
for SUB-30.  Wouldn't that be ironic?

I know this post has run on kinda long.  Sorry about that.  I've been
following the conversation for a few days and just haven't had time to
inject my thoughts until now.



Tom Halchak
www.BlueMoonHarmonicas.com

Clearwater, FL







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