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Dirty-South Blues Harp forum: wail on! >
FOR SALE: HARPS (CUSTOM AND OTHERWISE)
FOR SALE: HARPS (CUSTOM AND OTHERWISE)
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kudzurunner
138 posts
Oct 25, 2008
7:42 AM
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PLEASE CONFINE ALL RELEVANT BUY/SELL/BARTER POSTINGS TO THIS THREAD. NO CORPORATE RETAILERS, PLEASE!
--Adam
Last Edited by on Oct 25, 2008 7:46 AM
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Chris Michalek
Guest
Oct 26, 2008
10:25 AM
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Well I proud to be the first post in this thread. As some of you may heard, I've stopped taking orders for awhile because I don't want folks to experience the long wait times that other customizers often have.
I am mostly caught up now and ready to take orders.
If you are a new, beginning player, a custom harp will help you move along more quickly. If you're an intermediate to advanced player then one of my harps will instantly make you a better player.
I can customize any harp but have been working mostly with Golden Melodies and Special 20s. Harps can be set up for Blues or Overblow Style playing.
For the readers of this forum, I have a special price for you, drastically lower than any other customizer is offering with the work being as good or better than the other "top shelf" customizers.
I've played their offerings and set my goals to be above what they produce. I am also a player on the cutting edge of advanced technique which means, I know exactly what a harps needs to be able to do. Despite, not offering my harps to the public as long as they have, I have been building my own harps for myself and select professionals, since 1991 which is much longer than most of the "other" guys.
All of my harps are:
Very Easy to play. Bends and OBs sound like a hot knife through butter.
Reeds and cover plates are worked to allow for more volume.
Wood combs are often added or sealed in the case of Marine Bands or Blues Harps.
These are harps that will last you years - not weeks or months. I also repair the harps I build for what is often less than the price of a new harmonica.
Be a better player with just one Harp.
email me off list for the MBH special
groovygypsy@gmail.com
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Chris Michalek
Guest
Oct 27, 2008
11:45 PM
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The harp-l guys were talking about the need for a "semi-custom" harp
I offered to them
Any model (sp20, GM, Bluesharp, MB etc)
I'll tune it to ET, JI or compromise
set the reeds
gaps the reeds
light embossing
This will result in a harp the plays beautifully out of the box but not quite as sensitive or responsive as one of my "pro-level" harps
Sine my posting(hour ago) on harp-l I already have 4 orders. I think I'm going to get busy very quickly so get in line now.
$85 plus shipping
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TylerLannan
25 posts
Dec 04, 2008
12:14 PM
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Bump up
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*you can only keep what you have by giving it away*
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Buzadero
3 posts
Dec 04, 2008
2:34 PM
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Chris knows my feelings on this. He is a pusher of the most dangerous kind. I, myself have fallen prey to his special brand of narcotic intoxicant. His harps are nothing short of fantastic. I have been moving great volumes of air through these little gizmos we all seem to have in common for more than 40 years. In that time I have primarily confined myself to 'off the shelf' harps. Like anyone, I have my favorites that work for me better than others. For the first phases of my naive wandering down this path, I bought the old tried-and-true Marine Bands. I became fond of Golden Melodies and Special Ventis because I liked the stability of the plastic combs in a wider range of weather and storage conditions. I've spent my career working offshore and find myself travelling with a duffle that gets chucked on boat decks, into helicopters and beaten up in airports around the world. The plastic just seemed to hold up better. For about the last ten years (coinciding with my discovery of the Harp-L list and subsequent sponging of knowledge from same) I have treated myself to so-called "custom" harps from many of the tweakers, both professional and moonlighters. There are some great technicians out there that put out some very cool harps. I can tell you that Mr. Michalek's "semi'custom" harps are a both a great value and a great instrument. I'm not in a position nor motivation to attempt to perfect the fine art of tweaking harmonicas. I have more money than sense or dexterity to try to learn the subtle art of this magic voodoo alchemy of brass, wood, plastic and soul.
Do yourself a favor, patronize this guy. For all his percieved bombastic braggadocio and "arrogance" he knows of what the fvk he doeth and speaketh. His junk will make you a better player....at a minimum make you focus more on your relationship with your instrument.
But, be forwarned. If you choose to embark down this path, you may well question the results you will then get with an off-the-rack fistwhistle. You may decide that you are now an addict of the tweaked harp. You may decide that you want to achieve these same results by your own hand. I have made a conscious choice to wait until I can retire. By then, my hands will not be so beat up and I can get a big magnifying glass to both learn to tie flies as well as tinker with harps. If you can supply yourself with your own fix, you will be fine. If, however, you cannot or unable.....you will then be a slave to the pusher-man.
Should I see you at a meeting of Custom-Harps Anonymous, I will understand.
You've been warned.
(Chris, I'll be ordering an Ab right after Christmas)
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