[Harp-L] Re: Harp Players Gear List? Blah Blah Blah

["Steve Power" <stevepower@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

When I started I played a Marine Band eventually upgrading to Special 20s 
when they came out.  I stopped using them when the quality and the customer 
service went way south. I switched to Lee Oskars, which I found were pretty 
comperable but seemed to last longer and at least they hadn't pissed me off. 
I had a deal with my local music store who gave me a "professional users' 
discount of at least 20% but it didn't matter what I bought.

Then my bass player left to join Shakin' Stevens and was offered deals from 
all sorts of companies, usually gear at wholesale. This continued even after 
he left Shakey and came back to the fold.  So one day I thought I'd give it 
a try and ended up getting a great deal with Herring.  Thing was I liked 
their chromatics but wasn't that keen on their diatonics.  It wasn't long 
before I decided I really couldn't recommend them. I was getting asked what 
I used a lot at the time.  Really weird when you come back to a town in 
another country and find guys have gone out and bought gear just because 
they saw you use it.  Anyway, I went back to paying retail for Lee Okars 
until I discoverd Seydel.  I have a limited endorsement deal with them which 
is great but I also can recommend them in all honesty in being IMHO the best 
OTB harp around. The customer service is outstanding as well.

I also had a deal with Genz Benz amplifiers for a while. They once sent me 
an entire backline including bass amp, two guitar amps and an acoustic amp 
to use for a band contest I was running.  Their gear was great, all of it, 
and really should be better known but I couldn't make the guitar amp do what 
I wanted for harmonica and it was way more amp than I needed for guitar.  In 
the end I stopped using them but still sing the praises of Genz Benz 
whenever the subject comes up.

The point being, there will always be those that take the free stuff and say 
whatever to keep it coming but that is far from being the majority of pro 
players.  Our gear is way too personal and vitally important to our lives to 
use crap just because it was free or somebody paid us.

Gear I currently use:
Full range of Seydel 1847 diatonics in most major keys and a couple of 
octave harps.
Herring Chromatic
Blowsmeaway Custom wood mic with black label CR.
Blowsmeaway inline volume control
Kinder AFB+ sometimes depending on which amp I'm using
Lone Wolf Harp Delay, used only occasionally.  Thinking about the LW Reverb 
but I'm going to try the                                     Strymon Flint I 
have for guitar first....one of these days.
Sonny Jr Avenger
1961 Gibson GA-6
1965 National 6422TR

For guitar:  2012 Fender American Vintage Reissue '62 Telecaster Custom
                   Strymon Flint reverb/tremolo
                   1965 Fender Deluxe (non-reverb)
                    Custom made Jumbo acoustic by Graham Noden
                   AER Combo 60.

I also have a 1954 Oahu badged Valco (currently for sale).
                   HarpGear HG1 (thinking seriously about selling)
                   60's Bogen DE-10 tube PA head with 10" blackframe 
Kendrik in custom built cab (also may go up for sale but I just got the 
Bogen serviced and not sure what to do with it yet.)
                   Maxi Mouse which I use about once every blue moon but it 
was given to me so I keep hanging on to it for when I retire and me and the 
Mrs go traveling.  Might need to busk for gas money.