Re: [Harp-L] Cases and keys

[Richard Hunter <turtlehill@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Tony Stephens wrote:
> 
> I am just a guy learning so I have to ask what I the number of harmonicas your want your case to be able to hold? 

The answer to this question really depends on how many different styles of music you want to play, and with whom.  Anyway, I would find a case that carries seven harps to be pretty restricted.  Seydel makes a soft case that carries 14 harps; it doesn't take up much more room in a shoulder bag than a 7-harp case, and it gives you double the options, including backups for your most-used keys, or a wider range of keys/tunings.  Backups are less important than they used to be now that harp quality in general is so much improved, but I find it occasionally very helpful to have a backup for the keys that the band I'm playing with tends to play most often.

In general, you can pack more harps into a given space vertically than horizontally.  The soft cases I've seen use a horizontal layout; a medium sized camera case makes a convenient starting point for a vertical setup.  If you use a vertical setup, you'll probably need to use some kind of system to mark the ends of your harps with their keys.

Regards, Richard Hunter

author, "Jazz Harp" (Oak Publications, NYC)
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