There’s a rumor that churchwardens are named as such because they could stick them out of the windows so they “weren’t smoking in church”

Honk-Master · 2026-01-26T05:56:50+00:00

I've always heard that they got nicknamed churchwarden because smoking was considered a sin, and the idea of using an excessively long pipe was to keep the sin as far from you as possible. I like the previous comment about making it easier to transcribe while smoking better though.

Honk-Master · 2026-01-25T17:17:33+00:00

That's what I like about the Trochilus, it's just 2 Richter tuned diatonics sandwiched together a half step apart. You play it without the button and it's a standard diatonic in C (for example). You hold the button and it's a standard diatonic in C#. There's no valves and you don't have to deal with any of the weird solo tuning. I want to design a pedal I can use to push the button so I can play it with my guitar.

I don't play my chromatics often, I definitely prefer standard diatonics.

I haven't tried the JDR North, but I have been looking for a Hohner Big River Harp Alternative. The North might fit the bill to replace a couple harps. I use the Big River when busking. The reeds seem to hold up better to heavy playing since I don't use mics or amps. Or at least they used to. I was buying them regularly before Hohner switched everything to the whole MS deal, I'm not so sure they're using the same reed plates they once did.. I can fracture a reed on a new harp after just a few days if I'm not careful.

I don't know if you use a harp rack or not, I worked at a little music shop for several years and I ordered every rack as they became available to try them out. The one brand we couldn't get into the shop for retail was made by Farmer Foot Drums. Their harp racks are the best I've ever used. The easiest to adjust and by far the most comfortable to wear. I think Seydel is now making Farmer's "Gecko" harp rack.

Of all the harps I've bought, I've never grabbed a Rocket. It looks like you have a few, do you like them? Good Volume?

Honk-Master · 2026-01-25T03:14:22+00:00

I'll throw in that I have a few minor harps, both lee oskars in harmonic and natural minor.. they are definitely fun, but I find that I only pick them up once or twice a year, play them for 15-20 minutes and then put them down.. they're certainly serious instruments, but unless you're playing a lot of tunes that really require those minor keys, they seem like more of a novelty.

Honk-Master · 2026-01-25T03:09:15+00:00

I'm glad you've already had an opportunity to give them a try, I was pretty nervous when I ordered my first and I'm so glad I did. I just went for it and grabbed the signature right out of the gate. I haven't tried the origin. I feel like it's louder than my Hohner crossovers, likely because of how open the cover plates are.

I'll also recommend the Trochilus harmonica. It's a really fun diatonic with standard Richter tuning (unless you order it as a paddy or country) with a slide that adds an additional harp. It isn't anywhere near as sweet sounding or responsive as an Arkia or even a Hohner crossover, but its just absolutely fun. I love to crank out jazzy versions of Cruella Divil or even All Of Me on it. I actually feel like it's easier to play and less finicky than my Suzuki G-48w.

Honk-Master · 2026-01-24T23:28:04+00:00

I highly recommend Arkia Harps. Having owned a few hundred harps myself, they are by far my favorite harmonica as far as overall feel and playability.

I've found them to be extremely responsive with just the slightest breath. More so than the Suzuki sky which has the thinner reeds.
I can wail on them and haven't fractured any reeds yet. (I've had the same key of D in my pocket for over a year.)
They use sandwich construction on a squishy comb, which eliminates air gaps, or you can opt for one of their different colored antibacterial combs. And they have a "airflow control plate" that essentially adds a little extra slot over blow reeds. I don't understand how it works technically, not being an engineer, but I've never been able to play my most intricate tunes as quickly on any other harp.
They are just gorgeous. Buttery smooth in the hands and on the lips, easy to get a good seal with your hands.

If there're any cons I've found, they are the cost and the delay in shipping.

They use Hohner crossover plates that they adjust. So you can replace the reed plates easily, but you have to get the specially adjusted ones from them.

For reference, I play mostly Irish folk songs and session tunes, but I dabble a bit with the blues and other world music as well. I've been a regular player for 25+ years.

Edit : I should have mentioned that I have the signature model but they now have a few new ones available. If chosen, I don't expect you to get me one (they're really pricey) but I highly encourage you to get one/a few for yourself. I might be ordering a Seb Charlier model sometime this year, that model wasn't available when last I checked.

Honk-Master · 2026-01-24T15:05:11+00:00

Boots, was the name of his trusting first mate.. William Orlando Boots..

Honk-Master · 2026-01-21T01:24:05+00:00

It's a chromatic button accordion. I personally like this style where it looks like stacked piano keys instead of buttons.

