bluzmn
79 posts
Apr 12, 2014
12:34 AM
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How do you prevent the top part of the rack (and the harp) from moving away from you as you're playing? I started out with the cheap Hohner rack; it slips a lot. I added lock washers; that helped somewhat, but it still slipped too much. Then I tried the K&M rack with the tightening knob on 1 side, plus a lock washer; better, but still slipped. So, I now have the K&M with the tightening knobs on both sides, but I've found that wingnuts work better (plus lock washers); this works the best so far, but it still slips occasionally, sometimes enough so that I can hardly reach the harp by the end of a song. Any suggestions?
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boris_plotnikov
953 posts
Apr 12, 2014
11:46 AM
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The first rack I really can play is Hohner FlexRack, still not perfect. I had to drill two extra holes to move harmonica much lower (is my neck too short???) and now it's almost ok, although still not comfortable to feel upper rail on my lip.
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Excuse my bad English.
My videos.
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easyreeder
455 posts
Apr 12, 2014
6:15 PM
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It really depends on the rack. The Hohner rack I have is sized for 10-hole harps, and uses wingnuts. If I tighten the wingnuts while the harp is in playing position it's almost certain to slip. I've found this procedure works well most of the time:
1. Put the harp in playing position and tighten the wingnuts firmly.
2. Push the harp away from your mouth until the rack resists, and then tighten the nuts firmly in that position.
3. Push the rack back into playing position. Tighten again. Normally at this point the rack will have tightened itself, but sometimes I can still get it tighter.
Repeat steps 2 & 3 if necessary. Your thumbs and index fingers will be sore from tightening the wingnuts, which will add soul to your blues...
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oldwailer
1992 posts
Apr 12, 2014
11:17 PM
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This rack looks interesting--haven't tried it myself--
http://www.footdrums.com/archtop-harp-holders
There are a couple of others that look OK if you search around enough.
The Sennhouser I use seems to have gone out of production--it was close to two hundred dollars, but I sprung for one a few years ago and it's still great--at least as great as a harp rack can be, I guess.
I saw one a while back that hooks up to the guitar--but it doesn't work on a reso--and that's all I use for street playing--but it might be good if you play a round hole guitar. . .
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"Too Pretty for the Blues."
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Gnarly
981 posts
Apr 13, 2014
1:06 AM
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I like my K&M rack much better since I modified it. Here's a video from my YouTube channel.
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KingoBad
1458 posts
Apr 13, 2014
11:22 AM
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I have gotten lots of mileage from my Hohner flex rack. I used modified K&M racks up until then. It just seems to work the best for me.
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Danny
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Gnarly
983 posts
Apr 13, 2014
12:24 PM
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I bought a FlexRack and sold it--
I WANT to be able to push the rack away, otherwise it compromises my ability to work the microphone vocally.
YMMV
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KingoBad
1459 posts
Apr 13, 2014
5:11 PM
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I hear you on that one Gnarly. I still struggle with the vocal mic and rack and singing...
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Danny
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easyreeder
456 posts
Apr 14, 2014
7:47 AM
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Same here. When the harp is where I want it for playing, it smacks me in the mouth when I sing. Compromise is unavoidable.
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