jiceblues
380 posts
Jan 17, 2015
5:03 AM
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Thank you , Superbee .
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tookatooka
3722 posts
Jan 17, 2015
7:51 AM
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Thanks for that Isaac. Good informative video. Much appreciated.
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zackattack
19 posts
Jan 17, 2015
11:21 PM
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When I buy a harmonica I am not looking for a musical instrument that will play well AFTER I have it adjusted, tweaked, customized, gapped, or whatever. I have switched to Seydel because I can get a playable harmonica right out of the box. You can't test a harp before you buy it, so it has to be right from the factory. I don't have the money or the time to test different brands and models of harmonicas to find what works for me. I buy a harmonica and, if it plays well I buy another of the same brand, maybe a different model to test. If it doesn't play well I curse it and do not buy another harp of that brand. Simple. I think the reason that people buy Hohner is because every music store carries them, plus Lee Oskar. It's very difficult to find a music store that carries Seydel or Suzuki as harp sales are a pretty tiny part of a music store's business. Solution - Go to Rockin' Ron's website and order from an outstanding selection of brands and models, plus you get the fastest free delivery you've ever seen.
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chromaticblues
1656 posts
Jan 18, 2015
6:22 PM
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@Isaac
I do not like the new SP20!
The new coverplates are not a problem. They are the same dimension as the last version and the different engraving isn't noticeable on your lips while playing. Holy moly why would they gap there harps like that from the factory?
That makes no sense what so ever. OK after resetting the reeds it still sucked (I mean played weak)!
@honkin on bobo
Cick on my user name and Email me.
I can help you.
Lastly Hohner WTF!
I wish I played seydels!
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isaacullah
2918 posts
Jan 19, 2015
8:54 AM
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@chromaticblues: I really really hope that these ootb inconsistencies get cleared up. I hope that they are just "growing pains" and not a sign of things to come. I agree that all seydels I've ever bought were pretty well good to go ootb - although I did eventually adjust them
I look at adjusting gaps the same as I look at setting the action of a guitar. The manufacturer should be trying to put it at the middle if the road, and then its up to you (or your luthier/harp tech) to move it from there. If the manufacturer sets it up way off the highway, well, then that's another thing all together...
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YouTube! Soundcloud!
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SuperBee
2344 posts
Jan 19, 2015
11:34 AM
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Maybe important to remember a lot of these harps were like half price specials. I know that there have been problems with full price harps too,
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chromaticblues
1657 posts
Jan 19, 2015
4:37 PM
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The only thing I can think of that makes any sense is they may have made some tooling changes.
That doesn't make it right, but I can almost understand how it could happen. I can't believe the people running the biz at Hohner are this clueless on how a harmonica works! It just amazes me they don't have someone at the factory that dosen't know better!
Please I'd like to hear more from people that have 6 or 7 of these harps!
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TmickyD1
12 posts
Jan 19, 2015
10:09 PM
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I'm kind of disappointed as well that the gaps are being messed with. I do adjust my gaps, but if they'd get it close the first time it would save time.
I think their harps used to be better as far as gapping goes. I was given an old style (1970s-80s) Old Standby in A and it plays like a dream. As far as I can tell it has never been cracked open and it is probably my easiest harp to overblow. I don't even think overblows were really a thing yet when this harp was manufactured.
I just wish the newer harps could play that well out of the box.
Last Edited by TmickyD1 on Jan 19, 2015 10:11 PM
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Harmlessonica
25 posts
Jan 21, 2015
4:26 PM
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Well, I decided to take the plunge and try gapping my SP20.
After about 20 minutes of prodding and poking I think I made some overall improvement, but some holes still hardly sound. It was very difficult to get any kind of consistency. 10 blow in particular was silent (at least to human hearing), and I eventually worked the reed too much and caused it to buckle and bend out of shape. "Yay!" I said to myself, "I can bend..."
An interesting side note is that my SP20 has 'Progressive' cover plates, but the 'Classic' reedplates. More Hohner inconsistencies, I guess...
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MindTheGap
509 posts
Jan 24, 2015
9:32 AM
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Harmlessonica - Sorry to hear that it didn't go well. Any further progress or thoughts?
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SuperBee
2355 posts
Jan 24, 2015
3:26 PM
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bad news about the 10 blow reed.
that particular harp may have had more problems than just gaps. maybe alignment...sounds like a real lemon...
i was most amused to hear it has the older type reedplates...just a personal giggle, i'm not meaning to laugh at your misfortune, harmlessonica. its just that all the things ive been reading from certain folks outraged about the desecration of the sp20 reedplates with their extra holes, and here is the worst imaginable example of a sp20, which turns out to have the 'old faithful' reedplates...
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Harmlessonica
29 posts
Jan 25, 2015
5:21 AM
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@MTG
Part of my reasoning in going back to my SP20 was to have a C harmonica to practice bending. I can still do that for the holes that work.
