chromaticblues
219 posts
Oct 25, 2010
7:39 AM
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I would like to start selling my custom harmonicas.
I love makeing harps play the way I think they should. I have a little problem though. I haven't blown out a harp in two years and I can't just keep making them for me. I have enough already believe me. So I'm calling them Hoo Doo Harps! Home of the $100 Harp! That's not a misprint. I want to make harps. The only way I can make harps is if people buy them. I bought one custom from joe Filisko 15 years ago and opened it up and said "I can do that". Well its not that easy, but I have gotten good at making them work the way they should. Anyway I can't afford the prices alot of people are asking so I assume alot of other people can't either. So thats why I'm selling them for $100 apiece. I specialize in Hohner SP20's and Marine Bands. MY MB's are like no else's! I do a few things different then anyone else I've heard of. I build Marine bands for Marine Band users. My marine bands are built for people that already use Marin Bands! I'm not reinventing the wheel. I'm putting sweet tires on it! I use the original pear wood comb and only seal the outside (all the way around) Hopefully I can get someone that is a great Marine Band player that uses stock harps to try one and get some feed back! These are the harps I use every day. I played SP 20's for 10 years also. I only want to build harps that I have used and know to be of high quilty.
Hoo Doo Harps! Home of the $100 harp!!
Last Edited by on Oct 25, 2010 7:46 AM
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harpdude61
417 posts
Oct 25, 2010
7:45 AM
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Good Luck. Did you send Adam one?
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chromaticblues
220 posts
Oct 25, 2010
7:52 AM
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No I haven't, I just made up my mind that I'm going to make a real effort at this. Its alot of work and have been on the fence about it. I love playing the harp. I only started working on harps because of the inconsistency and flat out failure of my own harps. Making a good harp now is just part of my life now. It's not a big deal, its just something I like to do.
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harpdude61
419 posts
Oct 25, 2010
8:05 AM
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Are your harps set up for overbending?
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chromaticblues
221 posts
Oct 25, 2010
9:47 AM
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I set them up sort of in the middle of the road. If you make harps that will bend up more than a whole tone. You have to play with such control or you have reeds freeze up on you when you get excited and want to let it rip! They will overblow easy, but not 15 semitones that will makes a dogs ear bleed.
To answer you qeustion: yes they will overblow, but that isn't my main concern! I set the reeds as low as I can before I can feel its constricting my playing. I would say they are for blues player that like to use overblows. I like doing SP 20's because I feel they are a great all around harp and they easy to work on. I use Marine Bands, they take more time due to the comb.
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barbequebob
1389 posts
Oct 25, 2010
10:14 AM
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It's always nice to see more people getting into it because there is PLENTY of work out there for customizers. What you're doing at the moment IMO above what Anthony Dannecker is doing, butat the same time, its sort of custom but for the masses, which is in my view, a basic customization for the masses, wheras the guys on the level of a Joe Spiers or anyone in the Filisko guild is truly tailored to the individual and that takes more time and work. O the other hand, it's another choice for players who want something better than the stock stuff, but not quite ready to really go all the way up to the top of the food chain just yet.
Now my question is, are you tuning these in a comprimised tuning that you favor or some other, or ET, or just intonation because there are so many players with so many different needs.
For OB players, getting something in the middle (basically is what Brad Harrison is doing right now with the B-Radicals), may be good enough for most, but for the really hard core OB'ers, they most likely will insist on a setup that's truly more specific to their needs.
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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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harpwrench
346 posts
Oct 25, 2010
11:00 AM
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I've offered $100 Sp20's for quite some time.
Joe Spiers
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chromaticblues
223 posts
Oct 25, 2010
11:02 AM
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Yeah it is basically correcting everything the manufactures do wrong. Sanding draw plate, wooden combs, embossing reed, profile and gap. These are for people that play blues that use overblows also. Its very close to JI tuning. The chords are perfectly smooth!!
The truth is when you get a well put together air tight harp. They overblow pretty easy. Its the people that play the diatonic chromatically that need the gaps lower. I don't play that way. So what I'm doing is selling harps the way I make them for myself.
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Joe_L
742 posts
Oct 25, 2010
2:09 PM
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You may want to rethink the name to avoid confusion with these beauties. The Hohner Hoodoo Blues Harmonica. Three for ten bucks, plus the cool case.
