are there any uk custom harp builders out there i know brendon power makes them but he has stopped produceing for a while according to his web site anyway
dsb
Guest
May 13, 2008
1:47 AM
Steve 'West' Weston sells custom Marine Bands.
He is a great player, do a google search for:-
"west weston custom marine band harmonica" to get his Myspace page.
Hello birdman, West weston has the best custom harmonicas in uk. He is a friend of mine, his name is steve and plays lots of gigs in London´s Aint nothing but blues bar in Kingley st. next to picadilly. Find him in myspace, he has two pages, one is the west weston custom harmonicas and the other one is his band west weston and blusonics. Cheers from London
Hi, I know steve is really great at the Marine Bands and if thats what you like to play then you know where to go. I think you are all missing out on a fantastic guy who does a range of custom harps and is in the UK. I have the had the pleasure of dealing with this man who is by the way world Famous for his customising and accuracy. If you like MB delux they are fantastic. If you like Special 20's cross harps Pro Harps they are brilliant but I recommend that you try just one of these babies =
Meisterklasse/Cross MS Combination
(Full Custom Version)
The Meisterklasse/Cross Harp MS Combination Ultra Custom is built utilising the innovative concept of the modular system (MS) range. Using the gold plated synthetic Cross MS comb, Meisterklasse reed plates and cover plates this unique harmonica has been embraced by blues players who wish to take advantage of the higher quality MS component parts. Very loud and bright the tone is unique amongst the other harps in this range. Definitely one of the more popular blues harmonicas.
for £30
You are getting the best reed plate available and the care and pure genious of the man. For that price you cant go wrong. When you play these for the first time you will know the quality that you are getting.
I have tried stock special 20, MB, MB delux, big rivers, sydel 1847, blues harps,suzuki bluesmasters in my attemps to find a harp that does not need too much work and I have found that they all need some. When you consider that a MB delux is £30+ and a sydel 1847 steel reeds is £50+ then you get the idea that the custom route is they way to go. You get better faster response, longer lasting reeds, greater volume. Badly adjusted stock harps blow out quicker mainly because your teqnique is wrong when starting out.Wrong teqnique comes from playing too hard on bad harps. Get a custom and improve you playing 1000%. Less efort, more finess, better tone, more volume. Then concentrate on freeing up your playing rather than putting the extra effort in to try and sound like the records.
This is not a promo I am genuine harp enthusiast passing on my experience and if you want to comment back then I am russ.turner@ntlworld.com
the site is:
http://www.southx.biz/dannecker/home.htm
CHECK IT OUT WHAT HAVE YOU GOT TO LOSE!!!
Last Edited by on May 20, 2008 5:01 AM
I don't have them sorted out by country, but if you click on the Thread Organizer link in my signature and then click on customizers I have a list of a bunch of customizers.
Johny, nice looking site. I just added it to the list.
@geordiebluesman - yeah, it is the Dannecker harps which Russ mentioned. I think he recently changed the website - here's the new link if you haven't found it already:
West Weston's harps are great & excellent value for money. They feature sealed combs, screwed plates, well tuned. However, he doesn't set up for overblows, which might be important to some.
Jon Vaughan, from Bristol, also does impressive work customising Marine Band Deluxes, Jon does more reedwork and this is reflected in the price (around twice the price of West's harps). Jon has a myspace site and plays with the Mean Red Spiders.
No experience with them, but Little Al Price in Glasgow customises harps too.
You want custom harmonica get one form Jim. It will be not just superior instrument but also will last a lifetime. I customise myself but will never be able to do what Jim does.
Hi Guys this was a very old post and the entry I made was on the 20 May 2008 so no wonder the prices are low.
To bring things up to date for you guys.
I have custom harps from Steve Weston and Anthony Dannecker. They are both really great harp customisers and provide an excellent service at a great price.
I have recently asked John Vaughan to make me a Long Slot D MB Delux.
I would only say that I have made a decision to buy a few customised harps but only from customisers who play with a style similar to mine. I think this is an important factor to consider.
This has been a good choice for me as I dont overblow and am a heavy player though not as heavy as West Weston.
The point I am making is that if I have a harp customised for overblowing when I dont overblow then I think that would not be cost effective and it would more than likely choke on me all the time.
There are some great customisers in the UK but I still think you should learn to maintain and customise your own harps because no one knows how you play better than you do. I am hopefully going to learn more from John Vaughan in the near future and then I will be doing my own.
Cheerz
Russ ---------- Oxharp
Last Edited by on Nov 22, 2010 11:56 AM
Hi Russ, how you doing? Do you have contact details for Jon as I texted/ emailed at least a million times to discuss trying out one of his custom bad boys. He didn't reply and I gave up. Your post has stirred my interest.
Hi James. send me an email to russ.turner@ntlworld.com with your phone number and I will give it to john when I phone him. I will tell him that you are interested and he should get in contact with you. I need to phone him about my custom long slot D anyway so no sweat in getting your details to him. I have found that email is not as reliable as a phone call.
West Weston: as Oxharp says, great for heavy blues playing; very well tuned, loud, powerful harps. You might struggle if you're not a muscular player who likes to work the harmonica. AFAIK, he only does 1896 Richter-tuned Marine Bands and he seals the combs with something I hate the taste of (beeswax?), although I know plenty of players who don't share my views on this. I have a couple and they've been my "go-to" harmonicas for recording stompy, raspy, bluesy stuff for a while.
More info: http://www.myspace.com/westwestonscustommarinebandharmonicas
Antony Dannecker: big range of harps including his own "Dannecker" brand. Offers pretty much any non-standard tuning you can think of and the choice of ET of intonated tuning. Instruments are very well-tuned and responsive. He's also extremely helpful over the 'phone. I've only played his custom Crossovers (amazing value for money at £50 each) and a set of these (when the order comes through in a week or two) will be my all-purpose harmonicas of choice.
More info: http://www.antonydannecker.com/
I've been a customer of both Antony and Steve. Both offer excellent value for money, a very good deal on "refurbing" blown out harmonicas and prompt + professional customer service. I recommend both very highly.
I just wanted to make a small note to second (or third, or... ) the opinion shared by many about West Weston and his harps - in addition to being a great player, he is a very nice guy and makes excellent harps, definitely worth the small added price compared to a stock MB!
I do custom harps,ob set up,altered tunings and diatonic repair. Back intae it after a couple of years out. Give me a shout if your interested and we can have a chat.
