Harmonica Customiser Episodes

Richard Sleigh joins me on episode 138. Richard is from Pennsylvania and is a renowned harmonica customiser, player and teacher. He tells how his great uncle Bill inspired him to pick up the harp, before discovering Irish music during his travels in Europe. We hear about his first album Steppin’ Out, his recording with Dennis Gruenling, and his love for the Clifftop Appalachian festival. Richard also shares the story behind his involvement with the MB30 harmonica and his customisation collabo...

Ronnie Schreiber joins me on episode 134. Ronnie runs The Electric Harmonica Company, producing the Harmonicaster, which is an alternative to the traditional harmonica microphone, using guitar style pick-ups to create “the first practical true electric harmonica”. Ronnie first came up with the concept some thirty years ago and has been developing it in earnest over the last ten years. Ronnie tells us the story of how he developed the idea, from the need to use steel reeds, the custom harps nee...

Andre Godoy Coelho (and Brendan Power) join me on episode 113. Andre is a Brazilian who relocated to Portugal in 2018, performing and recording two albums with the Rio Grande band in Sao Paulo, before recording a recent album in a duo in Portugal. Andre quickly became interested in harmonica customisation when his first harmonica didn’t quite perform as he wanted. This has turned into a full time business for Andre, who has now teamed up with Brendan Power on his x-reed harmonica range....

Michael Pettersen And James Waldron join me on episode 98. In this episode we talk about the iconic Green Bullet microphone, which is celebrating its 75th anniversary in 2024. Michael is the Director of Corporate History at Shure microphones , and he tells us about the early design of the mic, what it was used for and about how it took years before Shure became aware that it was such an important mic for harmonica players. James runs SimpleMics.com, where he rebuilds vintage harmo...

Tom Halchak joins me on episode 91. Tom tells us how he grew his successful company, Blue Moon Harmonicas, started in 2009. Tom started out selling custom combs, and then covers in different materials and colours. Tom went on to develop his customisation skills to offer fully fledged custom harmonicas using his Blue Moon product lines. Tom also started offering pre-war Marine Band harmonicas for sale. These hand-crafted harps have stood the test of time and with some improvements ...

Erik Lekholm and Jason Keene join me on episode 67. Where we talk about the innovative DM48 midi chromatic harmonica, designed by Erik initially as a means to practise silently. He posted his creation on a harmonica forum and it soon gained interest, with people eager to purchase it. So Erik and his father started building and sold the first ones in 2017, with the updated version, the DM48X, coming out in 2022 . Jason Keene joins me in the second half of the podcast, to provide the perspectiv...

Joel Andersson joins me on episode 66. Joel is an Irish harmonica player from Sweden, while also building one of the best reputations in the business for his harmonica customisation skills. Joel first fell in love with Irish music on the harmonica when he heard Rick Epping’s playing. He spent time in Ireland with Rick, learning both the music and the art of fine tuning harmonicas. Joel went on to release a solo harmonica album: The Irish Harmonica, where he simulates the sound of a fidd...

Gerhard Mueller joins me on episode 59. Gerhard is the Product Manager for Hohner harmonicas, a role he has held for 28 years. His father worked as a gardener at the Hohner factory in Trossingen, and as well as getting his son harmonica lessons, he even had a hand in helping Gerhard land his dream job at Hohner. Gerhard talks us through the fascinating history of Hohner and how it was established as the leading harmonica brand in the world having sold over 1 billion harmonicas since the compa...

Bertram Becher joins me on episode 58. Bertram is the Product Manager at Seydel harmonicas. He first landed this dream job when he made a name for himself by creating a software tutorial called The Interactive Blues Harp Workshop. Bertram tells us about the history of Seydel and how their use of stainless steel reeds led to the creation of the ‘new’ Seydel around 2007. As Product Manager for harmonicas he has a very varied role, including creating web pages, selecting pitches for tunings and h...

Greg Heumann joins me on episode 46. The focus of this episode is all about gear, as I talk to the founder of BlowsMeAway Productions. Greg has released an album of his own and uses his knowledge of playing harmonica to understand what is needed to make great harmonica products.The first product in this line was the volume control which later on Jason Ricci asked Greg to develop into the actual mic, which led to the Ultimate Series of mics. He also hand crafts beautiful custom wood microphone...

Rick Epping joins me on episode 37. Rick worked for Hohner USA for 18 years and played a pivotal role in improving the quality of their harmonicas back to their former glory. While at Hohner, he also developed the XB40, the all-bending harmonica. Rick is also an expert customiser of harmonicas and can be credited with the creation of embossing reeds to improve playability. Rick has a real passion for playing Irish music, to such an extent that he even moved to Ireland so he could immerse himse...

Steve Baker moved from his native London in his early 20s to become part of the vibrant music scene in Hamburg. His brand of punk folk won him recognition and he was soon a regular on the German session circuit, as well as collaborations in various bands and duos, with his best work coming working alongside Chris Jones. Steve has long been a consultant to Hohner, and was instrumental in the development of the modern incarnations of the Marine Band: the Deluxe and the Crossover, as well as other...

John is a harmonica repairer and customiser. Following years of experience as a toolmaker John moved into repairing musical instruments, initially for woodwind instruments, before tapping into a rich vein of work repairing harmonicas. As well as many private clients, he now does repair work for the big three manufacturers. This has led to John now making quite possibly the only hand-made harmonica in the world today, under the name The Great British Harmonica company. Select the Chapter Markers...

Lee Oskar left his native Denmark to move to the US at age 18, and was soon enjoying phenomenal success with the rock funk band War, interweaving soulful harmonica lines into the horn section. Lee also has numerous solo albums, releasing some of the most downright catchy harmonica melodies ever recorded. On top of all this, he set-up his own harmonica company, leading the way with innovations such as replacement reed plates and different tunings Select the Chapter Markers tab above to select ...

Brendan Power is my guest today. A true visionary of harmonica design, Brendan takes us under the hood of the instrument he has revolutionised with his alternative tunings and new designs, all helping him make some great harmonica music across a range of different genres. Select the Chapter Markers tab above to select different sections of the podcast (website version only). Brendan's website: https://brendan-power.com/home.php Info on Brendan's tunings: https://www.brendan-power.com/harpgeek...

PT Gazell developed his melodic style of harmonica through playing a range of genres, from Bluegrass, to Pop, Country and Jazz. After his iconic first album, Pace Yourself, he became a session musician and toured with Country bands before taking a prolonged break from playing due to his frustrations at the limitations of the diatonic harmonica. This led him to develop his Gazell Method half-valved diatonic, in partnership with the German manufacturer Seydel. Select the Chapter Markers tab abo...

Joe Filisko has made the study of the harmonica his lifelong passion. His detailed knowledge of early recordings has helped him become the pre-eminent pre-war harmonica player of our time. He built his knowledge of the harmonica from the inside out, producing revered custom harmonicas still used by some of the big names in harmonica today. Joe has been playing in his duo with Eric Noden since 2003, and is also a renowned harmonica tutor, both online and in workshops around the world. Joe display...