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Dirty-South Blues Harp forum: wail on! > sweet addiction of custom harps
sweet addiction of custom harps
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walterharp
1104 posts
May 27, 2013
7:02 PM
they play so well, they will wear out.. but should you play them every day? what about gigs when you get too excited and blow too hard. they make you a better player but what if they make you soft and lazy? and the cost.....
Seven.Oh.Three.
214 posts
May 27, 2013
7:16 PM
I've only purchased one custome harp so far. It's a genesis marine band in A. It's waaaaay better then any other harp I own. Everyone's financial situation is unique to them. For me I don't have the $$$ to own a full set but it certainly doesn't keep me from playing every chance I get.

Last Edited by Seven.Oh.Three. on May 27, 2013 7:17 PM
arzajac
1059 posts
May 27, 2013
8:03 PM
If you take care of them, you can play them every day for years. Yes, gigging will add wear and tear due to the travel and harder breath force, but reeds can be replaced - same as an out-of-the-box harp in that respect.

Soft and lazy? That's nonsense! It's the same as any other instrument - any music teacher will advise a beginning student to purchase the best instrument they can afford. And that applies to guitar, sax, piano, harmonica, whatever... With respect to the harmonica, fine motor control requires muscle memory, and that's a question of precision, not lifting weights. I think it has been proven that beginners learn better/faster on higher quality harps.

As for the cost, you get what you pay for. I will be introducing a custom Big River harp in July-August for $85. My price range ranges from $85 to $305 for a custom harp - and worth every penny!

My upgraded Big River harps feature a high-performance comb and advanced reed modifications which make this harp powerful and easy to play. It is a true custom harp and as such will outperform any out-of-the-box harmonica including Seydel 1847, Suzuki Manji, Hohner Meisterklasse, Special 20, Golden Melody and Crossover. My custom Big River harp is louder, offers better control, better tone and more precise tuning than any stock harp.

Overblows on holes 4, 5 and 6 can be made available as passing notes.




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Last Edited by arzajac on May 28, 2013 8:01 AM
JInx
444 posts
May 28, 2013
7:58 AM
"As for the cost, I will be introducing a custom Big River harp in July-August for $85."

I think I'm ready to try a custom harp. Looking forward to this.
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Littoral
886 posts
May 28, 2013
8:24 AM
"...will outperform any out-of-the-box harmonica including Seydel 1847, Suzuki Manji, Hohner Meisterklasse, Special 20, Golden Melody and Crossover."
I appreciate the confidence. "I'm Ready" comes to mind.
I am looking forward to getting one and I need a D, thank you.

Last Edited by Littoral on May 28, 2013 8:25 AM
arzajac
1060 posts
May 28, 2013
12:26 PM
Each harp is customized to your needs.

To order a harp from me, visit http://harp.andrewzajac.ca/Custom and follow the ordering instructions. I will get started on it immediately. My lead time for all custom Hohner harps is 100 days.


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Last Edited by arzajac on May 28, 2013 12:29 PM
jim
1414 posts
May 29, 2013
10:50 AM
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arzajac
1063 posts
May 30, 2013
7:07 AM
Rogonzab: Yes, the BR is cheaper to start with. It is less work too since I don't have to convert the nails to screws.

The BR doesn't have the potential that the MB has; It's not a good choice if you want a full overbend (all overblows and overdraws) setup. If you want the highly-embossed, super bright, $300 custom harp, I would definitely start with an MB.

But the other side of that coin is that as an entry-level custom, it's less of a challenge. For one thing, my Big Rivers feature light or medium embossing - it depends on what you like.

I know how loud a custom Big River can be. I know how responsive they can be. Getting them to that point is straightforward.

A custom harp is exactly what you want it to be. A lot of people don't care for the typical heavily-embossed custom harps. But it's not all-or-nothing. You have a choice. You get what you pay for.

But if you compare a custom to an out-of-the-box, you pay more for a custom (even at $85), but you get much more value and bang for your buck. It's not even close.

There's no way that the factory can mass produce harps with optimal reed profiles - it's too much work.

Yes, I will ship almost anywhere, just contact me for a shipping quote.

Andrew
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Last Edited by arzajac on May 30, 2013 8:31 AM
kudzurunner
4101 posts
May 31, 2013
10:14 AM
A quick note from the majordomo, to clarify this forum's semi-unwritten policy.

Arzajac, I'm happy to let you use this forum to inform members, in an occasional way, about the virtues of a product that you traffic in--custom harps--but obviously neither I nor any other forum members (apart from spambots) want multiple sales pitches in individual threads or in multiple threads. There's a fine line, in other words, between informing people about what you do and flacking, hard, for your product. You're clearly hard against that line in this thread. No need to delete anything here. Just be aware that there IS a line. This goes for any forum member in good standing--including Brendan, Jason, whomever. (And I'm not calling anybody out here! I'm just saying that the Gods of Harp get no special pass.) Information is good, including a link that takes people to your website; sales pitches that take up forum carpet space, on the other hand, are to be very strictly rationed. And of course there IS a dedicated "for sale" thread.........

Thanks.

--Adam

Last Edited by kudzurunner on May 31, 2013 10:18 AM
arzajac
1064 posts
May 31, 2013
11:05 AM
Understood.

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