From: Steve & Anne Price Date: Wed, 9 Oct 1996 03:18:34 -0500 (CDT) Subject: Blues Tools rack final comments
I have attached the part of the rack that holds the harmonica to the very end top hole on the triangular parts and tilted the rack to accommodate my emboucher. I fabricated parts from the hardware store to give the rack the same stability it has in its normal positions, and reassembled it. Now that it accomodates my emboucher, it is unquestionably a pleasure for me to use, rather than a good compromise, which was what I felt earlier. I've drilled some unnecessary holes in it in searching for a solution, and it now shows some wear where the paint has been rubbed by my various attempts to find a workable a setting.
Earlier, which the Blues Tools rack was still in pieces in my basement I did part 2 of a blues harmonica workshop in which I accompany the students and myself on guitar and I used my old rack. I will never use it again. The Blues Tools rack is unquestably better because it is more solid, more hefty, and the neck cushion gives it better stability. It is roomy, and as Harmonica John pointed out, you can take it off and put it back on without readjusting the neck and changing your settings. The locking geared pivot give it unparalleled stability, and the heavy metal it is made from makes it more stable than any other rack I've ever tried, including Hohner's, which is made of heavier materials than others.
Additionally, the springs are tight and very secure that squeeze the harmonica. The bracket that runs along the bottom of the harp attached to the springs has very convenient extensions on either side for your fingers to press down on it, so you never have to feel it taking a bite out of your finger when placing a harmonica. It comes with instructions that explain how to place a harmonica in it, but I found those completely unnecessary, as this is the easiest rack I've ever owned for inserting a harmonica because of the extended pieces of metal on either side of the moving part.
I honestly think the part that runs around the neck to the pivot joints could have been a little longer, and I wish it had a way to reach the angle I need without my having to fabricate parts or, as Harmonica John did it, bending it. I did not find the intended assembly confusing, but it was easy to see how someone of Harmonica John's intelligence confused by that aspect of it. If you know you have an unusual emboucher, you may find the limitations of this rack a source of frustration until you work out a solution.
However, if your emboucher is relatively normal, his rack will undoubtedly be the best you'll ever try. It is substantial and solid. For the most part it is intelligently thought out.
