LittleJoeSamson
17 posts
Aug 12, 2008
12:52 AM
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Maybe I glossed over a previous posting, but I looked all over the forum and did not spot one specific about Lee Oskar Melody Makers. I did not have any and purchased a collection from the son of a player that had passed on. They are in exceptional condition, but five of them are MM's.
Does anyone use these regularly? If so, are there particular songs that sound good or better thru these harps? It seems as though "Baby Elephant Walk" is doable.
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Philosofy
37 posts
Aug 12, 2008
9:09 AM
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Is it just me, or is the idea of buying used harps seem kind of... gross?
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SUNDOG
30 posts
Aug 12, 2008
1:55 PM
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Run em' through the Dishwasher, Flush out that old SPIT.
BTW I once wrote a song called "Spit won't make you FAT!"
R,
Sundog
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oldwailer
143 posts
Aug 12, 2008
8:36 PM
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I have bought good MB harps on Ebay for under $5. I just take them apart, clean them with gin--put a finish on the comb--sand them out a few times--adjust the reeds and tune them up a bit--Walla! Some of my best harps are these retreads--takes a little time but it is fun for me to do it, so I do it. . .
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Aussiesucker
18 posts
Aug 15, 2008
12:00 AM
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I have quite a few Lee Oskar harps and they are real easy to clean ie unlike the old fashioned dirty wooden harps they can easily be taken apart and given a bath. I love my LO alternate tunings ie especially the Natural Minors and Harmonic Minors. I also like the Melody Maker but it is not a blues harp. For an understanding of the Melody Maker you should visit http://www.ezfolk.com/harp/index.html
The Natural Minors are great for a soulful bluesy minor tune eg Summertime sounds great. The Harmonic Minors are a straight harp used more for ethnic Russian, Italian or Gypsy music. A good example of Harmonic Minor playing can be seen at http://nl.youtube.com/watch?v=RLCNesboqKw
It may not be your thing but I am interested in a range of different music and I find these alternate tunings just open it up a bit more.
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LittleJoeSamson
20 posts
Aug 15, 2008
2:12 AM
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Yes, AU ...both to the versatility and ease of cleaning LO harps. I found myself at a recent gig where the theme was different animals. I picked up a LO harmonic minor and went into a spontaneous rendition of "Crawling King Snake" but with eastern 1/2 and 1/4 tone influences. My partner at first thought it was an interlude/segue, but I caught the audience grooving on it; so I followed with some hard delta stops. It was so unusual, it had to be the hit of the night. My bandmate remarked during breakdown how the unexpected that just happens makes our gigs so fun. Sometimes it is him, others it is YT.
Am working on other songs for MM's, including "Say What?" and "Night in Tunisia". They sound OK as a solo, but now I need to find if they work as a unit.
Thanks for the creative input. You answered my original questions.
I know how to clean old harps, even used ones. It is a simple process.
I am slightly amused by some comments here. Brass players have no problem buying good used instruments and reconditioning them...even though others have blown thru them. I've seen used keys that I would not touch before antiseptic wipes ( although I did rescue a Vox Jaguar from the curbside garbage pickup that was raunchy. Complete with pizza stains. I cleaned it up quick with some 409 and traded it for a dozen new harps and my BluesBlaster at my local stomp market. He made some $$$, but I was happy ).
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