[Harp-L] Nail polish and bubbles

[Tom Halchak]

I'm not even sure who is getting these emails.  I've been included in a
list of 11 people.

While you guys have been busy debating (I can hardly follow all of it) I
have been busy building harps.  I built a harp on Friday morning for a
customer.  I build two kinds of harps.  Diatonic harps that are
specifically set up to be played chromactically via overblows and
overdraws.  These require an extensive amount of expert reed work.  I also
build a more basic type of diatonic harps suitable for traditinal Chicago
Blues, rock, folk, gospel, etc.  The kind of music that typically does not
make use of overblows and overdraws.  There is much less reed work involved
in building these harps.  Even though I don't market them as "overblow"
harps, they all will overblow on the 4, 5 and 6.  It is a function of using
a flat custom comb and good construction which results in an airtight
harp.  They all overblow on 4, 5 and 6.  This particular harp in question
would indeed overblow, but the 6 OB squealed like a little piggy.  This is
a phenomena that overblowers are all too familar with.  I grabbed one of my
newly acquired Nail Art pens and painted the edges of the reeds near the
base, let the polish dry and voila!  The squeal was instantly gone!  A
miracle.  I dunno, maybe I'm just too stupid to undertand why it isn't
supposed to work.  I just do it and there you have it - more real world
expereince.

Tom

On Sun, Jan 20, 2019 at 8:54 AM Robert Coble <robertpcoble at xxxxx>
wrote:

> Frank, I included your post below because apparently it has not made it to
> the Harp-L Archive yet, and I wanted the context to be there.
>
> I'll second that "Hip hip hooray for Brendan, Vern and all the harp-ler's
> who are just crazy enough to keep on harpin till the end of time!"
>
> I know Vern personally. I only know Brendan indirectly, through his
> magnificent work and email. Both of these men are people I trust, based on
> their proven behavior over time.
>
> As for a "conspiracy" between Vern and Brendan or others:
>
> Sorry, but these guys have the highest integrity in (or out of) the
> harmonica business. If they didn't, in short order they would no longer
> have a business, much less a world-wide reputation for high quality. There
> is an extremely small number of top-shelf harp "mechanics" in the world of
> harmonica, compared to the number of harmonica "players". (I put
> "mechanics" and "players" in quotes to emphasize that I do NOT mean this in
> any derogatory way.) The last time I looked, the fabled Filisko Guild had 4
> members; it may have expanded since then. Lower down the totem pole, there
> are all the rest of us. In my own limited way, I got a chance to experience
> this firsthand. After the one SPAH that I attended back in 2011, a pretty
> good harp player gave me the opportunity to repair dozens of his old
> harmonicas. I cleaned them and retuned them all - at $5 per harp. If I
> replaced a reed, it cost $10. My explicit "guarantee" to him was that I
> would redo any work for FREE if he was not totally satisfied. I even
> replaced one of his more expensive harmonicas with a new one for FREE
> because I goofed it up while working on it. (I caught my screwup before I
> returned it to him.) I only have one steady customer now. I've never had
> any harp returned for a redo. And the answer is "NO" for adding any new
> customers; I'm retired.
>
> My two cents worth,
> Crazy Bob
>
> ------------------------------
> *From:* F F <franze52 at xxxxx>
> *Sent:* Sunday, January 20, 2019 8:29 AM
> *To:* bren at xxxxx; Robert Coble
> *Cc:* David Pearce; Wilbur Euler; Tom Halchak; Steve; Rick Dempster;
> Joseph Leone; Steve Baker; Harp-l at xxxxx; Vern
> *Subject:* Re: Nail polish and bubbles
>
> Everyone loves to hate conspiracy theorist, so with that in mind please
> let me proceed...
>
> Is it possible that Vern is in co-hoots with Brendan and the other
> professional player/customizers - to get them more business while he gets a
> cut of the profits for all the publicity this topic is giving to the
> importance of using a "customized harp" in order to experience a more
> supreme pleasure  when putting harp to mouth to create sound.
>
> If anything good and noble comes from this topic, it should be --- sending
> Vern free professionally customized harps in every key for him to use for a
> month, then have them all sold together, "not separately" and the proceeds
> sent a charity.
>
> Hip hip hooray for Brendan, Vern and all the harp-ler's who are just crazy
> enough to keep on harpin till the end of time :) Frank
>
>

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

*www.BlueMoonHarmonicas.com <http://www.BlueMoonHarmonicas.com>**Blue Moon
on Facebook* <http://www.facebook.com/BlueMoonHarmonicas>
*(727) 366-2608*