Hi... Jamie here, owner & operator of The Harp Dude
Originally from Birkenhead, England, i now live in rural Victoria, Australia
After travelling the world for many years & picking up various skills along the way(&my wife)... We decided to settle here in Victoria, Australia...
Less than 2 years went by & we were to find ourselves burnout in the Black Saturday Bushfires left with nothing but each other...
After struggling for a few years to rebuild & maintain our craft business, which we ran together successfully for several years before the fires, we both decided we'd had enough & we would each try something new...
So one day i found a cheap Harp in an op-shop & there started my journey as The Harp Dude...
I bought a couple of blues harps & immediately noticed the difference in the sound quality
I was hooked...
I was lucky to stumble upon a huge collection of harps, of many brands & models, from a deceased estate & thus my apprenticeship began
It was intensely absorbing work & therapeutic too, taking an old gunked up, beaten up harp & restoring it to almost new
I started doing repairs for local players & got some great feedback
So i decided i would make a small business & see how my efforts might be rewarded selling my wares at local markets & fairs
To my surprise things went pretty well from the start & i suppose the rest is history
I now have a range of vintage harp's fitted with my own Australian hardwood combs which i developed after looking at the problems found in standard wooden combs
I also have brand new out of the box hohner harps
All of my harps old & new go through a standard set of improvements to create a harp with superior airtightness & playability, comfortable in the hand & expressive warm tone
I would like to offer options towards a complete custom harp, whatever plates, covers, comb you would like, i will build it
The Harp Dude endeavours to assist the music makers, to keep on making music...
All Repairs, Restoration, Cleaning, Tuning & any other works, undertaken for Diatonic & Chromatic Harmonicas...
Service includes:
All parts cleaned & sterilized with eco friendly products
Tuning check or retune to alternative tuning
One reed replacement free, $10 each for extra reeds
Use the Contact form for pricing include brand & model
Optimization/Customization
Flat sanding & sealing of comb
Embossing
Reed profiling
Nail replacement with ss screws
Replacement handmade Australian hardwood combs
Use the Contact form for pricing include brand & model
I also have restored/recycled old harp's for sale
These all have a standard set of adjustments
Flat sanded & sealed comb or replacement hardwood comb
Flat sanded draw reed plate
Basic optimization reed work
Just Intonation Tuned
If your looking for something or trying to get hold of a certain harp use the contact form let me know what brand & model & how you would like it set up & i'll see what i can do
Alternative tunings available
Every Saturday at St.Andrews Market, St.Andrews, Victoria, Australia
Every Sunday at The Arts Centre Market, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
all IS good...
Peace & Love...
The Harp Dude