Re: [Harp-L] Re: integrity, reliability, legitimacy, etc.

"Robert Laughlin" <harmonicaman1968@xxxxxxxxxxx> · Sun, 13 Apr 2014 17:16:30 -0700

Excellent, and thanks for your response. I welcome any others as well.

Robert, the appreciative.
  ----- Original Message -----
  From: bujohn49@xxxxxxx
  To: harmonicaman1968@xxxxxxxxxxx
  Sent: Sunday, April 13, 2014 3:49 PM
  Subject: Re: [Harp-L] Re: integrity, reliability, legitimacy, etc.

  longish::: ch,ch,ch,check it out!! After 50 + years suckin n blowin, "I" have grown from one harp model to the next,next,next, ad naseum. Financial independence?? NO! - basically, the reward of 'over,n over,n over again, the gains of improvement ( basically - blowin les,n less, n less.with the help of electronic amplification - takes all the pressure off.) AND - more importantly - the Pros whose requirements have FORCED harp manufacturers to Produce better and better equipment. So take the dive, after $3.95 harps, jump to a Seydel stainless steel session type harp ( NEARLY indestructable) eastside johnny ( Slowly replacing my collection of Lee Oskar harmonicas )-----Original Message-----
  From: Robert Laughlin <harmonicaman1968@xxxxxxxxxxx>
  To: Mike Wilbur <mike@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
  Cc: harp-l <harp-l@xxxxxxxxxx>; Richard Hunter <turtlehill@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
  Sent: Sun, Apr 13, 2014 9:27 am
  Subject: Re: [Harp-L] Re: integrity, reliability, legitimacy, etc.

I think I've probably stepped on several toes here, since the responses, at
least so far, are alleging that (to take it to the logical extreme), "It
would be a cold day in hell when any of the harp community would sell out to
a company", rather than give untainted reports of what is good vs. what is 
not.

I think the toes I may have stepped on touch on the issues of "legitimacy" 
in the community. There's something about the harmonica that draws one into
this discussion of "what is real vs. what is not", as the musical genre begs
legitimacy. No one enjoys listening to a "harmonica wannabe", trying to
sound like someone else, when he/she hasn't yet found his/her "voice", and 
is just trying to "imitate" something he/she has heard someone else do.

"Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery". We all know that. But when on
stage, tell me that other players aren't listening carefully to see if that
one has "chops", and "chops" aren't merely copycat riffs. It goes deeper
than that. "Legitimacy" is at stake, and those who have it are considered by
others to be the "pros", the ones who have that certain uniqueness of
delivery that makes the piece "their own", not merely because they've played
something a bit differently than the "original", but that the level of
commitment is apparent in the delivery, and the level of talent, familiarity
with the instrument, etc., that justifies giving such a fully committed
performance.

"Keepin' it real", and all that.

I believe what I've stated should not be read as meaning that EVERY
professional harmonica player is ultimately beholden to those who support
them financially, though I'm pretty certain that if 'I' were being paid by 
or given merchandise at a reduced rate by a particular harp dealer/company I
would feel at least some higher degree of "duty" to said "employer" or
"sponsor" to be publicly supportive, both vocally, and in terms of usage,
since often, to a professional level player, there isn't much difference,
qualitatively, between similarly produced harps of various brands. It's
evident to some, if not all, that a great player can eke out some great
tones from equipment that isn't quite as good as the next player's
equipment, who isn't as talented but paid a lot more for equipment he/she
thought would make him/her "sound great", regardless of the relative
abillities involved.

Take, for instance, the pros that one poster mentioned that simply use stock
harps, off the shelf, and a less expensive model at that (Big River, e.g.),
but are well known and "successful", in spite of their relatively less
costly model of harp, well-regarded for having superior performances.
"So-and-so,,,uses stock Special 20's,,," ",,stock harps,,",,,",,Big
River,,since they're less expensive,,"

So, would not the relative newbie here be influenced, by, say, a player who
represents such-and-such company professionally, to sacrifice more of his
hard-earned to, say, a customizer or one of the higher end harps, simply on
a recommendation, rather than buy the more affordable harp, and one that
would fully suffice in moving this particular newbie from one skill level to
the next?

Maybe I'm making no friends here in suggesting that the ever-present
undercurrent of retail competition in the marketplace has an effect on the 
relevance of one person's opinion over another. I'm just trying to get a
personal assessment on a subject dear to my heart, lest I also simply let
"the most influential" person choose my harps for me, instead of having
felt, in the end, that 'I' made the decision intelligently, and had only
myself to blame for any regrets.

