I read about people that offer custom harps for a stout price. I am curious what you folks think of this and if you think paying for this is worth paying for. I realized about every harmonica has some small defect out of the box but many if not all can be cured. After getting the reeds set, plates flat what can a customizer (sp) offer?
Another question. Where is the best place to get the tabs on songs you like but are not well known? I want to get them for the Quincy Jones album You Got It bad Girl, circa 1972. The Sanford and Son theme song is also on it. Its the slower pleasing music like Love theme Getaway, also on the album. Help is needed and appreciated.
From what Iāve read as a newbie a lot of the customisation is related to set up, youāre paying a skilled person for several hours work getting it to be just right. They can also swap out parts for custom parts that are, Iād guess,just better tolerance or different materials. It doesnāt seem mystical, so much as care and attention and specialist skills.
The other thing they seem to offer is custom tuning - some manufacturers offer popular alternative tuning but of you just needed a specific thing, a customiser could do it for you.
Seems to me the most of it you could do yourself but the pro would likely do it better than you or I could.
Im sure thereās more to it than that and Iām happy to enlightened on that.
I have a C A 2 tuning device and it works as well as anything else I have seen. Keep in mind when using such a tuner your note varies somewhat as your air flow is not constant. The rest seems to be making sure the comb and reed plates are flat and the reeds flat when moving through the plates. Not much else left other than narrowing the reed space when moving through the slot if you want to. I have seen a video of a fellow making the space between the reed and plate a bit closer. I suppose this will result in sharper notes with less effort.
If I get my notes within 5-10 cents they are set. I cannot comment on replacing anything not broken or cracked on a good harp with the exception of the comb from wood to plastic. After that all the important parts are set. If there are no air leaks and the tuning done not much else left. Some want to sell you a new harp and will not work on one you own.
I may try to learn how to close the slot space on the reed plates to make a note sharper and easier to play but it will be learned on a Walmart harp. Frankly I am not yet good enough to get this precise but do feel knowing how to do it and having the correct tool kit would be good in the long run. Paying someone $100 plus for the tuning, closing air leaks, adjusting reeds and closing the reed gap seems high to me. It cannot be hard to learn and mistakes not costly on a $15 harp. I can get the plates straight as well as changing out the comb and making sure its flat. The real advantage I see is with very narrow reed slots sharper notes with less effort would be the biggest benefit. Just my opinion.
Totally agree, a harmonica isnāt a complicated device and setting it up to play well is the sort of thing I expected to be doing to some exent even before i ordered my first one a coule of months ago. Iād taken it apart to have a look within the first couple of days. I appreciate what skilled foks can offer as services, but Iām an instinctive tightarse, so I doubt custom harps are in my future.
I did see a Brendan Power video where he was using nail varnish to close the gaps, this is something I might try;
Thanks. I have the tools for the task. Iāll make my mistakes on a cheap harp. There is just so much we can do to improve the harp. If someone that was very good would do it on one of mine I would try it but all I have found was one tech that wanted to sell me another Crossover even though I had just got a new one. That raised both eye brows.
For tuning I got a C A 2 and its user friendly. Not very expensive and its what the economizer used. Rockin Ron sells them and he seems like a stand up guy. He also sells complete tool kits. I am not going to become a harp surgeon but need to be able to do the basic set up. Its just for fun and getting too technical is not gonna happen. I do what helps the harp and they way to learn is the same for maintenance and learning to play. practice. I started focusing on single note improvement as the type of music I like requires it be correct as the slower stuff is my favorite.
Hey Iāve been playing for like 32 years and just spent $250 on a Joe Spiers harmonica, and for me at this stage in my journey it was a smart move. Iāll be buying more, and Iāll share more details about all that soon. But I think it would be a waste of money for beginning/intermediate players.
Iāve played several custom harps. For me, they were nice but not worth the price.
I buy Suzuki Manjiās. Theyāre great out of the box. Admittedly, I have them retuned to a ājust compromised tuning (providing an even sound); use Andrew Zajack combs; and add supports for the covers (so they never gets squished) from Tom Halchack at Blue Moon. Harmonicas. That gives me everything I need. I just canāt justify $200 and up on me
I couldnāt agree more. No sense in me spending a ton of money on a custom harp when I canāt over blow or even play many licks or songs yet. That would be like buying a fighter jet when you donāt even have a basic pilots license yet
I do believe in buying quality instruments so youāre not fighting them while learning though. Thatās why Iām going to get some crossovers and some other higher end harps eventually but for now the special 20s and rockets do everything I need.
