MP
1663 posts
May 02, 2011
3:46 PM
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i'm posting this as a buyer beware warning.
though i did a rebuild for groyster i limit myself to doing customs for local players. one guy sent one of my SPs to an eastcoast friend and he loved it. he sent my friend a star of david MB custom he had made in new england to show him what a piece of shite it was.
my friend brought it over yesterday and what a piece of work!
as a rule, star of david MBs are good harps. even not so good ones are okay.
so, the customizer put at least 5 hours into this harp and it doesn't even sound as good as an OOB MB.
he rounded the corners, opened the backs, drilled for 12 screws, sealed, and did reed work.
because of scratches, it looks like he used steel wool to clean the reed plates but there is black stuff where he couldn't reach on the bottoms of the reeds.
there are saw marks where he didn't flat sand the comb. the bottom reed plate is obviously not flat sanded either.
i can see lots of light between the plates and comb both top and bottom. the is no eveidence of embossing( neither here nor there, but if you are going all out you may as well).
and, his tuning marks look as if he used a very coarse file and maybe a chisel type thing. they are gouges. oh, there is a gouge/crack just left of the 10 draw on the bottom of the comb. it is very deep.---------
anyway, i couldn't believe someone paid good money for this thing.
so, just thought i'd put this out there. i don't know the customizers name but i'm pretty sure he's not here on MBH.
all i can say is, WOW!
MP
doctor of semiotics and reed replacement.
"making the world a better place, one harmonica at a time"
Last Edited by on May 02, 2011 3:49 PM
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chromaticblues
816 posts
May 02, 2011
4:02 PM
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So are saying we shouldn't tune reeds with a chisel.
How about a rusty axe?
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MP
1664 posts
May 02, 2011
5:07 PM
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a coal chisel or railroad spike is cool. but use what's best for you.
never tried an axe, rusty or otherwise, but thanks for the tip. :)
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MP
doctor of semiotics and reed replacement.
"making the world a better place, one harmonica at a time"
Last Edited by on May 02, 2011 5:08 PM
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Seven.Oh.Three.
57 posts
May 02, 2011
6:47 PM
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I've got an old Machete I can't use outside anymore because I can't get the blood stains off of it. You think that'll work?
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Aussiesucker
842 posts
May 02, 2011
6:53 PM
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I hold it in place with a block & tackle and hit it with a jackhammer.....or I might as well, as I can do just as much damage with a toothpick. I don't mess with my own harps let alone others!
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jim
809 posts
May 03, 2011
12:10 AM
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Pictures please...
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Free Harp Learning Center
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barbequebob
1626 posts
May 03, 2011
9:08 AM
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It tells you why I will always tell you that there ARE differences with customizers, as most doing the sealing stuff well and open the backs up, but there's always hacks doing that kind of thing that I'd kick their butt into the next century if they ever pulled that on me because I notice everything and learn as much as possible about what needs to get done and that gives me a very decided advatnage over the average player when ordering one.
The biggest seperator is the reed work and that's so important and people who overblow should never get stuff from customizers that they themselves can't play overblows because the better ones do and know what is needed to do the job properly, and like anything else, you get what you pay for.
I certainly wouldn't call that moron a customizer by any means.
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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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chromaticblues
817 posts
May 03, 2011
9:29 AM
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Well said BQBob! I have always said I set up harps for the way I play. Now read what Bob said carefully.
Thats is the difference!
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ElkRiverHarmonicas
672 posts
May 03, 2011
9:50 AM
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Where on earth to you put 12 screws? My guess would be that he overtightened the screws, the reedplates bowed up between the screws and he kept putting more screws in to take the bows out. Of course, it didn't work, just made it worse.
THanks for not mentioning his name. There is a chance he will remain a permanent hack, but also maybe this guy will figure it out. We'll see.
I would be really interested to know what he charged for it.
Straying off topic of this particular guy and strictly for the benefit of the general audience, keep in mind that we all have slightly different processes and there is a great deal done to a harmonica that you're not going to be able to see.
For example of processes, there are even different schools of thought for flatsanding the reedplate, although flatsanding combs is very universal and an absolute good.
The sole criteria that matters is how it plays for the person who bought it.
