MrVerylongusername
726 posts
Dec 24, 2009
12:55 PM
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Without getting into a debate about our particular harps of choice (it's been done to death and let's face it it's not going to change anyone's minds) one thing has always puzzled me.
What are the holes on the corner for - apart from annoying players with facial hair?
I wondered whether it was for some special rack design, or to clip multiple harps onto some strange gizmo.
Or is it something to do with the production line?
Anyone know the answer?
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tookatooka
919 posts
Dec 24, 2009
1:18 PM
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I've often wondered that myself. If it does have a special function then it would be mighty nice if Lee Oskar would tell us.
My guess it's just a design feature to either make it stand out from others, make manufacture of the plates easier in some way, or prevent the plates/comb being interchangable with other harp makes.
FWIW I don't think much of the Lee Oskar harp boX either. I wonder how many people actually bother to lock them together. Whoops! Just checked my two, and yes they are locked together.
Next.
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Kingley
573 posts
Dec 24, 2009
1:31 PM
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Great question MrV.
I have absolutely no idea what the answer is though! :-)
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Gwythion
42 posts
Dec 24, 2009
4:54 PM
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A wealthy Lee Oskar fan could buy all the keys and tunings, then walk on stage with a 6ft plastic plank of harp cases on his shoulder...
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Marcelus
6 posts
Dec 24, 2009
6:40 PM
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I bought two new ones from a shop on ebay that was going out of business. Never again. They were both unplayable out of the box.
Maybe someday I'll feel like tweaking them and try to get them to play, but I'd rather spend my time playing.
I bet they've lost a lot of customers if they're all like this. If I like a harp or a guitar, I will usualy buy a lot of them even if it takes years.
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MrVerylongusername
727 posts
Dec 24, 2009
7:06 PM
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Oh come on... let's not turn this into yet another one of THOSE threads please. Like I said at the top it's been done to death.
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Cooch
4 posts
Dec 24, 2009
9:42 PM
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Here's my theory on why Lee Oscars have that distinct comb plate and comb holes. Let me set the scene.
I was at the Funny Bone (which is a nation wide? comedy club) and Dave Coulier (Uncle Joey from Full House) was the star of the night. Half way through his skit, he pulls out a harmonica and starts jamming then makes some funny observations about the ol' harp, such as saying that the lowest and highest holes aren't that useful in what he plays and then proceeds to do a small harmonica riff on a part of the show called "Harmonithoughts", which he would give a trivial, but universally thought item that was just plain silly.
I say this story, just because it was really funny. But I was a couple rows back and couldn't identify the type of harp right off the bat, until he flashed the plate, then I said "That's a Lee Oscar." to my buddy. I later had to drag out a Lee Oscar and explain how I came to that conclusion.
Also, after the show, Dave Coulier signed my harp, a Bb Marine Band (only one I had on me).
Long story short, the reason why the plates look the way they do is so you can identify them from the third row in the Funny Bone. :D
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bluedogg
32 posts
Dec 29, 2009
6:39 AM
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I'm not a big fan of LO's, but i do like the holes on the ends. I am mainly a bass player. I wear a harp around my neck (usually) on songs that I play harp solos. The keyboard player grabs the bass lines so i don't need a rack. so on mine the holes are for putting a neck strap. lol
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toddlgreene
295 posts
Dec 29, 2009
6:46 AM
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I've played mainly LO's for 20 years now, and own lots of them, and have never even given those holes any thought until now...Maybe some bean-counter at Tombo figures the material saved that would be used to fill those square holes is worth big bucks somehow...dunno. Oh, and as far as facial hair goes, if you don't trim it off your lips, it's gonna get caught in damn near any harp, not just LO's.
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~Todd L. Greene, Devout Pedestrian
"listen to what you like for inspiration, but find your own voice"
crescentcityharmonicaclub@gmail.com
Last Edited by on Dec 29, 2009 6:52 AM
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barbequebob
265 posts
Dec 29, 2009
9:37 AM
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The holes are there as guides for mounting both reed plates and cover plates correctly.