By and large, this community is "good people", no doubt. But also, I just
like to know who's behind me when I drop the soap. ; )

Robert, big pain in the buttski

----- Original Message -----
From: "Mike Wilbur" <mike@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
To: "Robert Laughlin" <harmonicaman1968@xxxxxxxxxxx>
Cc: "Richard Hunter" <turtlehill@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>; <harp-l@xxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Sunday, April 13, 2014 8:16 AM
Subject: Re: [Harp-L] Re: Harp players gear lists? blah blah longish

> Just my thoughts about " sponsorship "
> In my outdoor sports career ....I have used products that I would
> recommend because I believed in, preferred to use and recommended to
> clients.
>
> I was frequently given products that I used regularly or sold to me at a 
> reduced " pro " rate.
>
> But honestly if I didn't believe in the product....I wouldn't use it
> because I wanted to have the
> Better most practical equipment, even  when I had to pay retail prices.
>
> In my hobby/ music life I have been lucky to get to know some outstanding
> professional musicians ....they almost all ( for the most part ) seem to 
> continue to favor products that they
> Believe in......but very probably do receive some favors , big and small.
>
> That's not some NASCAR racer changing ball caps 7 times on the podium with
> logos
> From candy companies to Viagra.
>
>
>
>
> Mike Wilbur
>
>
>
> On Apr 13, 2014, at 10:07 AM, "Robert Laughlin"
> <harmonicaman1968@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
>
>> "And that brings us to the bigger issue: the implication in this post
>> that pro harp players are shills for gear makers.  The short answer to
>> that implication is that it's all wrong."
>>
>> Actually, that statement sounds as credible as one nation's president
>> stating, recently, that there "wasn't a smidgen of corruption in his
>> administration's tax wing".
>>
>> And with that, a harmonica joke:
>>
>> Why did President Clinton choose to play saxophone?
>>
>> Because he didn't want to harm-Monica.
>>
>> Ba dump.
>>
>> Robert, purveyor of questionable jokes for seedy joints.
>>
>> ----- Original Message ----- From: "Richard Hunter"
>> <turtlehill@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
>> To: <harp-l@xxxxxxxxxx>
>> Sent: Sunday, April 13, 2014 5:58 AM
>> Subject: [Harp-L] Re: Harp players gear lists? blah blah longish
>>
>>
>>> Robert Laughlin wrote:
>>>>
>>>>> I wonder if anyone has ever gone to the trouble of compiling a list of
>>>>> the
>>>>> various preferred gear collection of working or non-working harpists?
>>>>>
>>>>> It would be nice to compare, at a glance, who uses which harps, how
>>>>> many
>>>>> artists use customized vs stock harps. Which artists are company
>>>>> shills,,er,,I mean, sponsored by a particular company,,hehe.
>>>>>
>>>>> I mean, realistically, at least here on harp-l, it seems that several
>>>>> of
>>>>> the members are also reps for particular companies, so one has to take
>>>>> that
>>>>> into account when deciding on whose advice to take, in making brand or
>>>>> model choices.
>>>>>
>>>
>>> At one time I ran a feature on my site called the Pro Pages, which
>>> (among other things) listed the gear choices of prominent players.  You
>>> can see what ran on those pages here:
>>> http://www.hunterharp.com/propage1/
>>>
>>> As you'll see on those pages, pros, like everybody else, use a wide
>>> range of gear.  At this point in time, harmonica players are interested
>>> in lots of different musical styles, and gear choices have never been
>>> more numerous, less expensive, or of higher quality, so it's no surprise
>>> that if you sample three pros, you'll find more than three different
>>> setups.
>>>
>>> And that brings us to the bigger issue: the implication in this post
>>> that pro harp players are shills for gear makers.  The short answer to 
>>> that implication is that it's all wrong.  When a pro harp player
>>> recommends a harp or an amp, it's not at all the same as J Lo appearing
>>> in a cosmetics ad.  J Lo doesn't have to rely on those cosmetics to get
>>> her through a performance; the harp player does.  If a piece of gear
>>> isn't effective, a pro won't keep using it.  When the pro discovers
>>> something that works better for him, he'll switch.  The switch is very 
>>> rarely about which manufacturer is dangling the best deal; it's about
>>> what gear is inspiring the pro to great performances.  Pros who have a 
>>> lot of intellectual curiosity, like Charlie Musselwhite, tend to try
>>> lots of different gear over the years.  Why not?  When the gear is
>>> getting better all the time, you might as well try it.
>>>
>>> FYI, I make my own gear choices pretty plain on my site, and I am not
>>> sponsored by anyone.  Every piece of gear I use on stage and in studio 
>>> was purchased with my own money.  I use the stuff because it inspires
>>> me, and I make the Digitech RP sounds I developed for my own use
>>> available to others in the hope that those sounds will inspire them too.
>>>
>>> In the end, regardless of what a given pro is using, the gear you want 
>>> is the gear that makes a sound that inspires you, whatever that sound
>>> is.
>>>
>>> Regards, Richard Hunter
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> author, "Jazz Harp" (Oak Publications, NYC)
>>> Latest mp3s and harmonica blog at http://hunterharp.com
>>> Vids at http://www.youtube.com/user/lightninrick
>>> Twitter: lightninrick
>>
>>
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