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The Blues Photo Gallery
Last Edited by on Oct 25, 2010 2:18 PM
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eharp
850 posts
Oct 25, 2010
3:31 PM
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good ad, but how do folks get in touch with you about the harps?
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chromaticblues
226 posts
Oct 25, 2010
3:40 PM
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That is a good price and a cool case. They think of everything! @ Mr. Spiers Yeah I thought that was good price. I put Marine Band covers on. That cost a little extra. I put alot of time into one harp. I can't possibly do it for less than that!
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Buddha
2621 posts
Oct 25, 2010
3:44 PM
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I've offered a $100 Marine Band with a composite comb for the last two years...
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"I am a great believer in understanding, not copying."
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chromaticblues
227 posts
Oct 25, 2010
4:04 PM
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I didn't know so many people made $100 custom harps! I thought the average price for custom harps was some where around $150. I understand why they would be. You guys put alot of time into I know. It takes me at least 10 hours to make a marine band for myself. I'm sure we all offer something different for $100!
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eharp
852 posts
Oct 25, 2010
4:45 PM
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the entire problem that i have always seen with this type of business is that the craftsmen are making things that are desired, but the consumer doesnt know what is being done to the harp.
sealing- entire comb? material used?
sanding?
reed work- gapping? embossing? arcing(?)? (i dont even know what else can be done.
covers- opening? screw supports?
plates?
ya'll need to get conformitized.
(yes. i made that word up.)
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ZackPomerleau
1223 posts
Oct 25, 2010
4:51 PM
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Honestly, I don't think most will go to a new guy when there are time tested/trusted builders such as Michalek, Spiers, etc.
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Greg Heumann
820 posts
Oct 25, 2010
5:07 PM
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Zack, you just like to shit all over everything, don't you?
I, for one, have been keeping my mouth shut, but you gotta know, its getting old.
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/Greg
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ZackPomerleau
1224 posts
Oct 25, 2010
5:14 PM
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I don't know, seems pretty honest a statement to make, but I suppose you are entitled to your opinion. To each his own.
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nacoran
3064 posts
Oct 25, 2010
6:17 PM
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Chromatic, when you get a site up with some contact info let me know and I'll add it to the customizers page. You may want to get some of your harps out and get some quotes from people who like them for advertising. Good luck.
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Nate
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Buddha
2622 posts
Oct 25, 2010
6:39 PM
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The end user doesn't need to know what is done to the harmonica. The end user should only be concerned with how it plays among other things.
Looking at your list you seem to think emobossing, reed arching and gapping are important.
I don't gap and would never list that as a feature. I don't arch and I don't emboss. My harmonicas are not even from the physical plane. So for a person like you (eHarp), you will look at a list of features and see that Chromatic Blues offers embossing, gapping and arching but if I offered a list and such "features" weren't on it, you might feel like you are getting something less. Lists like arching, gapping etc simply are not accurate in describing how the final product will work.
Do you eat Chicken, Beef or meat in general eharp? If the consumer knew what went into making such things then nobody would eat meat.
The only thing I advertise is that you will be impressed by the best harmonica you've played. That doesn't mean that I am the best customizer for you. Todd Parrot loves working with Joe S and he should even though he's told me several times that my marine bands are the most responsive he's ever played.
There ain't no arching, or gapping involved..... gee how could that be? :-P
"the entire problem that i have always seen with this type of business is that the craftsmen are making things that are desired, but the consumer doesnt know what is being done to the harp.
sealing- entire comb? material used?
sanding?
reed work- gapping? embossing? arcing(?)? (i dont even know what else can be done.
covers- opening? screw supports?
plates?
ya'll need to get conformitized.
(yes. i made that word up.) "
@greg I don't have issue with what Zack said. Even though I don't necessarily advocate what he said, he speaks the truth and truth is never wrong. Perhaps you're remarking on how Zack has made Chromatic Blues feels..... they are his feelings. So what if he feels good or bad, that's his choice to feel what he wants.
Personally I agree with Zack and further contend that the only people worth buying a custom harp from are Joe Spiers, Joe Filisko and me. Yes I've tried harps from many of the other guys or I have heard from one of the two customizers mentioned above.
And a B-radical isn't even close to a good custom harmonica.
Good Luck Chromatic Blues. There is a lot of work out there and you will do well if you truly make a good product. In fact, I would be happy to evaluate one for you.
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"I am a great believer in understanding, not copying."
