[Harp-L] Best Out-of-the-Box harp for bends & overblows

[Tom Halchak]

Couple more comments.

I agree with Arthur Jennings 100%.  There is no such thing as One Size Fits
All.  Stock harps, generally speaking, are set up with wider gaps that
require the player to move a lot of air through the instrument in order to
deliver the sounds they are after.  It breeds a certain style of play.
Custom harmonicas are set up much tighter, which suits players who prefer
ultra-responsive harps, but are a nightmare to guys who are accustomed to
playing stock harps.  If stock harps were set up tighter, you would have
guys who don’t play overblows complaining that they choke too easily.

So, in response to Opus314, the quality of manufacturing is just fine.  Is
it possible for the manufacturers to tighten the tolerances?   Absolutely.
But then it would slow down production and raise costs which would
translate into higher prices.  Why does a Crossover cost more than a Marine
Band 1896?  They have essentially identical reed plates and covers. It
takes longer to make the Crossover.  They are assembled with screws instead
of nails, have an upgraded comb and pass through additional stages of
tuning and adjustment.  They are more expensive to build so they cost more.
If the only version of the Marine Band that Hohner offered was the highest
priced Crossover, a lot of people would be unhappy.  And when we talk about
making adjustments to our harps, what’s the big deal?  Ten or twelve years
ago when there was little information available about how to maintain or
improve harps, it was understandable how it could be frustrating to get an
underperforming harp. Nobody knew what to do about it.   But today, there
is so much information available to anyone who cares to look for it that
there is no excuse for not knowing how to make simple adjustments that make
a huge difference in how your harps play.   If you own a computer, you
should be able to install some new software on it or set up a printer.  If
you own a car, you should be able to perform routine maintenance like
putting air in the tires, changing out windshield wiper blades, changing
the oil, pulling a flat tire off the wheel and putting on a spare.  If you
can’t do that sort of stuff you are being pretty helpless.  Why not learn
how to adjust the gaps on your harp to make them more responsive?  It is
child’s play.  Why not learn how to tune the reeds?  Guitar players tune
strings all the time and replace them when they wear out or break.  Why
would you play a harmonica that is out of tune when it is so easy to put
them back in tune?  Stop being a victim.  Stop being so helpless.

When we talk about playing overblows, some guys use them as a passing
note.  Some play chromatically and treat them like any other note.  They
will lean on the overblows and even bend them to add inflection.  Guys who
use overblows as passing notes can be perfectly content with a good OOTB
harp like a Crossover or a Seydel 1847 or a Manji.  Guys who make extensive
use of overblows and overdraws are going to be happier with a custom harp.
In that case, it doesn’t matter which model you start with – as long as it
is $40 harp, it is a good foundation upon which to build a high performing
custom harp.


P.S. Bummer about SPAH

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

*www.BlueMoonHarmonicas.com <http://www.BlueMoonHarmonicas.com>*