Re: [Harp-L] Custom Harmonicas: Rick Epping's Role

["Rick Epping" <rickepping@xxxxxxxxx>]

Hi folks,

Brendan forwarded to me his original post regarding my work on harmonicas,
asking if he got the facts straight, and subsequently suggested I forward my
reply to harp-l.  Here it is:

-----------------------------
"The facts seem pretty straight.  I left Hohner as an employee in 2005 but
have continued working for them occasionally as an independent consultant.

I described embossing to Joe Filisko, Dick Gardner, Doug Tate and others in
the early '90s, when Hohner's reed-to-slot tolerance had grown too wide for
good performance and Joe and Dick were sending harmonicas back to us as
being unworkable.  We had nothing better in stock to send them so I passed
on the embossing technique to help them through until we could get improved
product.  The project I headed to improve Hohner's reed tolerance began
shortly thereafter, resulting in new reedplate tooling.

Aside from embossing, I described many of the other techniques I used to
work on harmonicas in a series of articles published in Hohner's EasyReeding
Magazine, including gapping, adjustment of reed curvature and tuning, along
with a fair amount of theoretical background to the instrument.

While I may be responsible for some early developments in customizing
techniques, and while a number of players like Dick have for years been
improving chromatics for themselves or for others, I would certainly
acknowledge Joe to be a pioneer in, if not the founder of, the commercial
business of diatonic harmonica customization.  Both a fine player and a
skilled toolmaker, he has what it takes to turn a production harp into a
great musical instrument, as any who have played his harmonicas will readily
testify."

Best regards,
Rick

>
> ------------------------------
>
> Message: 2
> Date: Mon, 8 Dec 2008 19:07:42 -0000
> From: "Brendan Power" <bren@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
> Subject: [Harp-L] Custom Harmonicas: Rick Epping's Role
> To: <harp-l@xxxxxxxxxx>
> Message-ID: <DCF711FE16744994A5FC39046097D998@SonyBaby>
> Content-Type: text/plain;       charset="us-ascii"
>
> Interesting reading the recent posts about custom harmonicas, and the
> different brands. One comment from Buddah caught my eye:
>
> "Joe Filisko is the guy who really started the custom harmonica
> movement."
>
> Is that true? Well before Joe there were some very expert customisers,
> but they tended to concentrate on chromatics (the great Dick Gardner
> comes to mind).
>
> But there was someone who did a lot of pioneering work on customising
> diatonics a long time before Joe Filisko (as I'm sure Joe and the other
> members of his 'Guild' would agree): Rick Epping. I have spoken quite a
> bit with Rick about his experiments with diatonics, which date back to
> the 70s or earlier. Some were inspired by his work as a young man in a
> respected accordion company. In a recent Harp-L post (Nov 13th "Reed
> Embossing", that seemed inexplicably to get no responses), Rick
> explained how he devised the technique that we now call Embossing in the
> late 70's, and claims that he revealed it to the harmonica scene later:
>
> "...it wasn't until some years after the early '90s, when I described to
> the harmonica community this technique of reed embossing, or burnishing
> as I then called it...".
>
> He has also said to me that he showed the embossing technique to Joe and
> others. I believe him. Rick is an amazingly knowledgeable harmonica
> technician, inventor (eg. the highly innovative comb design of the
> XB-40), researcher and, not least, a great player. As Hohner's long-term
> head harmonica tech for many years up to 2007, he was highly influential
> in achieving the improved reed/slot tolerances reed lengths/profiles of
> current Hohner harmonicas. I think he is a more important figure in the
> modern renaissance of the diatonic than is realised or commonly
> acknowledged.
>
> With all the recent interest in the historical roots of the diatonic
> harmonica and who did the first overblow etc, it would be interesting to
> establish the roots and timeline of significant events/discoveries in
> the diatonic customising field. I think Rick Epping will emerge as a
> central figure when the facts are known.
>
> Brendan Power
> WEBSITE:  <http://www.brendan-power.com/> http://www.brendan-power.com
> YOUTUBE:  <http://www.youtube.com/BrendanPowerMusic>
> http://www.youtube.com/BrendanPowerMusic
>
>
>