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eharp
853 posts
Oct 25, 2010
7:25 PM
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zack- those folks that we agree are at the top of the game in customizing had to start at the same place as everyone else.
i am sure folks would have said the same thing to those contemplating a spiers harp when filisko was THE MAN (assuming that is the chronological pecking order).
but newbies gotta start with just getting the first one out, then word of mouth gets the next few out and then maybe the quality goes up a notch and the snowball grows.
some folks have mentioned they ordered b-rads because they like to support new business. they might do just that with chromaticblues' harps.
thinking about it, it seems like a smarter move than a b-rad.
1) almost 1/2 the price
2) probably waaaay less wait time
3) suits more of what the average player really needs
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chromaticblues
228 posts
Oct 25, 2010
7:26 PM
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Thank you Nacoran. I will do that. I haven't gotten to far into it yet. I didn't want to get to much money involved before I start making any. Like Zack said! I'm not trying to get anything going here please people. I just like making good harps and would like to share what I do with people. There is nothing cut throat about it nor am I trying to take anyone's clients. Now haveing said that. No one here has anymore right than I do. And I'm not selling $100 harps as my base harp. I'm selling a harp that takes 10 hours worth of work and to answer eharp. I would prefer to build SP 20's and Marine Band crossovers. I like building these harps becuase it is easier to get them to overblow well. I can make them both JI or ET tuned. They will be embossed. I push the reed into the slot just infront of the rivet then striaghten the reed to the end. Only about 20% of the reed is above the plate. This makes them very responsive. I also sand the draw plate on the side that rest on the comb with 400 grit sand paper. On the SP 20's I put MB cover plates. That makes them loud! I just sold some of these to Doug Bush. I also like building the crossover because they screw together and the comb needs very little to make them flat. I file the front of the mouthpiece down so they are flush. then sand the sharp edges off and then I finnish the front of the comb with clear nail polish!! The mouth piece of the MB's I make are so comfortable you can't tell its a MB when your playing.
I hope that answers all your questions eharp.
@Zack Your right! They have both been doing this for awhile and I'm sure they are very good at what they do. Zack really! I just want make some harps! I have about twenty. I can't keep making them for me.
If anyone is interested I'll open the doors with custom crossovers for $100!
Hoo Doo Harps Home of the $100 harp
Email sbaker60@cox.net
Phone #401 284 1192
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ZackPomerleau
1226 posts
Oct 25, 2010
7:29 PM
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I don't see why people think I insulted him, is it NOT the truth? Or is the truth bad now? I hope he does well, but I was being HONEST, and honestly he'd learn a lot from them. It's not some advertising scheme, either, it's just honest.
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Ryan
379 posts
Oct 25, 2010
7:31 PM
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"I don't gap and would never list that as a feature."
Really? So the gaps stay exactly the same as the way you recieve them from the factory? I find it extremely difficult to believe that you never adjust the gap of the reed. You've mentioned on this forum a few times that the optimal gap for a reed is that the tip of the reed should be approximately one reeds thickness above the reed plate. Well I've yet to recieve a harp from the factory where all the reeds are set to that optimal gap. So how exactly do the reeds get there if not by gapping? Either they come perfectly gapped from the factory, or you simply leave the gaps the way they are OOTB even if they're gapped super high above the plate, or perhaps the reeds magicaly move to the correct spot without you ever touching them(all these options seem extremely unlikely).
"I don't emboss"
Well this certainly contradicts what you have said in past posts. You've told us how you're able to emboss the slots of your custom harps much closer than they could possibly do at the factory (You said this on a few different occasions, but I remeber you talked about this when the manji was coming out and was said to have the closest tolerances yet). And you've told us that made you're own great tool for embossing your custom harps that is far better than other such tools (ie. socket wrench, tuning fork, etc.). And you've talked about how you emboss the entire slot all the way to the rivet end. I guess I shouldn't be surprised as I've seen you blatantly contradict yourself from post to post, in the past.
" I don't have issue with what Zack said."
Could part of that have to do with the fact that he's essentially promoting your harps (and Joe's of course), and discouraging a new customiser. (BTW, I'm not saying that was in fact his intention)
"he speaks the truth"
He's speaking an opinion, there's a difference.
"and truth is never wrong"
But what you seem to think is the truth certainly can be wrong.
