One that was said in this interview is something I've said many times before and that's the average player has no idea about their own playing or their playing needs sand that's something you NEED to know COLD before you begin ordering custom harps or you're gonna do it yourself. ---------- Sincerely, Barbeque Bob Maglinte Boston, MA http://www.barbequebob.com CD available at http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/bbmaglinte
One that was said in this interview is something I've said many times before and that's the average player has no idea about their own playing or their playing needs sand that's something you NEED to know COLD before you begin ordering custom harps or you're gonna do it yourself. ---------- Sincerely, Barbeque Bob Maglinte Boston, MA http://www.barbequebob.com CD available at http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/bbmaglinte
All I know is, I've got Stage I Marine Band harps (two or three years old) in C and high G, and I can overblow 4,5, and 6 on both of them. They're exceptional harps. Most importantly for my purposes, they're not noticeably brighter than stock harps. They just have a great, characteristic MB sound and they play and overblow more easily than stock harps.
AND, very importantly, they've stayed in tune. Joe is clearly a master of reed stress relief. There's some alchemy in there, the fruit of long experience, great touch, and great ears, and he's got it.
And no, I don't have an endorsement deal with Joe. Actually, I need to order another custom harp, just for the hell of it.
Last Edited by on Aug 28, 2012 9:49 AM
@ Adam 2 or 3 years ago his stage 1 harps weren't embossed. So they shouldn't sound brighter. Although they may sound brighter tough because of no air loss!
Having watched this vid and having ordered from Joe, I'd offer two pieces of advice for ordering custom harps.
1: Be completely candid. Treat Joe (or any customiser) like a priest or a sex therapist. Tell them exactly how it is or you'll be spending big bucks on a harp for your ego rather that your playing.
2: Allow for interpretation. A customiser has a similar job to a hairdresser. They take what you say you want and try to bring it to reality. I possibly explained my overblow technique as being more developed than it was at the time. On the three harps I got (bear in mind Joe was working from my own emailed description) a couple of notes didn't overblow. Two minutes worth of gapping cured it.
FWIW: I keep spending money on the 'next big thing'. Apart from Brendan's PowerDraw tuning, I haven't found anything that comes close to volume, tone and playability. If my numbers come up tonight, I'll be commissioning a set of Spiers Powerdraw Manjis.
Joe Spiers will treat you right. I've dealt with him and a few other good customizers who post here on MBH and they all seem to be conscientious, capable customizers at the very least.
Watch out though!!! There's another guy out there who wants to sell you a harp (very well known by some on this forum, has a splashy website with lots of photos of him glad handing and shmoozing with other harp players and big names) he might just promise to get that harp in your hands within a month and then leave you still waiting a year and a half later. This is a NON overblow harp that we're talking about and a year and a half + wait for that.
The main problem with this guy isn't so much the wait. The worst thing about dealing with him is that after taking your money (100% up front) you might not hear from him for a year or so and then when you try to contact him, if your experience is like mine he will begin to stall and make false promises that never materialize. Contacting him is a bitch, he doesn't necessarily respond to your e mail or communicate in a timely businesslike way. Remember, we're talking about a year and a half wait for a non overblow harp and having to deal with the kind of guy who will not want to communicate with you no matter how polite and patient you are with him.
Here is a list of other people who have helped me who are all good people and easy to do business with;
Greg Jones (mandowhacker), custom harps Mark Prados (MP), repairs, custom harps Mike Peace, repairs, custom harps Joe Spiers (harpwrench), custom harps Kevin Baker (chromaticblues), custom harps Mathew Smart, custom harmonicas, combs, other
I've experienced setbacks and delays with a couple of these guys but they always handled themselves in a forthright and reasonable manner to where I never lost confidence in any of them.
Delays and setbacks should be expected a percentage of the time. there's a big difference though in working with one of the guys listed above and in having to deal with someone who is just going to take your money and flake out on you.
I don't understand your post. OK, if it's to let off a little steam, then fine, but you've just warned everyone here to avoid some unnamed customiser without giving any indication of who they actually are.
Why not just tell us who it is? If this person has nothing to hide, he'll come out here and put his case across. The whole reason guys like Joe offer good service is because they want people to be happy and have a good reputation. If mystery guy is giving poor service, he's not getting his deserved bad reputation. Surely it makes good sense to name him as he'll continue to give bad service.
yeah, its got me wondering who it could be and checking all the names i can think of...well, it did...i gave up after 2 and wrote this instead... ----------
I would suggest not turning this into bashing of anyone! Think about this: Joe Filisko, Joe Spiers or anyone that is GREAT at this wasn't great at the beginning. Customizing harps is like playing. The more you do it the better you get at it and if your dedicated you'll continue to get better untill your great! 99% of the people saying they are harp customizers will never get to his level! It must be fun for him and others to work with a manufacturer and be a part of how things are done!
Last Edited by on Aug 29, 2012 7:20 AM
I appreciate your concern. For now I would say that if you are planning to buy a custom harp the best thing would be to get a solid recommendation before you buy one from someone who you don't know. Make sure that someone will vouch for him.
I'm still hoping that this guy will come around and satisfy his obligation in private. I just may not fully appreciate his personal circumstances, (he said that I "fell through the cracks" last time that I spoke with him on the phone, whatever that means) and it's just possible that I'm the only order that he has had trouble filling lately. Maybe there's no reason to pillory someone who is just being sloppy and careless, but for now I think that it's a good idea to publish a warning in case it prevents this from happening to someone else here on the forum.
I know that this has been done before on this forum. I have seen posts warning us of poor business practices on this forum and I have seen posts warning us away from specific business people, but I want to be careful on this one.
Sorry about your situation Chickenthief- I hate to see people taken advantage of. Sometimes "customizers" end up bailing when the easy money starts fizzling out.
It sounds like your patience has worn thin and I don't blame you for venting whilst holding out in a last ditch hope that things will come right.
Hopefully your post will be a shot across the bows for whoever this is, although I've done the 'fallen through the cracks' thing in my business before. It happens. Hopefully he'll try and make up to you for the problems.
I've just watched the full interview at Bluesharmonica.com and its a great interview.
There is a part where Joe says something like some people would be better off spending their time practicing harp rather than maybe putting all their efforts into tinkering with one.
That is so true. I've been playing the harp for around 6 yrs now and I've probably spent around 1hr in that whole time working on my harps. If i had a harp that didnt work so well i would find another one that would.
Its only now that i'm starting to get into gapping and that's probably as far as i will go. (yes i have found gapping makes a huge difference but i'm still glad i spent my years playing rather than plinking!!)
I have a stage 1 on order from Joe and I've found he is a pleasure to deal with and he responds to emails very quickly.
It brings a smile to my face to know i have one on order and its kind of exciting not knowing when its coming. Having said that i'm not in any rush and the purchase was an extra treat for me. Its not like i'm sweating on a gig or anything. ----------
Thank you, I appreciate your good will. I'll try to cool down some and see if he goes to work on the harps this week like he said he would.
I promise you , I really, really don't want to muddy anyones rep. if they don't deserve it. Not that throwing my weight around is going to bring about anybodies downfall or anything close to it. I just want this guy to be true to his word and wrap it up so that we can put it all past us.
Honest to tell you, I doubt very much that this guy would be foolish enough to steal the money outright, but yeah, sometimes people dig themselves into a hole that they can't get out of.
I'm not going to squeal louder until this guy convinces me that he just won't deliver.
My apologies to you Noodles for deflecting the topic.
Last Edited by on Aug 30, 2012 6:57 AM
