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Dirty-South Blues Harp forum: wail on! > Preview of the X-reed MB-30 Part 1
Preview of the X-reed MB-30 Part 1
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WinslowYerxa
561 posts
Apr 18, 2014
4:17 PM
I had a chance to test drive one of Richard Sleigh's MB-30 X-reed harps last week at the Harmonica Masterclass.

I'm a long time XB-40 player, which does what the X-reed does and more. I also invented the Discrete Comb, which unlocks a multiplicity of bending behaviors on the standard 20-reed diatonic. So I was curious about the MB-30.

I already have a Suzuki SUB30, embodying the same 30-reed basic design as the MB-30. Both harmonicas add 10 reeds to the standard 20-reed design of a diatonic harmonica, with the 10 added reeds allowing the non-bending notes (Blow 1 thru 6 and Draw 7 thru 10) to bend down one semitone.

The XB-40 had 40 reeds - one dedicated bend enable reed for every note in the harmonica. This allowed for extraordinary control over bending (you could tune the enabler reeds to give you whatever width of bend you desired) and also for extremely loud acoustic playing. However, all those reeds required an instrument the size of a small chromatic, and the form factor, together with the unfamiliar sound and response, killed the XB-40 in the marketplace.

Since his departure from Suzuki, Brendan, together with designer Zombor Kovacs, have founded the X-reed company. At first they made improvements and retrofits to the SUB30. However, they soon graduated to building 30-reed harps from the ground up by making their own parts and using bits of existing reedplates, including the Marine Band Reeds and covers that go into the MB-30. They've been working with US builder Richard Sleigh (who himself came up with the added responder reed concept independently and at around the same time as Brendan did) have been working on improving both the design and built of 30-reed harps.

So Richard pulled out his MB-30 A-harp and offered me a go on it recently when we were together at the Harmonica Masterclass.

I was very impressed. Gone was the tight, squeaky, finicky response of the SUB30. Richard's MB-30 plays smoothly. The usual bends played normally, while the added bends (all limited to one semitone, though this could potentially be changed by tuning the responder reeds lower) played with only minimal adjustment to my technique (although they would shudder a little if I was careless).

I put the harp through its paces- bending all the blow notes and the high register draw notes, even bending both notes of draw splits in the high register (which elicited a smiling finger wag by Joe Filisko from across the room), and playing segments from my tune "Windermere," which was written to exploit the bending capabilities of the XB-40.

A good harmonica that bends on all notes and yet has good tonal response and a feeling of depth often reminds me of good leather. I get that feeling from my Super64X frankenharp customized years ago by Brendan, and Richard's MB-30 gave me the same leather feeling, like an instrument with depth, character, and a probable long life with many stories to tell.

By the way, Richard will be at the Harmonica Collective in May (see link below) and will have the MB-30 available to demonstrate.
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Winslow
Find out about the 2014 Spring Harmonica Collective!
SPONSORED BY
Find out about the 2014 Spring Harmonica Collective!
SPONSORED BY
Lone Wolf Blues Company
Rockin’ Ron’s Music For Less
BlowsMeAway Productions
Slim’s Custom Cases
HarpGear
Seydel & Soehne

Last Edited by WinslowYerxa on Apr 19, 2014 12:04 PM
slaphappy
18 posts
Apr 19, 2014
10:06 AM
looking forward to part 2
florida-trader
470 posts
Apr 19, 2014
10:41 AM
I ran into Brendan at NAMM in January at which time he let me play his MB-30. I absolutely agree with Winslow's review. It is a terrific harp. Very responsive with the distinctive tone that made the Marine Band the best selling harmonica in the history of the world.
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Tom Halchak
www.BlueMoonHarmonicas.com

Last Edited by florida-trader on Apr 19, 2014 10:41 AM
WinslowYerxa
562 posts
Apr 19, 2014
12:02 PM
Actually there is no Part 2. The original post was slightly over the 4096 character limit and I thought I'd have to divide it into two parts. But I deleted a nonessential paragraph and posted. Then I went back and tried to edit the title, but once you post, the title is fixed and inaccessible for editing. (If there *is* a way to edit titles after posting, I'd be happy to know it.)
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Winslow
Find out about the 2014 Spring Harmonica Collective!
  SPONSORED BY
Find out about the 2014 Spring Harmonica Collective!
  SPONSORED BY
Lone Wolf Blues Company
Rockin’ Ron’s Music For Less
BlowsMeAway Productions
Slim’s Custom Cases
HarpGear
Seydel & Soehne
slaphappy
19 posts
Apr 19, 2014
1:42 PM
ha!

no worries Winslow. Thanks for the great info!


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