Zack said:"Honestly, I don't think most will go to a new guy when there are time tested/trusted builders such as Michalek, Spiers,"
When Chris first started building custom harps, there were other "tested/trusted builders" out there and yet he was able to sell his products. So your logic is flawed. It all comes down to whether or not he builds a good product and whether or not there is a market for them. Clearly there is a large market for good custom harps, more than what the current top cutomisers can really keep up with (which is why they often have such long waiting periods). So if other people can build quality harps, like Spiers, Filisko, and others do, and can sell them at a reasonable price, then there's no reason why they wouldn't be able to sell their harps. If they can build good harps, then they will build a name for themselves and, in time, will become one of those "tested/trusted builders".
Last Edited by on Oct 25, 2010 9:00 PM
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eharp
854 posts
Oct 25, 2010
7:40 PM
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buddha- i dont know what is important to me. maybe that it just plays well, like you said.
i only bring those points up because customizers bring them up. so maybe it is important to them.
my point being, there needs to be some way for the average player, who may be interested in customized harps, to choose from a myriad of harps that are worked on.
logically, no one should be interested in your harps. all you advertise, on this thread, is some bs on where it comes from. you got a rep and that can carry you and your out of this world harps to more sales.
for the of this plane customizers, i think customers would like to know what gets done to the product.
"If the consumer knew what went into making such things then nobody would eat meat."
this almost sounds like a warning about your harps!!
lol
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ZackPomerleau
1227 posts
Oct 25, 2010
7:49 PM
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Ryan, the logic is not flawed, but I do know Chris has been making these things since forever around the time of those 'top dogs.' And, for the record, I own one harmonica from Chris, and I bought it a year ago, and none from Joe. I just known what I know from reputation stand-points.
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Ryan
380 posts
Oct 25, 2010
8:06 PM
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"Ryan, the logic is not flawed"
It sure is. But you offer up no explanation of why you disagree, so there's no point in further discussion if your rebuttal is simply you saying "No it's not!".
"And, for the record, I own one harmonica from Chris, and I bought it a year ago, and none from Joe."
That has nothing to do with anything we're talking about, but thanks for sharing.
Last Edited by on Oct 25, 2010 8:07 PM
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nacoran
3066 posts
Oct 25, 2010
8:19 PM
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Chromatic makes an announcement! :)
Zack says something. Maybe pessimistic, but not attacking.
Greg tells Zack to stop being pessimistic, that he's been doing it a lot lately. (citation needed)
Buddha goes off on a metaphysical riff, or perhaps a disclaimer or perhaps strategic disinformation.
Ryan complains that the metaphysical harps Buddha is talking about don't meet previous descriptions of metaphysical process specs.
I have completely lost my ability to distinguish between sarcasm, irony, bitterness, bullshit, or any other flavor of cometary. I will meditate on my harmonica and hope that steady breathing will return the oxygen to my brain or a that a gentle song will fall upon my ears in such a way that dissonance will only be a foggy damp memory, no more bothersome than the drool I put my ear in each morning when I rearrange my pillow. Until that moment...
Calgon take me away...
Rinse, Repost, Repeat.
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Nate
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Joe_L
745 posts
Oct 25, 2010
8:32 PM
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Don't worry Nate. Just forget everything you've ever learned and become one with the universe. You'll be a better man for it.
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The Blues Photo Gallery
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joeleebush
117 posts
Oct 25, 2010
8:42 PM
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to chromaticblues:
I love the things...very responsive and if I can overblow then ANYBODY can. Your HooDoo Harps (sue me Hohner)do the deal.
I have no clue what these guys are talking about with this stuff on "tuning"....if it works with 440 and the piano, thats all I need.
Took that D SP20 out on the job and that 3 draw in Blues With a Feeling was never easier...and pure too. No distort whatsoever. Found the same thing to be true in some Sonny Boy stuff...you know the spot when that 3 draw tries to get away from you, etc. etc. Can slide up that comb and hit those upper octaves clear and pure and LOUD too with little effort or breath.
I never had a custom harp before and I must admit it can spoil a person when going back into those BigRivers out of the box that I use.
Ignore the naysayers and the prophets of doom....do your thing.
If I had paid any attention to soothsayers a half century ago, I would've never had a first gig.."that won't work", "people won't like that stuff", "white guys don't play that kind of music", "you're white (from black club owners), you can't do anything like that", "that might work up North but it won't down here" (up North they said the same thing about it might work down south but not up here) etc. etc. etc. ad nauseam. The same old crowd, only the faces are different..even the names are the same, will always be around whining about "it won't work".
