glad to be on this forum, this will be my first post.
been a harmonica owner for a long time but only recently picking it up seriously and hoping to play in front of a crowd as a 2nd instrument in a bluegrass band I play bass in.
I have a blues harp MS i've owned for 10 years, recently learned draw bending thanks to Adam's videos and working on my blow bends. I also have a marine band coming to me in the next few days so I can see if I like it better than my blues harp.
however, my first serious question will be, I don't see many bearded harmonica players. am I just too new and not looking hard enough? is the beard a disadvantage? (please say it ain't so, cuz there's no way i'm shaving)
Welcome chopsy. I have played with moustache and beard, though now I play without them. The harp would catch some moustache hairs sometimes, but did not affect my playing. I shaved because I didn't want the facial hair, not because of any effect on my playing.
Depends on the harp somewhat. You need a top-end harp like the crossover if you're attached to that beard and want it to stay attached to you...
... just kidding :P. You'll do fine. Some harps are grabbers though. Lee Oskars are notorious... Welcome to the forum! ---------- Pistolkatt - Pistolkatts youtube
Worst moustache- grabber I've played is the seydel solist/solist pro. I like the option of not shaving sometimes, so I don't play those harps Edited to add: They are MUCH nastier tha LOs in this way IME. ----------
Last Edited by on Jul 30, 2012 8:25 PM
Lee Oskars are famous mustache rippers, and what's more annoying is it's mostly those strange square cutaways that do it. (Chromatics are even worse than diatonics though!)
That said, I've never had a problem with the rest of my beard, although I shave my soul patch (I get a weird facial tick if I don't!). When I catch a hair on my Lee Oskars I know it's time for a trim. I have a full mustache/goatee, and as long as I don't let the mustache hairs start hanging down into my mouth/lip area I don't have a problem.
(I tried taking a picture of my goatee to show you how thick it was. It's pretty thick, and trimmed neatly it doesn't give me any real problems. I'm not going to post the picture though, because it turns out a picture zoomed in on your lips and facial hair doesn't look so much like a picture zoomed in on your lips and facial hair as much as a, well, I'm not posting it. This is a family site. :)
i have had a beard and mustache for many years. i have kept them trimmed where there was any chance of a hair getting caught under a cover plate. it was always a mustache hair that got pulled for me. ---------- http://www.reverbnation.com/jawboneandjolene
This question has been posed many different times over the years, not only on this forum, but damned near every single one harp forum on the internet, so this question is really older than the dirt on the ground.
The only real way to prevent moustache or beard hairs from getting caught on harmonicas, be it diatonic or chromatic, outside of being clean shaved, is to keep those hairs VERY neatly trimmed and groomed 24/7 and the minute you let it get to be a bushy mess, it's damned near gonna be a guarantee that they'e gonna get caught no matter what model/type/brand harmonica you use, bar none.
I haven't had any facial hairs for the last 20 years, but I've had full beards, pen line 'stashes, Fu Manchu's, handle bars, goatees, you name it, but it always came down to one thing and one thing only, and that's making sure you keep it VERY neatly trimmed and groomed, and that's the bottom line on that. ---------- Sincerely, Barbeque Bob Maglinte Boston, MA http://www.barbequebob.com CD available at http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/bbmaglinte
awesome replies, thanks everyone for the warm welcome. I haven't had a pulled hair yet nor have I given a Lee Oskar a shot but I suppose that's when I will really learn about the blues lol.
unfortunately we are talking about a "just came out of the hills after cooking some 'shine" kind of beard here. it's big and award winning, and trimming is not an option haha.
The only harp that has given me trouble with the mustache is the Seydel Solist Pro. Not a problem if I keep the mustache really short, but I have found that when I trim it, it grows back again. Currently the harp is disassembled. But when it awakens as a Power Chromatic, I will need to address this. I have some ideas of fixing it with epoxy or solder. And my customizer will sell me a Session cover if need be.
---------- Since I learned to overblow, I don't use my car horn so much any more.
I've put a lot of harps aside for later resale due to this very problem.
The great reduction of "hair ripping" was a major factor in my choosing the 1847 Silver as my favorite harp......influenced by their great playing properties!!!
Greg ----------
Just when I got a paddle, they added more water to the creek.
A dab of nail polish at the points that grab the hair (corners and screw heads for me) will stop the pulling. I have a Full beard and mustache and seldom have a problem using this trick.
My harpmasters will occasionally grab and when it does I know its past time to trim :) I make sure to trim up neat before every gig to avoid the mid song grab and ouch :)
Didn't know that B.J. was a harp player, but that is proof enough for me!
My wife doesn't care much for the idea, unless I have a "prostetic stache" to wear when I'm not playing harp... and she would probably have a fit when she finds it laying around the house... I'm not sure I could take all that screaming!
@spackle20 - isn't epoxy in the stach a bit extreme? Saves the time it takes waxing it every day, though... ---------- Pistolkatt - Pistolkatts youtube
I was born with a beard and mustache, so I am fairly expert on this subject.
Any harp that grabs the hairs of a mustache, as far as I have ever known, simply needs to be adjusted.
The LO harps that are famous for grabbing can be fixed. If you look closely at a grabber, there will be a slight space between the cover plate and the reed plate at some point--just take off the cover and re-shape it a little with your fingers--that will often solve the problem.
Sometimes you have to lose a hair or two and just observe where it's sticking--then adjust the cover to fix it. This has worked for me many times--your mileage may vary. . . ----------
I did finally catch a hair now that I have one of those hands free harmonica holders (are those uncool here?)
not the end of the world and not nearly as bad as zipping it up in my hoodie or that one accident with the dremel.
i DID discover while playing in the mirror to see how silly the hands-free thing looked that it looks like my 'stache is a broom sweeping back and forth over the cover plate. had plenty of nicknames for the moustache before but I think "harp duster" might be a new favorite. (derived from cookie duster)
Chopsy, harp racks are fine. I think they get a bad wrap because lots of people who play in them are guitar players who just learn enough harp to sound like Bob Dylan. There are some players who play really well in a rack though, Walter Torre for instance.
Not to mention: Slim Harpo, Doc Watson, John Hammond, John Mayall and that Reed fella. Also snagging a 'stasch hair can bring tears which your audience can mistake for emotion, feeling, sincerety, that kind of stuff.
Last Edited by on Jul 30, 2012 8:25 PM