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David
Elk River Harmonicas
Elk River Harmonicas on Facebook
"It's difficult to think anything but pleasant thoughts while eating a homegrown tomato." - Lewis Grizzard
"Also, drinking homemade beer." - David Payne
Last Edited by on May 03, 2011 9:54 AM
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MP
1665 posts
May 03, 2011
10:08 AM
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sorry jim, i don't have a camera.
and dave, there were 4 phillips w/ nuts for the covers, and 8 090 phillips drilled and tapped into the plates. so that's why i said 12. i wouldn't have been surprised if the guy had somehow fit 12 screws into the reed plates alone. he appeared to like drilling and tapping a whole bunch and was taking the more is better approach.
seven and aussie, brilliant! i use a block and tackle to remove amp chassis. i like jackhammers but hand tools rule so i'd go w/ a machete like a moro w/ a mission.
and bobs right as usual.
have no idea what this beast cost. the guy just was making a donation to my parts box. it's all apart sitting on my bench and i'm still trippin' everytime i look at it.
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MP
doctor of semiotics and reed replacement.
"making the world a better place, one harmonica at a time"
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HarveyHarp
243 posts
May 03, 2011
12:35 PM
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OK, lets look at this another way. Lets suppose this harp was bought on Ebay and it was way too filthy to play, so the friend MR F (twice removed by the way) asked this customizer(maybe someone he knew)Mr. C, to clean it up for him, just to make it playable. So, Mr C, opens it up, washes it, seals the comb, and replaces the nails with an equal number of little screws, makes sure it plays and puts it back together. To Mr F, he has a customized PreWar Marine Band, To Mr C, he did a cheap favor for Mr. F. Had he known that his favor would make the internet, he would have said "Sorry, I only do full customizations, or not at all"
It happens, and since you, MP, offer to replace reeds for $10 if I remember correctly, it could and probably will happen to you. I had something similar happen to me with a very well known harp player that was in a bind, because no one had any Bd Marine Bands for sale a few years ago, and I just replaced a few reeds for him on a couple of Bds and replaced the nails with screws. He needed them in two days, so that was all I had time to do. I didn't even charge him, because he was a friend. I later started customizing harps for him. Down the road, he gave me one of the harps that I did as the emergency favor to fix, and said it was not up to my usual standards. He even told a friend that a couple of my harps were questionable. We got it straightened out, but people forget what is not important to them.
Just something to think about.
It happens.
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HarveyHarp
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MP
1666 posts
May 03, 2011
2:56 PM
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harvey,
that would be a bummer.
i just did my best to straighten out a couple dude harps from e-bay.
i went to dudes site for a general overview of his work just for to check for possible anomalys.
a previous owner had stripped the screws and maladjusted a good number of reeds
i'm fairly certain the strain put on the dudes reeds affected their performance.
no name or state is mentioned. even if i did know i wouldn't say anything.
EDIT
oddly enough, i got a call out of the blue and i just found out the guys name, cost of harp $50) and that the scenerio harvey proposed is not the case.
it's not knucklehead by the way. he has $50 harps.---------
MP
doctor of semiotics and reed replacement.
"making the world a better place, one harmonica at a time"
Last Edited by on May 03, 2011 4:46 PM
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Greg Heumann
1121 posts
May 03, 2011
8:25 PM
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There are crap vendors out there in every possible product category. Caveat Emptor!
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/Greg
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chromaticblues
819 posts
May 04, 2011
4:35 AM
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There is merit to Harveys post. I have had the similiar experiences that I will not share.
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MP
1668 posts
May 04, 2011
10:46 AM
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yes there is merit to harveys post. i just never thought about it.
all someone has to do is decide their custom is gapped to tight or not tight enough, and mess around w/ the reeds.
perhaps open it up and make it leaky putting it back together. then maybe it goes on e-bay w/ your name on it. someone buys it and goes whaaaat did i buy?!
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MP
doctor of semiotics and reed replacement.
"making the world a better place, one harmonica at a time"
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HarpNinja
1419 posts
May 04, 2011
10:59 AM
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I've had three harps sent to me where it was obvious someone screwed them up royally, decided they were in over their heads, and then sold them.
All three came from reputable customizers originally and the buyers were under the impression any issues were related to the original build.
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Mike
Quicksilver Custom Harmonicas
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barbequebob
1628 posts
May 04, 2011
12:24 PM
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Many people new to buying customs think that they're just getting a better stock harp, which is so totally different and on top of that, many players new to this often have no real clue as to where their playing actually is, and as an example, I got an offlist message at the Bushman forum from a guy who got a Filisko custom and complained that it didn't overblow, and then I told him that you have to tell them this before any work gets done because the setup is totally different than their blues setup is and this guy thought this was all the same thing and it isn't and at the time, the Filisko guild was chargin more money for that setup, which means the guy just looked at the price and figured everything is the same thing, which is obviopusly NOT true at all.
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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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