The world belongs to the risk takers...a person can know 198 ways to make love but if he doesn't have the stones to ask some women out on dates he's gonna end up at home reading Playboy or looking at the internet.
I salute you.
Stay happy and enjoy.
Regards,
Me
Last Edited by on Oct 25, 2010 9:00 PM
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OzarkRich
284 posts
Oct 25, 2010
9:30 PM
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@chromaticblues: What brand of nail polish do you use on the combs? All of the major brands contain toluene and formaldehyde, both of which are carcinogens.
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Ozark Rich
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bonedog569
101 posts
Oct 25, 2010
9:47 PM
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narcoran - love that thread summation - this place is always entertaining - isn't it?
Best of luck c-blues. Woking at minimum wage (10 hrs labor - your cost of harp)- this is obviously a labor of love.
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Ryan
382 posts
Oct 25, 2010
10:12 PM
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"What brand of nail polish do you use on the combs? All of the major brands contain toluene and formaldehyde, both of which are carcinogens."
Where does it say he uses nail polish? Is that what he uses to seal the comb?
Last Edited by on Oct 25, 2010 10:33 PM
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OzarkRich
285 posts
Oct 25, 2010
10:17 PM
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In his last post (7:26pm) near the end of the first paragraph:
"...and then I finnish the front of the comb with clear nail polish!!"
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Ozark Rich
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Ryan
383 posts
Oct 25, 2010
10:21 PM
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Thanks Ozark, I don't know how I missed that. I read through his posts a second time looking for it, and yet somehow I missed it : /
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Buddha
2623 posts
Oct 25, 2010
11:17 PM
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@ryan
"certainly contradicts what you have said in past posts"
just because I said something a month ago doesn't make it true today. I make my own composite material for my combs yet you could say a month ago I posted that I was using dymondwood.
"Really? So the gaps stay exactly the same as the way you recieve them from the factory? I find it extremely difficult to believe that you never adjust the gap of the reed."
You question my gapping or lack thereof as if you presume to know something about setting reeds or about building harps. If you did, it wouldn't be questioned.
And for the record, I'm not exactly new at doing harp work. In fact, I've been at it longer than everybody with the possible exception of Joe Filisko. I've been doing it since I was 16 - I'm nearly 40 now. I worked on Chromatics with Dick Gardner and then applied my knowledge and skills to my own diatonics. I met Joe Filisko in 1991 at SPAH where he was selling his amazing harps. Everybody was say how I needed to try one.... it played just like my own. Joe and I became close friends that year and the following year he hooked me up with the tools he was using to build harps. I always supported Joe and the other builders because I had a surplus of money back then and little time.
There is a lot more to building a harp then scouring the internet for information and then putting it together to make a harp.
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"I am a great believer in understanding, not copying."
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chromaticblues
229 posts
Oct 26, 2010
5:52 AM
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@ozark Rich Yes Nail polish! My daughter is the one that suggested this to me. It is hypoallergetic nail polish. She as sensitive skin so she is very well informed about that stuff. It is only hazardous if ingested or snorted. I advise against both of those things! Seriously though After it hardens (which only takes 15 minutes its safe) I have harps that are over two years old that show no signs of wear on the mouth piece. This makes for the smoothest mouth piece I have tryed. That is what I do on all my wooden bodied harps. The trick is you have to remove the original finnish so the nail polish adhears! I know it sounds crazy, but it works better than anything I've seen.
@ ryan I hope with the waiting time involved with the bussier guys coupled with my prices some people will try it. I mean a Marine Band crossover customized for $100 with customer satisfaction being my main priority sounds like a good deal!
@bonedog Yes I like building harps. I like to play at a very a high level and can't do it without harps that are up for the task. I would think alot of people are going through the same thing. So I decided to start selling them. No I'm not trying to get rich doing this. I have a full time job and I don't want to just build harps and not play the harp. I just want to stay busy. I'd rather make a harp for someone than watch TV at night.
@Zack I agree with most of what you said. I don't have to like ot you little puke! Just kidding!! No really your right. I just like making harps and I know that I'm good at it because I play the harp everyday and know what MB's and SP 20's do and won't do unless they are put together well.
@Budda I noticed you've been working on Manji's lately. If you would like I'll send you a Manji and you can evaluate it and post if you like or not. I would apprieciate any advice you would have!
