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Dirty-South Blues Harp forum: wail on! > help on harp customization
help on harp customization
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KentuckyBlues
21 posts
Mar 04, 2014
1:49 AM
How can different combs enhance my harmonica?
what are good places for this, and how do I know what's what?
what else can be done, and how do I learn those things?
I'm buying a lo maintenance kit to use as a way to practice, hopefully that was a god choice.
thanks guys, trying to figure out alot of new info.
rockmonkeyguitars
17 posts
Mar 04, 2014
2:13 AM
http://harp.andrewzajac.ca/

That is a link to a guy in our forums that makes custom combs. The comb does have a significant effect on both tone and playability. Combs made from wood are less efficient and leak making the harmonica harder to play, but the air leaks and warping also contribute their characteristic tone. There are a lot of different types of wood used for harmonica and all of them will give you a different tone but they will all sound like wood combs. The weight of the comb will also effect the character of the tone. When you change to something more air tight like plastic the harp is significantly easier to play but doesn't have that raw quality you get from wood. Some harps have a metal comb and the weight of the comb combined with the air tight nature gives you a harp that sound more horn like and less accordion like. If you want the sound of wood but the playability of plastic then your best option is to go with vulcanized fibre combs. These are paper impregnated with resin. There other synthetic and natural materials used for combs and they all sound unique. Finding what you like is a game of guess and check.
Goldbrick
322 posts
Mar 04, 2014
3:43 AM
Tom at Blue Moon Harmonica has a great variety and is very nice to deal with. He is a board member here too.
I hav both Corian and wood and like them both.

To learn to tweak-get a couple of good cheap harps( i like the Suzuki Folkmaster) and tweak away- u will learn what gap u like and what makes 'em tick. For tools-I just use some jewelers screwdrivers, flat toothpicks and stiff business cards. A copper penny works well for basic embossing too
arzajac
1294 posts
Mar 04, 2014
5:19 AM
"How can different combs enhance my harmonica?"

Meh. The comb is not the real enhancement. The enhancement is making the harmonica airtight. That's what will make someone play it and say "Wow!"

The comb needs to be flat. To make a comb flat and last a long time is not so easy - that's the advantage of a custom comb.

"what are good places for this, and how do I know what's what... what else can be done, and how do I learn those things?...I'm buying a lo maintenance kit "

I offer a tool kit but it costs more than the Lee Oskar one. For one thing, the tools work on all brands of harmonicas. You also get email support from me when you buy the kit, which is more than worth the price in of itself considering the amount of time I can spend answering questions.



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Custom overblow harps. Harmonica service and repair.

Last Edited by arzajac on Mar 04, 2014 5:21 AM
rockmonkeyguitars
18 posts
Mar 04, 2014
5:59 AM
arzajac have you ever swapped an airtight metal comb with an airtight plastic comb? The difference isn't massive but it is certainly audible. While I do agree that how air tight the comb is has a much bigger effect than what the comb is made from, the material does still make a difference.
arzajac
1296 posts
Mar 04, 2014
6:11 AM
Rockmonkeyguitars:

Different, yes. Enhanced? Not so much - it's a matter of opinion at that point. The difference in comb material will not affect response, just the tone. Whether the tone is enhanced is up to you.

A harder comb is brighter. A lot of people *hate* that bright sound. Some people love it!

It's like embossing. Embossing make the harp sound bright. Extreme embossing makes the harp sound tinny. Some people can't live with a harp that hasn't been aggressively embossed. Others prefer the warm tone that you start with.

Everyone can have it how they like...

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Custom overblow harps. Harmonica service and repair.
BigBlindRay
213 posts
Mar 04, 2014
6:16 AM
Hi MBHers.

Im surprised he isn't mentioned more often so I figured ill throw it out there but Chris Reynolds has been making custom Harp combs for a long time now and is very well reputed.

He has been in the comb making business well before Hetrick was on the scene and (im not sure he does it now) but he was supplying combs to at least one very well respected customiser that I am aware of.

Anyway, he does a range of materials and exotic hardwoods, can do custom filework and you can choose between flush or rounded tines.

His link is here

http://www.builderofstuff.com/harpsforsale.html#Comb_Only

I have no business interest in mentioning this, am not endorsed by him nor have I ever ordered a comb from him - but felt it was worth mentioning.

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rockmonkeyguitars
21 posts
Mar 04, 2014
11:42 AM
arzajac, I agree with you. I just wanted it to be clear to the thread starter that different materials do effect tone as well.
dougharps
571 posts
Mar 04, 2014
5:56 PM
NOT THE COMB MATERIAL DEBATE AGAIN!!!

Harp-L comb debate


MBH Post SPAH comb debate

I could keep posting, on, and on...

Please, make it stop! Just play what you want to play. Air tightness is the main concern.
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Doug S.
nacoran
7568 posts
Mar 04, 2014
6:15 PM
I have, over the years, gotten custom combs from Arzajac, Tom at Blue Moon, Chris Reynolds and David Payne. (All of them seem to be good guys and are, or have been at some point, active forum members.) All of them are really nice. All of them are better than the original comb for airtightness. (Be careful though, mixing and matching harp types- I personally don't like Sp20 reed plates on non-recessed combs. I find it hard to get the covers lined up the way I like them without that metal ridge (or a recessed comb).

I've also heard really good things about Randy Sandoval's combs. There is BlueXlabs in Europe, which makes some really nice combs.

