Re: marking/carrying your harps [long]

["ChipComcast" <jandkday@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

 Does the pick & Pluck leave 'crumbs' of foam that clog up your harps?


- ----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Michelle LeFree" <mlefree@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
To: <harp-l@xxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Tuesday, July 08, 2003 1:56 PM
Subject: RE: marking/carrying your harps [long]


>
> Ray, Chip, Bobbie, steven, The Iceman, and Ryan have all recently
commented
> on marking harps, a perennial problem.
>
> Unmarked harps ~were~ the bane of my existance, and I betchya I'm not the
> only one.  They have given rise to a ritual "dance" that only a harp
player
> would know (and hate).  I call it the "Blind Harp Shuffle".  It involves
> periodically (at the beginning of each song) picking up half-dozen or so
> harps one-by-one, and squinting at the shiny covers on a dimly or harshly
> lit stage un a hurried manner and selecting the correctedly keyed harp,
> often coming in a few bars behind the rest of the band.  Oh, yeah, you
gotta
> pick up the wrong harp or try to play one upside down now and then if
you're
> really doing the 'Shuffle.  For me, this senseless ritual was a real trial
> by fire and constent source of embarrassment.
>
> After an extensive search, I've come upon what I feel is the definitive
> solution for labelling harps.  It's a hand-held label maker made by
Brother
> (P-touch, mine is model PT-1700):
>
> http://www.brother.com/usa/label/whatsapt/pt_whatsapt.html
>
> I see that Brother has a newer model 1750 and other less expensive P-Touch
> models as well--you might want to look around at your office supply store.
> The label printing engine is probably the same for all models.  The 1750
> model sells for around $50 and prints on some sort of laminated plastic
> strip that sticks very well and seems to be water-resistant (I've soaked a
> labelled plastic comb for two days in dish-soaped water without signs of
> deterioration).  The labels are white with crisp black lettering, a
> self-adhesive side and a plastic side.  You can adjust the simple block
font
> to be of different widths and heights.  I've found that the widest and
> tallest font with 3/8" tape nicely fits the back of a diatonic comb and
> yields a highly visible label.  You just type in a list of the keys of
your
> harps and print it.  You get one long strip with all your keys printed on
> it.  Since the characters are stored in memory even when you turn the
> printer off, you can print another strip at any time.  One catch--you do
> have to cut them out and trim some top and bottom "white space" off the
> labels to make them fit the back of the comb well.  Cut 'em out, stick 'em
> on and you're good to go.  Problem solved!
>
> Also, when I label my harps in this way, I place them holes-down in a
> customized foam block (more in a minute).  This way, since the labels are
> placed so that the top/bottom of the harp matches that of the label, in
> addition to the key of the harp, I know at a glance which side of the harp
> is up.  No more squeaky notes when you think you're on the low end of the
> harp and aren't.  Just pick up a harp label-up and rotate it sideways 180
> degrees 'till you see the holes and start blowin'.
>
> As long as I'm on the subject, I'll share a neat little idea I found on
the
> 'web for padding a harp carrying case.  It's a product called "Figure
Foam",
> sold as a component of a system for carrying toy army soldiers, believe it
> or not.  These aren't kiddie toy soldiers, but ornate metal models that
> grown-ups evidentally make, collect and use to stage renactments of famous
> ground battles.  I did not know that there is a whole cottage industry
built
> around this hobby, but these trays made out of scored foam of varing
> thickness are just the thing for making a custom harp case.  Here's the
> link:
>
> http://www.saboldesigns.net/website/figure_foam.html
>
> Here's how I made my custom harp case centered around these foam trays
(that
> are just like the "Pick'nPluck" foam in the expensive but excellent
Pelican
> cases).  I ordered two 1" thick Figure Foam trays for about $5 each.  The
> foam is scored in 1/2" square blocks that are 1" deep.  I plucked out the
> scored foam blocks in a pattern of 4" X 1" compartments (that fit a
diatonic
> perfectly with a little room for your fingers to pick them up).  One 12
1/4"
> x 7 1/4 " tray can hold 10 diatonics with room to spare and plenty of
> padding between the harps.  In the second foam tray, in addition to more
4"
> x 1" compartments for the rest of my diatonics, a 2" x 6" compartment
holds
> my 12-hole Chromatic and 1" x 6" compartments hold my 14-hole Marine Bands
> nicely.  So, I have my whole harp gig kit in two trays.  I fit these trays
> (one on top of the other) and a felt-covered box I fashioned out of
> cardboard into an old laptop case.  The box, which has compartments
> containing my mic's, fits along the back side of the case, with the two
foam
> trays full of harps stacked in the front.  The case's pockets hold my mic'
> cables, note pad, circle of 5ths, business cards, etc., very handily.
When
> I'm on stage, I simply pull out the top tray and lay it on my amp or other
> surface.  I've got 10 harps at my fingertips and I can tell at a glance
what
> keys they are and which sides are up.  When I'm done with a particular
harp,
> I put it back in the same compartment from which I removed it.  That way I
> always have my harps organized and ready at a moment's notice.  No more
> "Blind Harp Shuffles" for me.
>
> Not a bad solution for $10 in foam trays and a $50 label maker (that has
> many other uses as well).  Oh, yeah, since I found the foam trays, I
noticed
> a product at Sears for making custom tool chests that is very similar,
> except that it didn't have a closed-cell foam bottom like the Figure Foam
> trays do.
>
> You need look no further for how to label (and organize) your harps!
>
> Hope you try the label printer, especially, and the Figure Foam
> trays--together they can make a very nice system that really works.
>
> Michelle
>
>
>
>
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