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Dirty-South Blues Harp forum: wail on! >
Important Announcement from Blue Moon Harmonicas
Important Announcement from Blue Moon Harmonicas
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florida-trader
1492 posts
Feb 28, 2020
12:38 PM
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Important Announcement(s) from Blue Moon Harmonicas LLC
Hello to all my fellow Harmonica Enthusiasts. I’m going to keep this message as simple as possible.
I have a very busy summer coming up (a few trips, vacations, etc.) which will take me out of the shop and prevent me from spending a lot of time building custom harmonicas. I am already backed up with orders and behind schedule as it is, so I need to draw a line in the sand so I can get all my work done before the summer arrives.
Therefore, as of Sunday March 7th, I will suspend taking orders for Built-to-Order Custom Harmonicas until sometime in August or September. If you’ve been thinking about placing and order with me, this gives you a week to do it. If you place an order before March 7th, my goal will be to ship it before mid-June. If you have a pending order with me right now, I appreciate your patience and I am working hard to ship everything out ASAP.
I will continue to accept orders for Custom Combs. I have an ample supply of combs in stock that are ready to be shipped immediately. So, nothing will change in that arena. And, in fact, I will be introducing a new line of combs very shortly. Any other products that I offer which do not require a custom build will also continue to be available. That includes the Rob Paparozzi Custom Big Rivers (which are already built and Ready-to-Go), the Sonny Terry Estate Harmonicas, The Sonny Terry Heritage Edition Marine Band, Custom Covers, etc. The only thing this affects is Built-to-Order Custom Harmonicas. That is what takes up most of my time in the shop.
Please do misconstrue this announcement to be negative in any way. This is a totally positive move. My business is booming, and it pains me to turn off the cash flow by not taking orders, but I gotta do what I gotta do. I have been in business for just over 10 years (as of December 30, 2019). At first, I focused primarily on making custom harmonica combs. I started building harmonicas after a couple of years, but my area of “expertise” was still custom combs. Knowing how to make a harmonica comb and knowing how to customize reed plates are two very different disciplines. My earliest harmonicas were a reflection of that. They looked cool but they were nothing special to play. I didn’t even call them “Custom Harmonicas” back then. They were essentially stock harps with custom combs and covers. But like a lot of people, I’m a student. I’m curious. Anyone who is interested in learning how to customize reed plates doesn’t have to look hard to find information. Fortunately for me, since I was building so many harmonicas, I had the opportunity to get lots of practice – way more than the average harmonica geek. As my skills improved, so did the quality of the harmonicas I produced. Fast forward to today and I have now been building custom harmonicas for 7 or 8 years. You can get a Doctorate Degree from a major university in that time. I have built thousands of custom harmonicas and have also restored hundreds of Pre-War Marine Bands and other vintage harps. I have developed a passion for building custom harmonicas that I never dreamed of. The positive feedback that I get from my customers is simply amazing. That is really the reason I have gotten so busy and behind schedule. Quality work takes time. That’s something I didn’t appreciate enough 8 or 9 years ago. I am getting lots of orders for more complex builds – Overblow/Overdraw Harmonicas, Double Reed Plate Harmonicas, Custom SUB-30s. and more. And not just for one or two harmonicas - entire sets. More orders. Bigger orders. More complicated builds. The triple whammy. The Perfect Storm. It is mind boggling. It is wonderful. It is such an honor and a privilege to build instruments for people who, like me, are in love with the harmonica. I don’t mind telling you that I get a thrill out of being able to build harmonicas for guys like Jason Ricci or to collaborate with Rob Paparozzi on a Custom Big River or to hand Mickey Raphael a set of harps backstage before showtime and then sit in the audience and watch/listen to him play those harps an hour later. I am so blessed to have such wonderful relationships with so many customers and so many artists. So, if you’re worried that there is more to this story that might be cause for concern – don’t be. I’m not going anywhere. I am just doing what I have to do to get things under control and on even keel.
Thank you all for your support.
Tom Halchak
www.BlueMoonHarmonicas.com
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Tom Halchak
Blue Moon Harmonicas
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garry
772 posts
Feb 28, 2020
6:17 PM
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Enjoy your down time. You've earned it.
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snowman
542 posts
Mar 01, 2020
11:54 AM
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Money is important---but taking time to enjoy what makes u happy, creates balance and peace of mind.
There are people who live to work and people who work to live.
Enjoy your time, yr a good dude with a good sense of humor. Have Fun
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