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Dirty-South Blues Harp forum: wail on! >
Coming to a SPAH Near You
Coming to a SPAH Near You
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florida-trader
1172 posts
Jul 30, 2017
1:17 PM
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Jason Ricci Limited Edition Harmonica by Blue Moon
Jason and I have been collaborating on a custom harp that will make its debut at SPAH. We are using Manji Reed Plates with Blue Moon combs (of course) and CNC Milled covers. The covers have been a lot of work. Lots of de-burring to remove milling marks and polishing to make them smooth and shiny. Some of you have seen the pictures and videos I’ve been posting on Facebook. Tomorrow they go to the electroplater. Some will be Chrome Plated and some will be Black Nickel Plated. I will match them up with either brass or aluminum plated combs. Jason and I are also collaborating on the reed work to make sure they play as good as they look. I will have these available at SPAH in two weeks.
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Tom Halchak
www.BlueMoonHarmonicas.com
Last Edited by florida-trader on Aug 01, 2017 11:12 AM
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The Iceman
3303 posts
Jul 30, 2017
1:42 PM
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I'm sure a few folk here are curious regarding $ on these...
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The Iceman
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florida-trader
1173 posts
Jul 30, 2017
5:36 PM
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$300 for starters.
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Tom Halchak
www.BlueMoonHarmonicas.com
Last Edited by florida-trader on Aug 01, 2017 11:12 AM
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Harmonicatunes
219 posts
Jul 30, 2017
11:59 PM
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This looks like a fine product. I hope you sell a stack of them.
Do you also provide servicing for when reeds break?
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Tony Eyers
Australia
www.HarmonicaAcademy.com
everyone plays...
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florida-trader
1175 posts
Jul 31, 2017
7:03 AM
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Tony. Good question. The short answer is yes. I am very committed to delivering world class customer service. The long answer is that the milled aluminum and brass combs and the milled covers are very durable. They should last a long long time. They are also expensive, which means that if a reed plate goes bad you will likely install a new reed plate to keep the harp in service. I can foresee offering customized replacement reed plates and I am even contemplating including a second set of reed plates with each new harmonica. We are in the very early stages of figuring things out. First, we have to figure out if the harmonica community will even support this idea. If so, I’ll be making more. I will be expanding to different models – Crossovers, Special 20s etc. And I will improve things as good ideas are presented to me. That’s one advantage to doing things in small batches. I’m optimistic. This has been a very expensive and labor-intensive project to launch. As time goes on, certain efficiencies will kick into gear which will improve quality, speed up production and lower cost.
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Tom Halchak
www.BlueMoonHarmonicas.com
Last Edited by florida-trader on Aug 01, 2017 11:13 AM
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Tuckster
1638 posts
Jul 31, 2017
9:59 AM
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Very nice! Did you keep the Manji tuning?(I hope not)
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florida-trader
1176 posts
Jul 31, 2017
10:07 AM
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Tuckster - No. I prefer Modern Compromise like the Marine Band. But Jason also uses some ET.
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Tom Halchak
www.BlueMoonHarmonicas.com
Last Edited by florida-trader on Aug 01, 2017 11:13 AM
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Harmonicatunes
220 posts
Aug 01, 2017
10:20 PM
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Sounds good. You should have little if any trouble with the combs or covers. If someone drives a truck over them, that's their business.
Although modern harmonicas seem to have far longer reed life than their earlier cousins, you would expect a reed to go eventually. The owner would want a cheaper option than replacing a $300 instrument. Also, a consistent servicing turnaround time should be part of the equation.
Replacing the dead reed, bringing the others up to scratch, checking tuning gapping etc might be the way to go, priced so that your time (or Jason's) is rewarded fairly.
The owner would then essentially be getting a new instrument, at a faction of the price. Replacement plates might also be the way to go, however reed work would need to be done on the whole instrument, not just the replaced reed.
The reed replacement option might be simpler/cheaper, assuming that the Manji welded reeds are not an issue.
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Tony Eyers
Australia
www.HarmonicaAcademy.com
everyone plays...
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florida-trader
1180 posts
Aug 02, 2017
8:45 AM
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Tony – your points are well taken.
The short answer is that I will stand behind these harps with a 100% Satisfaction Guarantee, just like I have done with every product I have sold since my first day in business. Reed plates are easy to replace.
Here’s a longer answer.
The only way investing in a $300+ harp makes any sense is if it will last a long time. Back in the day when Marine Bands cost $10 -$15, when you blew it out, you tossed it and bought a new one. A large part of that equation was that you only had the $15 you spent on the harp in it – as in no custom comb installed and no time put into improving the reed plates. The trend today with custom harps and custom components is to invest in quality and then maintain and/or repair your instruments as needed. That is true for any custom harp you might buy from any of the custom harp builders on this forum or anywhere else.