@ Nacoran What harps do you use and where do you live?
Last Edited by on Oct 26, 2010 6:02 AM
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Buddha
2626 posts
Oct 26, 2010
6:41 AM
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send me an email and I'll send you my address.
I would be happy to help you.
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"I am a great believer in understanding, not copying."
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Buzadero
592 posts
Oct 26, 2010
6:56 AM
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"I have completely lost my ability to distinguish between sarcasm, irony, bitterness, bullshit, or any other flavor of cometary."
C'mon, Nate.
Try to keep up.
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~Buzadero
Underwater Janitor, Patriot
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MP
942 posts
Oct 26, 2010
9:11 AM
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yeah nate,
there is a certain joy to regognizing the irony and sarcasm one finds in this strange place. so, i'm sorry to hear it. you're really missing out.
don't worry 'bout the bitterness and bullshit cuz that's just bullshit.
@chro..go for it!
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MP
hibachi cook for the yakuza
doctor of semiotics
superhero emeritus
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chromaticblues
231 posts
Oct 26, 2010
9:50 AM
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I just had (what I believe) to be a good idea. Most people think it just cost to much to have a custom harp or it doesn't really make that much difference. Some of you may think this is a bunch of bullshit!
I invite anyone that uses harps that screw together to send me thier harp and a check for $20 and I'll give the once over. Only catch is you have to do an honest review of the harp after! Don't send me broken harps, I talking about making your playing harps play to my standards!
Oh and your harp will be in your mail box one week after you put it there!
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harpdude61
432 posts
Oct 26, 2010
12:21 PM
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You don't do Golden Melodys?
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chromaticblues
232 posts
Oct 26, 2010
2:51 PM
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@ HarpDude if its a diatonic and is screwed together then send it!
I will be providing this service untill the first of the year just so people can get an idea of what I'm doing! After that it will be $50 a harp.
Blow Your Horn!!
Last Edited by on Oct 26, 2010 2:57 PM
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Ryan
385 posts
Oct 26, 2010
5:11 PM
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"You question my gapping or lack thereof as if you presume to know something about setting reeds or about building harps."
First off this reponse is ridiculous. You seem to be the one makiing presumptions, you seem to think I know nothing about working on harps. How exactly did you conclude that? By the fact that I don't sell the harps that I build?
"....If you did, it wouldn't be questioned."
Oh, I see. So the very fact that I would even question whether or not you gap your custom harps is your reasoning behind presuming that I know nothing about building harps. That's some pretty lame reasoning skills. You admit that Joe Spiers makes excellent harps, so he must know something about building harps, right? Well he certainly gaps his harps, look at his website it says: "Spring resistance of each reed is measured and considered to establish the proper offset for the player". He finds the proper offset, meaning he gaps the reeds. It doesn't take a genius to realise that gapping is part of what customisers (good ones) do. All it requires is common sense. OOTB harps often come with the reed offsets very inconsistent. Furthermore, different players like there offsets set up differently. So if you get an ootb harp that has some reeds that have really high offsets, to the point that it makes it difficult to play, obviously you are going to need to lower that offset in some way (ie. gapping). That seems like common sense to me.
The fact is that I don't believe that you just leave the reed offsets exactly the way you get them from the factory. You may want to call it "setting the reeds", or make some other pointless semantic distinction, but the fact is if you move the offset of the reed you are gapping.
"just because I said something a month ago doesn't make it true today."
So are you saying that you use to emboss but you've now stopped? When exactly did you stop? It couldn't have been that long ago, since I've found a post from not that long ago where you talk about embossing. So when did you stop? One of the people who paid you to teach him your methods for building harps, has talked about how you showed him your superior method for embossing (not to mention he's also talked, multiple occassions, about how he gaps his harps), so you must have changed your methods (somewhat drastically) after teaching him. So was it a week ago, a month ago, 6 months, a year, 2-3 year, a decade? Honestly I don't really care, I just think you're being a bit disingenuous with us.
I often get the feeling that you like screwing with people here just for the hell of it, by feeding them a bunch of BS. Maybe I'm wrong, but I get the feeling that this is one of those occasions.
"And for the record, I'm not exactly new at doing harp work."
I never claimed otherwise. I don't know why you felt you need to tell me about your harp building experience and how you tried Filisko's harps, etc, etc. I never claimed that you don't know how to build a harp.
