bikerpvc
9 posts
May 06, 2015
2:02 PM
|
Hey all,
I'm considering having some harps of mine worked on or just buy a custom harp from a custom harp dealer. The guy's initials are JS. I'm sure some of you must know who I'm referring to.
My question is, would it really be worth the cost? Is there that much difference between a custom built harp and one out of the box?
Any insight is greatly appreciated.
|
GMaj7
684 posts
May 06, 2015
2:32 PM
|
I'm not aware of a single customer of his EVER saying they weren't glad they bought from him. Lots of happy players out there.
It is not going to make you play like King Howard or Lord Ricci, but it isn't something you will regret.
Jump on it..
----------
Greg Jones
16:23 Custom Harmonicas
greg@1623customharmonicas.com
1623customharmonicas.com
|
Mahcks
40 posts
May 06, 2015
3:02 PM
|
I've been on the fence about buying one myself. I'm interested in seeing how my own work is coming along. I doubt I have the ability to make a business of it no matter how good I get, but it would be pretty interesting to see what all the fuss is about.
|
nacoran
8475 posts
May 06, 2015
3:52 PM
|
I didn't know Jason Statham made custom harmonicas!!!
Assuming you aren't about to outsmart yourself with clever initials and buy a harp from my uncle John Smith, I've heard nothing but glowing reviews about JS's work.
Edit-(Not that my Uncle John might not be able to figure out how to customize a harmonica! He was a mathematician specializing in spacial mathematics and and a professor at Boston College before retiring, and quite musical. (He sang with the Tanglewood Choir for quite a while). But he's not a harmonica guy.
----------
Nate
Facebook
Thread Organizer (A list of all sorts of useful threads)
First Post- May 8, 2009
Last Edited by nacoran on May 06, 2015 3:55 PM
|
Harmlessonica
149 posts
May 06, 2015
4:16 PM
|
If Jason Statham made custom harmonicas, no doubt the reeds would be very stiff...
Today I received my second custom harp from Ben Bouman and I love it. However, his prices are not far off what I would have to pay for an off-the-shelf harmonica.
So the real question is 'is a custom harmonica worth it for me ?'
If you can imagine a harmonica that has no faults in workmanship, the next thing to do is to decide how much you're willing to pay for it.
Only you can really answer that.
----------
Forum Search Direct Link
|
Gnarly
1348 posts
May 06, 2015
4:49 PM
|
I do repairs and customization (especially retuning for different chords) but bought a Stage One from Rockin' Ron, Joe does great work.
I recently repaired an Ermonica and was very impressed.
He sells on eBay and his prices seem to be pretty good.
Last Edited by Gnarly on May 06, 2015 4:55 PM
|
Popculture Chameleon
63 posts
May 06, 2015
6:10 PM
|
There is a guy in the UK who calls himself Sugar Cain- he has a You tube channel. I'm seriously considering getting a harp or two from him. The catch is that he fine tunes his harps in a very unique style that takes nearly six months. However the You tube reviews of his harps have all been well received. He normally specializes in Hohner Harps though he has done a few others here and there. his web page is definitely worth a look
|
ridge
608 posts
May 07, 2015
9:52 AM
|
As far as I know JS' work is constantly evolving. What is considered Stage I now may be equivalent to what USED to be considered Stage II or higher.
He's held in pretty high regard for his work, so it's a purchase I would definitely feel comfortable making (although I have not had the pleasure of owning one of his instruments).
Harmonicalessonica make a good point about it being worth it to YOU? If you think you have harmonicas that could use some tweaking, do some research on gapping. Basic gapping can go a long way and costs you nothing but time. JS has videos on the subject.
----------
Ridge's YouTube
|
florida-trader
686 posts
May 07, 2015
11:03 AM
|
bikerpvc - "Is there that much difference between a custom built harp and one out of the box?"
Is there any difference between buying a suit off the rack and buying one that is custom tailered for you? Absolutely! The thing about suits and harmonicas is that once in a while you can find a suit that fits you perfectly off the rack. Once in a while you will get an OOTB harp that plays great. The rest of the time they need a little fine tuning and adjustment. JS has a reputation of being the best or one of the best in the business. If you are curious about a custom harp then there's not better guy to deal with.