These new harps that I am introducing are a work in progress. Every aspect of the project is subject to improvement. That includes the design itself, the production methods, how it is finished, how It is engraved, what type of plating, whether to use brass or acrylic. It has been a labor of love. Lots of guys have built one-off creations – Frankenstein Harps if you will – that might be worthy of consideration for mass production. Custom combs used to be made with coping saws one at a time in someone’s garage. They were better than the stock combs but it is very difficult to produce sufficient quantities to employ the economy of scale. What I have brought to the table in the 8 years that I have been in business is a marriage of technology and capital. I have managed to develop relationships with people who have the technical skills – CAD Designers, 3D Modelers, Machinists, Chemists, etc. and who have access to state of the art equipment. All this stuff costs money. The light at the end of the tunnel is that if I happen to stumble across an idea that proves popular, I can recoup my investment and earn a profit.
I will have 19 of the Limited Edition harps at SPAH. I know that a lot of people are anxious to get their hands on one. I could easily have sold them all already. But I am also interested in getting feedback from the people at SPAH who will have the opportunity to inspect and play them. I have no doubt that I will get a ton of useful feedback. As much as I have planned and prepared I seriously doubt that there is zero room for improvement on these. I could not ask for a better laboroatory environment.
So, regarding reed failure, you can bet that I am going to take care of people. The last thing I want is for someone to step up and spend $300 on a harp and then have a reason to complain about it. I don’t anticipate a lot of problems with reed failure. I know that reed failure is a fact of life. It happens. However, I have been building harps for about 5 years now and the number of harps that I have had returned for repair is minimal. I’m talking about less than 10 harps returned for repair out of over 1000 sold. I attribute this to the fact that better harps, which don’t need to be bullied, last longer because you don’t have to force a hurricane of air through them to make them play. I believe that is a very strong argument for custom harps but that is another conversation.
A lot of harmonica players engage in their own personal search for the Holy Grail. About 10 years ago everyone got real excited when Brad Harrison launched Harrison Harmonicas and announced the development of the B-Radical. We all know what happened. We should applaud Brad for his willingness to be bold and take a risk. With risk comes the potential for reward but also the possibility of loss. His risk was great and unfortunately, so was his loss. I observed what happened at Harrison Harmonicas and have extracted some lessons. This project is 100% self-funded by the revenues and profits generated by Blue Moon Harmonicas. I have taken no up-front money, nor will I. I am an optimist. I hope this goes well. I think it will, but nothing is guaranteed. I have made every effort to maximize the odds of success. But if it fails, nobody will get hurt but me. Assuming all goes well and there is a demand for this instrument, people are going to have to be patient while I make more. It will take some time. Hopefully I can get more efficient and line up the resources that can speed things up, but in the meantime, nobody will have to worry about losing their money.
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Tom Halchak
www.BlueMoonHarmonicas.com
Last Edited by florida-trader on Aug 02, 2017 9:25 AM
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Harmonicatunes
221 posts
Aug 02, 2017
10:50 PM
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All good points. I'm speaking from my own experience here, I've been playing Neil Graham custom harmonicas for the last 15 years. They're expensive, and worth every penny.
Neil uses custom made blackwood combs, which work very well. However the magic is in the reed work he does, based on the Filisko method, which turns good airtight harmonicas into something extraordinary.
Neil provides reliable and reasonably priced servicing. I've had some of his instruments for 15 years, they've all been back multiple times. My comments in this thread are based on this.
Suzuki Manji plates are very decent, your comb and cover plates should make a noticeable improvement. However, like Neil's instruments, I'm guessing that the reedwork done by yourself and Jason will be where the greatest improvement lies.
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Tony Eyers
Australia
www.HarmonicaAcademy.com
everyone plays...
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florida-trader
1181 posts
Aug 03, 2017
6:42 AM
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Tony – I hope that in 15 years someone of your caliber is still praising some harps that I built. And I hope that I am still around to hear it.
There are only three parts of a harmonica - comb, covers and reed plates. I agree with your assessment that reed work is the most important part of building a custom harp. I think it is pretty well established that a good custom comb can (not always, but frequently) make a positive difference on a harp. The only thing left is the covers. There has been lots of conversation about covers and how they can affect the tone and/or projection of a harp. I’m just trying to move the ball forward. It will be interesting to see how well received this project is. There is a glamor factor to having Jason’s name attached to it. Some people will want it just for that. But if that is the only reason people want it, especially if they have had a chance to play and/or hear the harps, then I would not call that a success. I am cautiously optimistic.
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Tom Halchak
www.BlueMoonHarmonicas.com
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