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Sincerely,
Barbeque Bob Maglinte
Boston, MA
http://www.barbequebob.com
CD available at http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/bbmaglinte
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barbequebob
266 posts
Dec 29, 2009
11:46 AM
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In a way, that's true.
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Sincerely,
Barbeque Bob Maglinte
Boston, MA
http://www.barbequebob.com
CD available at http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/bbmaglinte
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barbequebob
267 posts
Dec 29, 2009
12:22 PM
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Essentially, those guides are there really to make the alignment of both the reed plates and cover plates almost idiot proof.
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Sincerely,
Barbeque Bob Maglinte
Boston, MA
http://www.barbequebob.com
CD available at http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/bbmaglinte
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toddlgreene
299 posts
Dec 29, 2009
12:25 PM
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@ bbqbob-'idiot proof' that's probably the same reason I've always played them, I guess;-D
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~Todd L. Greene, Devout Pedestrian
"listen to what you like for inspiration, but find your own voice"
crescentcityharmonicaclub@gmail.com
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Bluzdude46
343 posts
Dec 29, 2009
12:39 PM
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On a more cynical take. I think it is part of the design so that other parts are not interchangeable. One of the big selling points when Lee Oskars came out was replacing parts not whole harmonicas. It is priced to make money selling replacement parts. They are guides for the plates and/or cover plates that you don't see on other Harps
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Bluzdude46
344 posts
Dec 29, 2009
12:43 PM
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And yes I'm that old I remember them coming out, it was the Manji of it's time oooo aaahhhhh!!!!
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pharpo
40 posts
Dec 29, 2009
12:49 PM
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Todd...I like them too. Never got a bad one. (OTB) My gig case has them as well as MB's and Blues Harps.
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Music is your own experience, your own thoughts, your wisdom. If you don't live it, it won't come out of your horn. They teach you there's a boundary line to music. But, man, there's no boundary line to art. - Charlie Parker
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barbequebob
268 posts
Dec 29, 2009
12:59 PM
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About 2 years after LO came out, Hohner began to raise their prices to meet theirs. When the LO's came out, they were made by Tombo of Japan, and it was based on a now discontinued model called the Major Boy, and the biggest differences betwen the LO and the Major Boy were that they used a much softer brass (considerably softer than what Hohner had been using in the 80's to the mid 90's) and a tighter reed slot tolerance, both of which made them easier to play.
They came out in two versions. One version is still around and that's the one in ET tuning and another in what they called "harmony tuning," which was essentialy something really close to 19 limit just intonation, but they never sold well because no store had a clue about harp tunings (which is still the case today, pretty much) and they didn't want to feel like they were duplicating stock.
From what I understand (and this may or may not be the truth, but it is something that I've heard) that with the harmony tuning, they tried to patent that, and this was never patented by any harp company and if they won this patent, it would put a severe hurt on many harp companies, Hohner in particular because at that time, most of their diatonics were tuned to just intonation, and that would've meant paying licensing fees and then some, but LO was allegedly stopped in court because it was not someting they could patent.
Again, this is NOT meant to be taken as proven fact as there is no evidence of it that I'm aware of and consider that being rumor.
Hohner for decades refused to sell parts for diatonics, let anyone know what the tuning schemes were, refused to seal the wood combs, refused to used screws rather than nails for generations, but since first Huang came around in 1982, using softer brass (and also introducing the first diatonics tuned at the time to 19 limit just intonation), and then Lee Oskar, in the US, Hohner had a 98% market share of harmonicas, and this past 20 years has been remarkable because there really are so many more good choices (and the most since prior to World War II) for players. (They still have an 80% market share in the US, but with more REAL competition, it's really getting interesting.)
If Suzuki gets smarter and issues a version of the Manji in either 7LJI or 19LJI, here in the US, where the blues market is gigantic, and there are still a lot of players who despise ET tuned harps (especially the traditonal players), they'd really make Hohner nervous because the Manji is in a way an Asian Marine Band, and also among the traditional blues players, the MB is still the big king pin harp.
I can remember when LO first came out and I still have its original literature that listed those two versions along with those other tunings they still make.
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Sincerely,
Barbeque Bob Maglinte
Boston, MA
http://www.barbequebob.com
CD available at http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/bbmaglinte
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