Iāve struggled with this but i guess the way iāve come to equate it is guitar set-ups. If you spend $2500 on a Gibson Les Paul youād possibly expect it to come perfectly set-up but they never are and still benefit enormously from a professional set-up (and yes, just like harp tuning itās not a mystical art. Its something you can learn yourself). Would a beginner notice the difference between a properly set-up guitar and one straight from the factory? Probably not to be honest but it would undoubtedly be easier to play.
Iāve just come across a useful video on Youtube which explains things a little better for me. Iām not sure how to embed a direct link but if you search for the author who is arzajac and a video he posted entitled āthe differences between basic, full and overbend custom harmonicasā
@MorrisMusic513 the first guy who ever turned me onto Joe Spiersā harps was quite a beginner and heād bought a set of 6 I believe? Spent about $1500 on them at the time. I asked him why. He said āI never have to wonder if itās me or the harp. Iāll always know if I canāt do something, itās me.ā
Anyone who has the dough to buy a great instrument and wants to, why not? Lifeās short.
Well I learned when I started playing pedal steel guitar; no great gear isnāt gonna make you play better but when your gear sounds and plays well it will inspire you and encourage you to play better and to grow as a musician.
The last thing I want to do is fight with an instrument Iām trying to learn. I always recommended people who want to learn steel to get a new guitar if they can afford it. Why? Because you donāt need to inherit someone elseās bad habits. You want to learn to play the instrument not to fix them.
The same goes with harmonicas. We talked before about the manjis. I love the tone of them but my C Manji has issues and itās not me. Some of the bends are so unresponsive and they sound airy or leaky. I n ie itās not me because they donāt sound like that on my other harps. Even my other Manji isnāt like that.
So now I have a a virtually brand new C Manji that I donāt play because itās a fight when I try. I need to open it up and adjust the gapping but Iām putting it off u til I get one of the EZ gap tools. They seem to make it quite simple.
As fast as custom harps do you have any experience with the Rockin Ron custom harps? They donāt do a ton of stuff but you get a nice comb and they flat sand the Rees plates and maybe something else.
The big rivers start at like $80 I think and the other like the rockets and stuff are like $100-130. I was considering grabbing one of those next. Iām trying to get all they keys that I need because as a utility musician I n ow Iāll be asked to play some harp here and there even though Iām not very far into learning it. As long as I can play a handful of tasteful fills thatās all I need for gigs because Iād only play harp for a verse or chorus and then switch back to steel, dobro, banjo or mandolin.
I bought a couple of 1847ās from Rockinā Rons. When my harps wear out I will buy again from Rockinā Rons. I am extremely happy with the harps and the service. Would absolutely recommend this shop.
and it can be purchased from www.dbombmute.com (Note: I have no connection to this site and have never used this tool, so I really cannot say how well it works).
Yeah Rockin Rons is my go to for harps now. I have found the Seydel 1847s play and feel the best for me but at the same time they feel much larger in my hands so getting good sea around the harp is more difficult for me.
I still want to try the Rockin Ronās custom harps. Was that what you meant when you said you had bought an 1847 from them?
Iām curious if those Andrew Zajac (or whatever his last name is) combs are worth the investment.
Iām learning to customize my own harps using old or harps I donāt like and do far so good. @Slim gave me some great advice about sanding the plates so they were flat and plinking the reeds taking the time to get them gapped to s sweet spot. Iāve taught myself tuning managed to tune a harp so I can play Canned heatās on the road again ( although itās a lot hard to Bend that note now and is taking a lot of practice) I also had a go at embossing which wasnāt entirely successful the first time around but I figured out what Iād done incorrectly and readjusted. If you want a custom harp but donāt wish to spend the money this might be a way to go if youāve got a stockpile of harps you donāt use or a faulty one or even one thatās blown out. Now there is a small outlay for the tools ( luckily I was a modeller so had more Jewellers and dental tools than I needed) but if you just want something that sounds a little better than out of the box and balk at paying some of the prices the customizers are asking itās worth a go.
@MorrisMusic513 combs are fun. I like acrylic combs better than wood so I can wash them. The colors inspire me and help me quickly recognize harps over time, once I get to know them.
Thatās all there is to it in my opinion. A comb is not gonna enhance playability or tone imo.
