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Post by JamesP on Jan 21, 2016 8:33:35 GMT -5
HOHNER HARMONICAS Harmonicas were among the toys and novelties advertised for sale for Christmas presents in 1833; by the mid-1800’s, cowboys were playing their harmonicas on the long trails west, and many a Civil War soldier had a harmonica in his pocket. the Pocket Pal is still around. Anyone have one? www.amazon.com/HOHNER-81BX-C-POCKET-PAL-HARMONICA/dp/B007IE5P8I
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Post by sarge on Jan 21, 2016 9:47:12 GMT -5
I had one at one time. They're ok to fool around with. 30 years ago I had a German made Hohner vest pocket harp that was a great small harmonica.
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Post by JamesP on Feb 12, 2018 9:18:37 GMT -5
Broke out my old Marine Band C harp. Tried to blow a bit but it needs soaking. Too much air leaking.
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Post by jbone on May 23, 2018 9:00:31 GMT -5
Recently I've had cause to reconsider my attitude about Marine Band specifically. When I was starting out that was a decent enough quality harp. A few years passed and quality slipped badly due to Hohner easing quality standards at their factory and selling a lot more, if poorer quality, harps. That's the point at which I left Hohner behind for the most part. For a few years I relied heavily on Special 20 harps but it seemed that they dropped in quality as well. I have to stop right there and admit that a big part of my problem at that time- late 80's/early 90's- was due to my aggressive playing style. I wrecked a lot of draw 4 and 5 reeds by playing way too hard. It was my attempt to hear myself and be heard in loud band settings, which was impossible looking back. Even with an amp that cut through, my own hearing loss was a large part of the problem as well. The end result was, I killed a lot of reeds and blamed the harp while ignoring my own bad habits.
So continuing, I searched for a perfect harp for my own style and went through several brands and models, never finding what I wanted because it didn't and probably couldn't exist. A tiny brass reed in a very small hole WILL fatigue out if it's over stressed for long enough. My adventures took me through many models and brands for years.
Along the way I began having problems with my voice, partly due to singing on loud stages and partly due to loud talking on factory floors. I was also singing from the throat rather than the depth of my torso. This over stresses the vocal cords big time. Result was I took a few voice lessons and learned to sing from my diaphragm and not from higher up in my air column. A good side benefit was, my harp playing became less forceful and more focused. Less reed fatigue. My last adventure with a full electric 4 piece band was a head turner as well. My vocals and my harp were both pretty much lost in the mix most of the time. I managed to not kill harps very often but I did end up with a polyp on my vocal cord. I quit that band and had to refrain from singing or even talking loud for 3 months. It was torture after singing for about 20 years solid. It was at that point I decided that for the most part I would focus on a smaller tighter project. I have been exclusives a duo partner for about 4 years now. Small amps, small p.a., and fairly low volume have been our trademarks. It seems to be working well. My harps are lasting longer even when we do all acoustic, and my voice is sounding better than it ever had before!
The other day I was digging through some old harps looking for something to throw in my pocket for a trip to a music store and I ran across a couple of Marine Bands I had tried to do a seal job on back in the early 2000's. Which was a decent idea but what it led to was a flatted reed. It was also dangerous as I was using beeswax, which can flash and cause bad burns.
There was a reason I was trying to improve my harps' performance, mostly related to information I was seeing on the internet. Guys like Spiers, Filisko, and Sleigh were taking Marine Band harps to the highest levels of performance with reed treatments, flat sanding of combs and plates, seal jobs, and assembly with screws and nuts instead of the tiny nails Hohner was using. So I was attempting in my own half-assed way to improve my harps, without all the deeper stuff like dealing with the reed plates. This was fine and good but I was still killing reeds due to my hard playing. Along the way I acquired a few customized harps, a couple from Richard Sleigh, and a few from other guys who had learned from those masters of customizing mentioned above. Now these harps are probably the best a harp can be. They are the result of these top few guys deciding to take matters into their own hands and make the Marine Band realize its potential. Their motivations were purely for their own benefit at first but before long other players were asking for customizing jobs on their instruments as well, and a cottage industry was born. This is not a cheap operation. A good custom can cost $150-175. That's a lot when you can get a fairly decent out of box harp for $30 to $50. Especially for a blue collar guy like me it was pretty much a rarity that I could afford one. The ones I've gotten have been through horse trading with a few different guys but this is a rarity and there is still risk involved. Twice I sent a box full of donor harps to a customizer, and once a nice dual impedance bullet mic, each time agreeing before hand on what I'd get back. All 3 times I got decent return bar a couple of not so great harps last time from a beginner customizer who was doing the Frankenstein thing and honing his skills. It's an avenue I doubt I could use again to get any more custom harps.
I settled on Suzuki Manji harps a few years ago when they first came out, and liked them a lot. For a few years they have been a mainstay, but not the sole harp I use. I still like to try new harps to see what's out there. Along with that I have been buying replacement reed plates for my Manjis. In about the past year it seems that either the quality of the reed plates has slipped, or I've become more finicky. Manji is in some cases not my first choice in a given key, because they just don't seem to perform like they once did.
I made comments on a harp forum recently about the original issue of the Marine Band quality, and made some statements about the Manji. Joe Filisko was quick to set me straight on a few things. Hohner has indeed improved their quality with Marine Band, introducing two higher level models, the Crossover and the Deluxe. They still make the stock Marine Band but these others are available as a higher level model, with improved sealing, better built reed plates, and screw together construction and replacement reed plates. It was also Joe who fashioned the first deep bottom cover plates to accommodate the longer reed swing in low tuned harps, and both Hohner and Suzuki then adopted this feature on their low tuned harps. Some of his other suggestions were also adopted by Hohner to make better harps as well. The Crossover model is not sold much in the US while the Deluxe is. They go for about the same as a Suzuki Manji. A bit more depending on where you buy from.
I said all that to say this: I'm considering trying a Marine Band Deluxe for a while, to see if it stands up better than the Manji. I'm also thinking about possibly sending all my few Marine Bands to a customizer to get them fully customized on some level. The reason is, the one MB custom I have currently in my case is a very good performing harp. It has stayed in tune for a few years and has a tome I do like a lot.
There has been a trend in recent years to build better harps. Some guys focus on making combs out of different materials like brass, hardwood, and Corian, among other materials. Others take those combs and mount fully tweaked reed plates and open-back covers on them to make superior performing instruments. Volume, tighter tuning, more airtight, these are apex harps. But for a price. I am not saying it's not worth it, only that I have a hard time wrapping my head around letting go that much $ even if it means getting free repairs for the life of the harp. Economics. Outlay up front or as I go along.
To me it has always been like buying a car and immediately having to rebuild the engine. As a consumer I want good quality for reasonable money. As my skills have improved I need more performance from a harp, or I need to keep replacing harps or reed plates to continue playing. The other option is to learn to tweak my own harps, but I am reluctant to get into this. Just getting decent tooling would be an expense I can't easily afford.
So for me it's food for thought.
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Post by JamesP on May 23, 2018 13:15:56 GMT -5
Great post Pat
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Post by sarge on May 23, 2018 17:06:53 GMT -5
Be sure to let us know what you think of that MB Deluxe
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Post by jbone on May 23, 2018 22:27:20 GMT -5
Will do sarge!
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