"would it really be worth the cost?" Only you can answer that question. There is a very high probablility that the answer is "YES". Here's why. Better harps will unlock doors for you that you did not previously know even existed. You can do things on a custom harp that you might not be able to do on a stock harp. I qualify my comment by saying "might not" because there are plenty of guys who get everything they want out of a stock harp. They have developed the chops that enable them to impose their will on most decent harmonicas. Guys like Adam Gussow and Mitch Kashmar are two such examples of this. But for us mortals getting a little "help" from a custom harp can facilitate learning some techniques that are more challenging on OOTB harps. Once you get the feel for what you can do on a custom harp it will also help you get more out of your stock harps becuase now you have better sense of the feel you are looking for. Make sense?
----------
Tom Halchak
www.BlueMoonHarmonicas.com
Last Edited by florida-trader on May 07, 2015 12:26 PM
|
barbequebob
2907 posts
May 07, 2015
11:41 AM
|
Joe Spiers is one of the very best in the business and like most of the best customizers, he's a damned bood player in his own right. When it comes to customs, make sure you know your own playing FIRST before ordering because custom ain't like buying things out of the box and custom means SPECIFICALLY tailored to your playing style and not a million others as an OOTB harp is and if you use overblows, getting harps setup SPECIFICALLY for that purpose is incredibly important. I remember some years back on another forum, I remember getting a private message from a player who got a custom from Joe Filisko (THE standard bearer when it comes to custom diatonic harps to this day) and he complained that he couldn't overblow on it, and so I asked him if he told Joe that he was an overblow player and that requires a much different setup that's usually gonna take much more time and expense to properly set up, and it said so directly on his website at the time, and the player answered "I didn't know." Apparently he made the erroneous assumption that all harp players overblow and/or he really didn't read/pay attention and just went for the cheapest price possible, all of which are HUGE mistakes.
Florida-trader's last paragraph is dead on the money.
Filisko hasn't taken on new customers in about a decade and almost all of his customers are mainly big name pros like Kim Wilson.
----------
Sincerely,
Barbeque Bob Maglinte
Boston, MA
http://www.barbequebob.com
CD available at http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/bbmaglinte
|
Gipsy
148 posts
May 07, 2015
12:09 PM
|
Would it be worth the extra cost? Simple answer is yes. Until you've tried a harp from one of the best customisers out there, you'll never know what you're missing out on.
Once you own one you'll never need to ask the question again!
|
Gnarly
1350 posts
May 07, 2015
1:42 PM
|
Whenever I do anything to a harp for anyone else, I like to sit down with them and fine tune everything--everyone is different (although we are also similar--I'm a lot alike ha ha ha).
|
SantaRosa
27 posts
Jun 02, 2015
9:52 PM
|
Once you get a Joe Spiers Stage 1 harp,there is no turning back! You will wish you had an entire set of 12 keys!
|
walterharp
1640 posts
Jun 03, 2015
5:54 AM
|
if you blow out reeds regularly, then no.. get your skill up to where you don't beat the reeds to death. or if you simply play so hard no matter what you are constantly replacing harps and cannot change, then no.
otherwise, yes.. with the JS don't bother with the Stage III unless you need all of the overblows and overdraws to be stable. they also have a more treble sound that you may not like as much
one nice thing JS does sometimes.. i have a couple of harps that did lose a reed or go out of tune after 2-3 years of hard playing.. when sending them back not only does he tune it up, but he also updates to the current standards. he is constantly learning and evolving his technique.. not too long ago working with someone from the Filisko guild and swapping ideas... or so i hear..
|
GMaj7
698 posts
Jun 03, 2015
6:16 AM
|
Yawn..
Here we go again
----------
Greg Jones
16:23 Custom Harmonicas
greg@1623customharmonicas.com
1623customharmonicas.com
|
timeistight
1776 posts
Jun 03, 2015
8:22 AM
|
I have a Joe Spiers Stage III Marine Band which I love. I don't have a Stage I or II to compare it to, but it certainly isn't more trebly than my OOTB Crossovers.
I agree that there's no point buying a Stage III unless you want the overbends -- Joe says the extra overblow work is the only difference between the stages -- but don't hesitate to get one if you do need them.
The Stage III is a great general purpose harp, too. It isn't at all finicky or touchy about breath pressure. If I had the cash, I'd buy a whole set.
Last Edited by timeistight on Jun 03, 2015 6:19 PM
|
snakes
724 posts
Jun 03, 2015
4:32 PM
|
I have purchased a few Marine Bands from Joe and I highly recommend his work. I'll be buying a couple more keys from him when I can. He also worked on one of my Suzuki Fire Breaths and it plays much better than when I sent it to him. Just make sure you let him know how to set up the harp. You will be amazed at the difference he makes with his work.
----------
snakes in Snohomish
|
