[Harp-L] Blue Moon Custom Harmonica praise

[Tom Halchak]

First, Michael Rubin ? thank you for your kind words.  Everyone knows that
you are an accomplished player and very well-respected teacher.  You
obviously have played a lot of harps and have very high standards, so your
praise means a lot to me.


Fred S asked,


?Michael - Is this the double reed plate version?

I have a Blue Moon Sp 20 in A single reed plate version. It is an excellent

harp, but I am wondering if the double reed plate is the reason yours has

amazing tone and volume???


That is a very legitimate question.  A Double Reed Plate harp could be the
reason for improved performance, but that is not the case here.  The harp I
built for Michael is a traditional single reed plate harmonica.  In fact,
it is a harp that is probably at least 4-5 years old.  It is one of the
older ?Marine Band? Special 20s and not the new Progressive Series.  It had
a fair amount of wear on it.  I do not think that the reed plates are any
?better? or different but I just thought I would mention it.  I cleaned up
the reed plates, did a substantial amount of reed work and installed them
on a custom Fancy Acrylic Blue Moon Comb.  And, to dress things up just a
bit, I swapped out the covers, which had some wear, for a set of brand new
Progressive Series covers with the backs fully opened (similar to The
Rocket covers).    I know there are some doubters out there and I certainly
do not mean to renew any debate about combs, but a CNC milled comb vs. an
injection molded ABS comb can make a big difference in how airtight a harp
is.  Other than that, it is just plain old fashioned paying attention to
detail and good construction.


Indeed, I have been offering Double Reed Plate Special 20s for going on
three years and the response has been nothing short of fantastic.
Certainly, I am not the first or only one to produce double reed plated
harps.  What I bring to the table is a custom comb, specifically made to
accommodate the thicker reed plates and a custom component for building the
double reed plates as opposed to plucking the reeds off an old reed plate
and using that.  It is a step up, in my humble opinion (no disrespect for
those who do it ?the old-fashioned? way).  For me, I wanted to be able to
deliver consistency.  If every harp I built was constructed from spare
parts I had laying around, it would be difficult to produce identical
harps.  By having components specifically made, you can engineer into the
design some of the subtle modifications that must be done by hand using
recycled reed plates.  It makes it easier for me to produce harps that
look, feel and perform in a consistent fashion.


Fred S also ponders, ?(or maybe Tom is getting even better at set up since
I bought mine).?


This is also a valid point.  With experience comes improvement.  Blue Moon
has been in business for over seven years.  I started out making combs
exclusively but began building harps after about two years.  You can get a
Masters Degree at a major university in five years.  Harp building is no
different from anything else ? playing music, sports, hairdressing, you
name it ? when you do it over and over again, you get better at it.  In the
past five years, I have built 1000?s of harps.  I hope I have gotten better.

-- 
*Tom Halchak*
*Blue Moon Harmonicas LLC*
*P.O. Box 14401 Clearwater, FL 33766*

*www.BlueMoonHarmonicas.com <http://www.BlueMoonHarmonicas.com>**(727)
366-2608*