@SuperBee
You're probably right about this particular harmonica. I'm glad I at least gave it a shot.
I agree - when I look back, this issue can get quite amusing. Sometimes humour is the best way to deal with life's misfortunes.
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Barley Nectar
617 posts
Jan 25, 2015
7:17 AM
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I bough the Amazon 5 pack of SP 20's. I found no problems with these harmonicas. They play just fine and as a long time LO player, I must admit that holes 8,9,& 10 play better then my LO's generally speaking.
Thanks for the inspiration, due to this forum I am dabbling in harp tweaking on some older instruments...BN
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SuperBee
2361 posts
Jan 25, 2015
3:18 PM
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i have a lot of posts on this thread, because i'm quite interested in the topic. i dont have any of the new sp20s but i have seen a lot of what i consider likely nonsense written about them. a friend of mine recently purchased the amazon 5 pack, and his report was similiar to BN's above. this pleased me because i had pointed him toward the deal. he is a guy who plays a lot in and of a good standard. he is rather hard on the harps and i mend them. so eventually i'll start seeing his new sp20s on my bench.
it seems that for every report of the new harps being rubbish, someone is willing to tell a tale of no problem, good as ever. combined with the mb experience ive had and the recent reviews on amazon on the 5 pack mb deal, i'm really convinced there is no inherent problem in the 'new' sp20. but there do seem to be some quality control issues at hohner. its hard to say if these are any worse than usual, or just getting more air than usual because of the sp20 changes.
one thing i noticed on my mb set is that the reed plates were not stamped with the date code. how long has this been the case i wonder.
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Sherwin
191 posts
Jan 25, 2015
3:46 PM
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@superbee......the date stamping has been missing on the M.B.s and Spl 20s for a year and a half, or thereabouts......can't remember exactly.....there was some talk here on the forum when that change took place......and some worry if I remember correctly....as in Oh My God what have they done to my harmonica? What will I do now? and all of that, oh yeah and 'are they made in china now?' (that came from me) haha
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SuperBee
2362 posts
Jan 25, 2015
4:29 PM
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thanks Sherwin. that makes sense to me. its at least that long since i bought a new marine band before this batch. i think the most recent purchases were when they changed the comb which led to special prices on old stock.
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chromaticblues
1661 posts
Jan 25, 2015
5:19 PM
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@Barley Nectar
You must have gotten lucky and got a five pack that was from before the change.
The new SP 20's are completely different!
I smell Chinese crap!
Thank You Hohner!
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Barley Nectar
618 posts
Jan 25, 2015
7:41 PM
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Well, I with my buddies Supe and Arnenym on this. This five pack says "Progressive" on every harp. These harps play just fine. No breakin time, no fiddling with the gaps, which I rarely do unless a reed jams up. Hohner did a little marketing and changed the covers. Now everyone is flipping out! There is Nothing Wrong with these harmonicas and they smell just fine!!! Goose on harp for 41 years...
PS: They all play better then the MBD I bought recently...
Last Edited by Barley Nectar on Jan 25, 2015 7:44 PM
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Harmlessonica
78 posts
Feb 23, 2015
3:29 PM
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Hey all,
I dug this thread up because I wanted to add some recent findings regarding my SP20 woes that I discovered this week, which gave me some closure on the issue.
It began when I received a new harmonica which exhibited similar 'dog whistle' type squealing that I found with the SP20 – though with this one I could tell the sound was a secondary, independent pitch that emitted alongside the intended tone and seemed to hang in the air.
Armed with this new observation, my research led me to the topic of 'Torsional Vibration' which suggested the use of wax or tape to help stabilise affected reeds.
Well, lo and behold, a little experimenting with Blu-Tack and the squealing was all but eliminated. I went back to my SP20 and did the same with pretty good results. There are still gapping issues, but that's partly because I was trying to adjust gaps to solve a problem that was in fact caused by something else.
I was happy to have made this discovery, but it's somewhat moot; I now have a custom C harp on order... :)
Hopefully my experience might be useful to others in a similar situation. I suppose the moral of the tale is to never give up and consider all options as objectively as you can, learning all the while. You'll get there in the end.
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Gnarly
1256 posts
Feb 23, 2015
4:24 PM
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"You can always improve a harmonica."
Winslow says just taking it apart and putting it back together is a good move.
I just worked on a "Progressive" Golden Melody, and it was pretty nice before and very nice after I did stuff to it.
One of the things I did was swap the reeds on 7-10.
I think their current build, based on this unit, is pretty good!
Sadly, I work for Suzuki, so don't buy no German harps, even if they is made in China. One year warranty, as opposed to Hohner's
60 days.
So YMMV, but I liked the way this one turned out, and although it was $50 before I started, there was nothing wrong with this harp. Although it was ET, I am pretty sure it was 442.
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