Rounded tines feel better on the lips. Some custom harps have rounded corners, but that involves grinding the reed plates too- but they are a joy to hold. You can also mix and match colors with some of the customizers (Tom has powder coated cover plates) or pick environmentally friendly materials like Arzajac. And when the reeds finally go? Just swap the comb over to a new harp. :)

Drawbacks? Well, the corian type combs are a little brittle. I was doing work on one and I cracked it. It was totally my fault. I was (I'm probably going to hell for this) using it as a jerry rigged jig to redrill a reed plate I was trying to convert from nails to screws. Corian combs are also fragile if you drop them (Arzajac has a video demonstrating his comb materials verse Corian) although just being assembled with covers gives combs some protection.

I also had an acrylic comb crack by one of the screw holes- on MBs there is a weak spot where one nail is really close to the end of one of the slots. The problem there was that I didn't have the comb on a harp. It was sitting in a cluttered drawer waiting for reed plates and it snapped- but I've had that happen to regular, non-custom reed plates.

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KentuckyBlues
22 posts
Mar 05, 2014
12:15 AM
So a new comb is basically to improve air tightness.
I think I'm starting to figure it out, thanks guys
dougharps
572 posts
Mar 05, 2014
8:45 AM
Well, a new comb also can replace older unsealed combs that might swell, if the new comb is metal it can add more heft to the harp (if you like that), and combs can really look cool with the many colors available.

A new comb being flat, so you can build an airtight harp, is the primary improvement it offers. If your comb is leaky or airy after regapping you can sand your old comb to make it flat, then if it is wood, seal it. Or you can buy a quality comb from someone who is trusted. The plates need to be flat, too.

However, I operate on the principal that if it isn't broken, don't fix it. Unless you find your quality out of the box harp can't meet your needs in playing, I would suggest not going down that road. Focus on basic gapping, tuning, and reed alignment skills.

I would suggest that you do try a quality optimized/customized harp from a reputable builder. Then if your harps still meet your needs you need not spend more money to upgrade combs.
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Doug S.
florida-trader
435 posts
Mar 05, 2014
10:38 AM
I tend to agree with dougharps – if it isn’t broken, don’t fix it. However, how does one know whether or not a harp is “broken”? Evidently, KentuckyBlues is going through the same learning curve that most of us have gone through. We’re exposed to this great information about how to make our harps play better so it is natural to be curious about whether our out of the box harp is all that it could be. So “broken” is a relative term. If a harp can be improved just by making some adjustments in the gaps doesn’t it make sense to do so? What about flat sanding the comb and/or draw plate to improve air-tightness? This is not rocket science so if that improves the performance of a harp why not? The only headache we run into is Marine Band 1896’s and that is strictly because of them being assembled with nails. Today, most harps are assembled with screws so disassembling and reassembling them is a snap.

Even though I make custom combs I do not advocate the notion that all stock combs are flawed and should be replaced. Nor do I claim that a custom comb will somehow magically transform a dog of a harp into a great harp. Flat is flat – whether it is a custom comb or a stock comb that has been flattened.

In the past 3 years, I have received 100’s of emails from customers who are delighted that their harps play better after installing my combs. I’m sure every custom comb maker receives similar emails. Honestly, I am somewhat mystified by it all. I find it difficult to believe that the simple installation of a comb could make such a difference. But positive reviews keep pouring in. Look at it this way, if all I received was negative or neutral feedback I would have stopped making combs a long time ago. I’m not interested in marketing products that make harps play worse or do not deliver some measurable improvement. What would be the point? Either there is some sort of worldwide mass delusion going on or there really is something to it. I think that in addition to installing a new comb, guys do some other work on the reed plates while the harp is apart and a combination of the two contribute to improved performance. I am trying to be as objective as I can but there is no denying the fact that there is a strong demand for custom combs in the harmonica community.

Better performing harps open doors that we might not discover if we stay with the same old same old. For most, until you play a harp that is set up for overblows it is a challenge to grasp the feeling and technique of overblows. However, once you are there it is likely that you can go back to one of your old harps and hit overblows. That’s how it happened for me. Once I knew where the sweet spot was I could more easily find it on other harps. I’ve spoken with Adam about this. He was weaned on stock Marine Bands before customization became commonplace. Consequently he simply developed the chops necessary to impose his will on the harmonica. Adam has gone so far as to tell me that he doesn’t really like playing custom harps because they are “too responsive” and after playing them for a while he feels like he begins to lose his chops. But for those of us with lesser skills a customized or semi-customized harp can be a stepping stone that helps us ratchet up our game.

Three final points with regard to custom combs. There are aesthetic and a practical factors in play. One of the things I bring to the table is a variety of colors and materials. My combs are both functional and attractive. They allow you to dress up your harps. Some people like that. Some don’t. Also a variety of colors in your gig kit enables you to create a key coding system that makes it very easy to identify which harp is which. For those of us with grey hair and failing eyesight, that’s a plus.

And lastly, with regard to comb material – there absolutely is a difference in the way a harp sounds with combs made of different materials. No question about it.

And so to KentuckyBlues I say congratulations on your thirst for knowledge and welcome to the club.

Last Edited by florida-trader on Mar 05, 2014 1:15 PM
KentuckyBlues
23 posts
Mar 05, 2014
6:38 PM
Florida trader thank you so much for the post. You basically touched all the points.
I can see that maybe I'll try a new comb in the future, but probobly at first for aesthetic purposes.
having colors would be fun.
for now I'm back to my gussow lessons.
thanks again everyone


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