Books, Videos

I am no longer selling the book “Turbocharge Your Harmonica Volume 1″…

But there is still a way to get this book….

I have decided to stop selling the book below off of the market, and I will explain: When I wrote this book, my goal was to focus on giving the harmonic player a clear explanation of the basics of harmonica upgrading. I did not include embossing, for example, because it distracted people from understanding the more important task of shaping the reed.

I have had many requests for a follow up to this book, and video seemed the best way to do this. I finally completed a set of videos, and I have been selling them now for about half a year. The response has been very positive, and the videos  cover a great deal more than this book covers.

I started to feel a little weird about selling this book after I got the videos on the market. It was like ” the videos really make all this obvious, you don’t need the book anymore”.

So here’s the deal: If you really want to make your harmonica play a lot better, you need to understand how they work, and how to work on them. The videos make the customizing process obvious.
SO, when you buy the video, I will send you the book “Turbocharge Your Harmonica, Volume 1” as a download for free. I will send physical copies of the book to anyone who buys the videos until my supply runs out, as well. There is still quite a bit of useful information in this book and many people have gotten great results from using the tevhniques. The combination of this book and the new videos will give you everything you need to know to make high end custom harmonicas OR great quick and dirty upbrades…

 

Are you frustrated by the way some of your harmonicas play?

-Wouldn’t it be great if you knew you could take a stock harmonica and make it play in tune and  get all the bent notes without having to work your ass off for one or two of them?

-Do you ever find yourself at a jam session hoping that they don’t throw you a solo when the only harp you have in that key is a real dog?

-Do you have some custom harmonicas that make the rest of your harps feel like you have asthma? Don’t you wish you could at least close the gap a little between your stock harps and your customs?

Are you tired of searching through all the free stuff on how to work on your harmonica and ready to get clear on the few things that you have to get right, and how to do these things?

My name is Richard Sleigh and I can help you make a real difference in the response of your harmonicas even if you are “all thumbs” and hate the thought of working on your harmonicas.

I used to be totally frustrated at my ability to make a harmonica respond to me and stay in tune. I even gave up playing the harmonica a couple of times over the years because I got so tired of trying to fix the damn things. It just didn’t seem fair – I got hooked on playing an instrument that seemed so simple, but I  could not find anyone who could explain how harmonicas really work or how to work on them.

Back in the dark ages of the blues harp (OK, I guess I have to reveal my age, sort of – I started playing in earnest in 1969) having a great harmonica was pure voodoo and good luck. I was allowed to try out harmonicas in the music store, even though you weren’t supposed to, and I just bought the ones that worked the best. If I got one that was particularly nice, I did everything I could to make it last, and I grieved when it died. Because there was nothing I could do about it.

I became determined to learn everything I could about how reeds work, what makes them bend, what makes them overblow, how you tune them, how you replace reeds. I made a series of prototype harmonicas, a version of the idea that the XB-40 uses to make all the notes bend on a diatonic.

I repaired and customized thousands of harmonicas and made thousands of mistakes and went down countless dead ends figuring out the best tools and the easiest ways to work on harmonica reeds.

I studied with the best teachers out there and I ended up helping to develop the method that is now the standard by which all modern custom harmonicas are judged. If it’s a fact, it ain’t braggin. I played a big part in developing the Filisko Method, the process that rocked the harmonica world in the 1990s.

Why am I telling you all of this? Because if you are looking for tools and methods that will save you time and effort, if you want to understand how the harmonica works and how to work on it, I want to make this as easy as I can for you. I want you to cut through the line, skip the dead end experiments, and focus on a few skills and techniques that really get the results that you are looking for. And to do all of this with some tools that won’t let you down.

Now I can’t take you and turn you overnight into a top harmonica technician. That takes a lot of time and patience. But it is just like playing the instrument – if you find a good coach, some good books, and some good tools then you can make more progress in a month than you would in years of working alone.

If this sounds good to you, here is what I have to offer you:

“Turbocharge Your Harmonica Volume 1- Straighten Up and Tune Right” – What Every Harmonica Player Should Know…

This book will give you detailed information on how to tune and adjust your harmonica reeds. The main focus is on the diatonic, but the information on reeds can be used for any type of harmonica or free reed instrument. I worked on harmonicas for years before I understood the principles that I explain in this book.

Here are some of the things you will find in this book:

  • The single most important thing you MUST get right before your reeds can respond well.
  • Time-saving checklists to keep you focused and productive.
  • An easy to use, space saving book format with spiral binding.
  • How to finally understand the two main systems for tuning a harmonica and the words used to describe them.
  • Color-coded tuning charts for all twelve Diatonic harmonicas in standard tuning.
  • How to build confidence by destroying harmonicas!

If I were to coach you over the phone to teach you what I have in this book it would cost you at least $300 for the basic ideas. You get to study on your own time AND send me questions if you get stuck. Thats right, if you buy this book, I’ll personally answer your emails if you have questions on what is in this book.

Your cost: $27 (this includes shipping to any location in the world and personal responses to your questions about anything in this book.)

No B.S. GUARANTEE: You have one entire year from the date of purchase to study this book and use it. If you are not happy with it for any reason, return the book to me for a full, no questions asked refund. You get results or you get your money back!

 

Hot Rod Your Harmonica- The Movie!

Finally! after years of false starts and experiments on how to best show harmonica tuning, customizing, and repair, I now offer you a 2 DVD set along with a coil bound guide to the videos. Click here to go to HotRodHarmonicas.com for more information