Thievin' Heathen
374 posts
Aug 19, 2014
8:57 PM
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The recent posts about bargain chromatics and OOTB harp tuning, and my own experience with the 1248 and Huang diatonics got me thinking. I used to buy harps from Coast to Coast and usually I would add a $12 Haung to most orders just to have a spare car or bike harp and I started noticing them to be pretty good instruments. I have a couple of them floating around. For some reason, it just gives me a good feeling to buy a Cham-Ber Huang Harmonica. Same with a Lee Oskar or a Steve Baker Special 365. It makes me feel a little more connected.
Sunday afternoon I went out to the shed and took a Silvertone apart and tuned it to 7-Limit JI. What I found inside was impressive. There are about 6 screws in a staggered pattern which seemed to torque the plates down as close to air tight as you could hope to get with any manufactured plastic comb. The reeds were tight and very consistent in the slots and the reed material felt like high quality brass with a nice ring to it. It sounds real nice now, which got me thinking again. A 12 harp set Silvertone Deluxes, with 1.2mm plates, can be had for about $160+shipping. I think if you went through them and fine tuned and optimized to your personal taste, you would have a very nice set of harps.
I think I'll go check the glove boxes for Huangs.
Last Edited by Thievin' Heathen on Aug 19, 2014 8:58 PM
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HarveyHarp
599 posts
Aug 19, 2014
10:36 PM
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Joe Filisko used to customize Huangs for Peter Madcat Ruth, if I remember correctly. I think he called then Madcat Harps.
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HarveyHarp
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Diggsblues
1500 posts
Aug 20, 2014
4:35 AM
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These tunes were done with the 1248 and diatonics.
I like the 1248 for some recording situations.
ame width="560" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed
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Last Edited by Diggsblues on Aug 20, 2014 4:36 AM
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barbequebob
2685 posts
Aug 20, 2014
10:10 AM
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They were the first real competition for Hohner when they first came on the market in 1982, but the quality of the workmanship and materials in the manufacturing process hurt them in their early years and they were the first (or among the very first) harps made in China that made it into the USA.
In their first decade of operation, they were the very first company to tune their diatonics to 19LJI, which Hohner later used from 1985-1992.
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Sincerely,
Barbeque Bob Maglinte
Boston, MA
http://www.barbequebob.com
CD available at http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/bbmaglinte
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HawkeyeKane
2588 posts
Aug 20, 2014
10:59 AM
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Heathen....I have tons of blown out Silvertones laying around. Lemme know if you want them for parts or anything.
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Hawkeye Kane - Hipbone Sam
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Slimharp
385 posts
Aug 20, 2014
1:33 PM
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I have played both the Silvertone and Star Performer ( pretty sure they are the same harp but different cover plates ) and was surprised at their playability. I would say just a little less responsive than an OOTB Sp. 20. With a little tweaking and sealing they should make a pretty good harp, for what, $16.00 !!! PS, I have a brand New Huang Pro Chrom.1248 for Sixty Bucks + ship.
Slimharp@aol.com
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Todd Parrott
1236 posts
Aug 20, 2014
4:02 PM
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I used to love them before I used a lot of overbends. Some Huangs were really good, some were not so good. My first harmonica was a Silvertone and I still have it. It still plays great and is in tune.
It was quite common to reach Chamber Huang by phone when he was still working and involved with the company. I called from time to time in the late 90's, and he told me once that players like Norton Buffalo and Madcat Ruth were his friends, and that because of this, the Huangs he supplied them with were much better than the standard out-of-the-box Huangs. He also said that the reeds in the Silvertone harps contained a small percentage of silver, though I'm not sure how accurate that is.
Chamber set up 2 Huangs for me in the early 2000's and sent them to me, a Silvertone and a Star Performer, and they played amazingly well.
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Thievin' Heathen
375 posts
Aug 20, 2014
4:49 PM
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Very generous of you, Hawk. The lack of spare reeds, screws & cover plates had occurred to me. I don't know if I am really considering such a major change that I would need a parts inventory. As I putz & futz with my assorted old Marine Bands, I often wonder if I would be happier if I just bit the bullet and bought a set of Manjis, Crossovers or S/S Seydels. But, if we could get Andrew to start cutting some Silvertone combs...,
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davew
18 posts
Aug 20, 2014
5:10 PM
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I had a Huang Silvertone in D that I must have bought
back in late 80's early 90's, and it was great. Very
responsive, easy playing, I still have it. Bought some recently from Coast to Coast and was very disappointed.
Leaky, and high notes were hit and miss. Maybe it's a quality control issue, but for about the same $$ I'll go with a Big River or Blue Midnight. That's my opinion, for what it's worth.
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Slimharp
387 posts
Aug 21, 2014
7:41 AM
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Dont feel too bad davew. I have been disappointed by $70.00 harps( bought a Rocket and it was a piece of crap ). I have played a BR and BM and neither seemed as responsive as the Huang. I guess it's the luck of the draw when you are dealing with low end harps. The Big River seemed closer to the Huang to me. Not sure if they are assembled with screws or not. A little tweaking and the BR could be a good harp. You get what you pay for in most instances.
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HawkeyeKane
2589 posts
Aug 21, 2014
8:23 AM
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I've putzed around a bit with my Silvertones in terms of setup. One thing I try to do with each new Silvertone I buy is set the comb and reedplates flush with each other on the face, and then tighten the plates up as much as possible. This cuts back on the lip discomfort, and helps eliminate a bit of the leakiness.
I've often wondered about putting windsavers on a Silvertone to see what improvement it might make...
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Hawkeye Kane - Hipbone Sam
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