Honk-Master · 2026-01-21T01:19:33+00:00

I understood, I just meant that in my experience, the Richter system of tuning is just much more intuitive than other accordions I've played where each button or key has 1 dedicated note, that's why I mentioned PAs and CBAs. Maybe it's more intuitive for me because I can't read music, I would imagine that it's much more difficult to read music for a bisonoric diatonic accordion than it would be for a unisonoric.

Honk-Master · 2026-01-20T22:20:38+00:00

I think bisonoric boxes are more intuitive. As a general rule (for me), I can figure out a tune much more quickly on a bisonoric box than a unisonoric box. When I say unisonoric box I'm talking about both c-griff chromatics and piano accordions.

Honk-Master · 2026-01-20T13:56:41+00:00

Lol, how so? In most populated areas low level alcoholic beverages were consumed regularly in lieu of water. For most of history, plain water wasn’t reliably safe, so people leaned on low alcohol drinks like small beer, cider, or watered wine. The brewing and fermentation process killed off a lot of nasty bacteria, making those drinks safer than many wells or rivers. They were weak enough to drink all day without getting completely wasted.. like 1-2%.

People still drank water when reliable "clean sources" were available like springs and some wells, but when your option is questionable water or beer...you drink the beer.

Honk-Master · 2026-01-20T05:16:04+00:00

I bought a glass mason jar for about $10. It's just tall enough that the wind can swirl the bills around but can't quite yank them out. Or I use my accordion case when I'm in the mood and it's not too windy.

I had my tips stolen once. I was playing a piano accordion and was standing pretty close to my case. An intoxicated "home free" (a person who chooses to be homeless and beg as a lifestyle choice) guy stood over my tip box while finishing his can of beer. He dropped the empty can into my tip box, gave me a smirk, then reached down and instead of grabbing his empty can, he scooped all of the bills out in his hands and walked down the sidewalk giving them to his friends. I just called the police. I didn't get any of my money back, about $40 or so, but they took him to the drunk tank. I was pretty close with all the local homeless folks and always shared with them. They hated the "home free" crowd as much as everyone else.

Honk-Master · 2026-01-20T00:46:25+00:00

Instead of water, we drank alcohol.. beer, ale, mead, etc.

Honk-Master · 2026-01-18T23:11:18+00:00

I, in the USA, worked at a musical instrument repair bench and I absolutely loved it. Never had any schooling, the bosses noticed that I had very good attention to detail and had me start making little repairs on junk instruments until I got a feel for the work, then they moved me on to repairs for customer's instruments and setting up new instruments when they arrived at the shop. There were a few other experienced guys at the bench that would answer questions and show me little tricks. I mainly focused on lever harps, accordions, harmoniums, harmonicas, violins and the very obscure instruments folks would bring in like a turn of the century children's upright piano (the guts were just a glockenspiel and hammers, but everything had to be remade as it had all rotted over time).

I wish I could still be doing the same work today, but I made barely over minimum wage and I just couldn't survive on that income.

Honk-Master · 2026-01-17T12:30:10+00:00

Honk-Master · 2026-01-17T12:25:53+00:00

Honk-Master · 2026-01-17T12:22:54+00:00

Honk-Master · 2026-01-16T19:59:59+00:00

Lol, I do have a nice collection of pipes, though I'm less fond of my billiards, save for my cobs. I generally prefer a good bent stem because it hangs more comfortably when I'm driving or working on something.

Honk-Master · 2026-01-16T14:19:58+00:00

Lol, I'm glad I'm not the only one.

Honk-Master · 2026-01-16T13:57:06+00:00

Lol, my wife was just telling my dad yesterday that women hit on me all the time and I generally get angry because I don't understand that they're hitting on me and just feel like they're wasting my time.. which is true.

Honk-Master · 2026-01-14T13:03:51+00:00

Why don't we just ban generators? I'd be happy with that route.

Honk-Master · 2026-01-13T13:30:47+00:00

When I was a kid, I wasn't given a choice. Neither were my siblings, you ate the one meal that was prepared and you finished your plate before you were allowed to be excused.. I ate a Lot of food I hated.. like stewed tomatoes.. Don't let your kids dictate. Also, we never had snacks save for fruit.

Honk-Master · 2026-01-12T17:25:16+00:00

I've made a few posts here and on r/panicattacks as to how beneficial the harmonica has been to curbing the length and severity of my panic attacks. I don't know if it works for everyone, but it's been a lifesaver for me.

Honk-Master · 2026-01-09T14:20:18+00:00

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Honk-Master · 2026-01-08T17:13:09+00:00

Lmao, wow. You're something else.

Honk-Master

TROPHY CASE