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Buddha
2632 posts
Oct 26, 2010
5:42 PM
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@ryan
allow me to screw with your head some more. You say you know how to build harps yet you speak of gapping. As I said, if you seriously know how to build a harp, gapping has nothing to do with it.
I don't emboss anymore since I began studying how the reeds of the ***** work under pressure. I've effectly doubled the volume by capturing the lateral energy of the reeds and in fact, have been making the slots even wider based upon the Fibonacci sequence.
You need to understand 
Also after studying the works of Marko Rodini and his postulate upon the didynamisism of 3,6,9 in birepolated tritium magnets, I'm also employing my own version of his tri-polar magnets that have become mini-aether generators thusly I am able to make reeds operate in a true 3D sense and no you don't need the funky glasses to make them work.
Issacullah and harpninja can verify these new technique as they are the only two that I have recently taught on how to use these more efficient method.
Oh yeah and I use colloidal silver too but I won't share that with you yet.
So clearly, you understand nothing about gapping or embossing or at least you do in the "old way" of doing things.
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"I am a great believer in understanding, not copying."
Last Edited by on Oct 26, 2010 5:47 PM
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Buddha
2633 posts
Oct 26, 2010
6:02 PM
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no no joe.... it's the aether generation technology that are CREATING the tripolar magnets.
What do you think of employing Quasicrystals and Photonic Circuits within the pendulu of the reeds? This is something I've been working on late at night but haven't perfected it yet for the hohner short reeds.
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"I am a great believer in understanding, not copying."
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Ryan
386 posts
Oct 26, 2010
6:05 PM
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LOL, clearly you've decided to continue BS'ing people and spreading disinformation. I guess it's true, a little knowledge can be dangerous, especially when combined with someone who has an aptitude for double talk.
BTW, just like you're not likely to learn to customise harps by scouring the internet, your not likely to learn and really understand mathmatics and physics by read some stuff on the internet (as is shown by your post). But apparently you sure can pretend.
Last Edited by on Oct 26, 2010 8:01 PM
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MrVerylongusername
1335 posts
Oct 26, 2010
6:08 PM
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So I get all,that, but where do the di-lythium crystal fit in?
Don't inhale too much of the tritium btw
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harpwrench
348 posts
Oct 26, 2010
6:17 PM
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I think you've been studying one of my later harps if you're starting to get into that. Once the thoughts have been thought, they're out there for grabs I guess....BTW thanks for the props.
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Blueharper
145 posts
Oct 26, 2010
6:23 PM
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I have sat at Buddha's side while he did something to something.I did not look,for several reasons.
He has chosen on this site not to divulge all or some of the things he does to his harps,I did not watch,but I could have.
Another reason is I was afraid my eyes would have ignited in their sockets.
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Ryan
387 posts
Oct 26, 2010
6:51 PM
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If he has certian techiniques he wishes to keep to himself, that's fine. But when it comes to purposely misleading people, I think that's ridiculous. Telling people that gapping has nothing to do with improving a harp is harmful information to be spreading. Gapping is one of the things that most anyone can do to drastically improve the performance of their harps, and set them to their specific needs (of course there are other things that can be done as well). The idea that customisers don't gap the reeds and just leave them however they came from the factory is absurd. Maybe telling people that gapping has nothing to do with improving harps will send more business your way by further confusing people when it comes to making their harps play better, but it's harmful to the harmonica community. I think all serious players should be able to do at least some basic modification to their harps in order to make them better suited to their playing. Even when you buy a custom harp it's rare that it will be 100% perfectly set up to their personal needs, which is why being able to do some basic adjustments (like gapping) is important. Which is why I think it's harmful to tell people that gapping has no part in building a custom harp.
"As I said, if you seriously know how to build a harp, gapping has nothing to do with it."
Perhaps you should tell that to the other top customisers. Joe S. even has a series of videos teaching people some basic gapping skills. And now that I think about it, I remember that you had a youtube video where you were teaching embossing (the video was taken down) and I seem to distinctly remember that as you were testing the reeds you also did some GAPPING to adjust the performance of the reed. And this was around the time you first started selling your custom harps. So by your logic, when you first started selling custom harps you didn't know what you were doing, because at that time you were gapping reeds (which according to you has nothing to do with building a harp). (I'm not saying you didn't know what you were doing, because I know that gapping does play a role, I'm just following your logic)
Last Edited by on Oct 26, 2010 6:53 PM
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