Hi all, I recently purchased an MB dark comb from Andrew Zajac along with a complete set of his tools for tuning harps etc. I was always looking for something to use when shaping reeds or plinking them. I also did not have a reed wrench; you get the picture if you've opened your harps for cleaning & stuck reeds etc.
I've opened my Crossovers often enough and am familiar with gapping reeds and cleaning reed plates when my moustache hairs or other things (like spit) get into the reeds. In his website material, Andrew talks about the benefits of a flat comb mated to a flat reed plate. Well shut my mouth wide open! I followed his video instructions and I can tell you...he's absolutely right! I set up an A-Crossover and with the new comb and it is ridiculous how responsive the harp is. This comes with the added benefit of being at least 25-35% louder. Go figure.
I'll play this harp for a while and then if all remains the same in a couple of weeks, I'll be ordering some more for the other Crossovers in my harp case. Thankyou Andrew for your service to the harp community. As a fellow Canadian, I'm happy not to have to pay duty nor exchange rates for a change.
P.S. -maybe you should warn folks of the deleterious effects of fingers slipping off of the reed plate into the sandpaper. I have a really sore finger, but worth it. ----------
I also purchased seven combs of different colours from Andrew a few weeks ago and used them on my manjis...they look fantastic,fit perfectly and sound great.He also sent me one of his french tuners as a freebie ! Only took a week to get delivered from Canada to Uk......and the best part is, because of the excellent exchange rate (approx 53p to the canadian dollar) my total bill including delivery was less than 70 pounds. So to anyone in the uk who has been thinking about buying a custom comb...what are you waiting for? You cant go wrong. Thanks again Andrew.
I have used quite a few of them myself but I never stipulate colours. Very happy with the product for marine band rebuilds. And sp20 conversions to sandwich-style harps. Never thought of putting one on a crossover, but only because I always consider the crossover comb was already quite good enough. I mean, it's the only reason I'd buy a crossover rather than a deluxe, and the only reason id buy a deluxe is to get the convenient construction..which brings me back to Andrew's combs which I use when converting nailed marine bands to threaded fasteners. Great product at a good price. It's a long way from Canada so I try to manage the postage efficiently, but the prices look even better now the USD is riding high again
Indeed, I make my combs to order - if you want them off-the-shelf and delivered speedy quick, you can't beat Rockin Ron!
What a coincidence this thread is named "Airtight Harps". I was just working on a new YouTube video on an innovative method for flattening the *blow* plate.
The draw reed plate and the comb are easily accessible, but the blow plate has the reeds in the way. You can't flat-sand the blow plate like you do the draw plate. But the blow plate is just as imperfect as the draw plate most of the time. Those leaks are hard to find. Harder to correct, too!
You can use the French tuner to see those leaks and you can use The "F" Tool to straighten the plates to get rid of them.
What the heck is the F tool?
I recently had room full of people use both the French Tuner and the F tool for the first time. Within about an hour, every single participant was comfortably straightening their reed plates (both blow and draw). Before we moved on to advanced topics, I had each participant reassemble with harps.
Every single one of them was blown away by how much their harmonica was improved just by doing the fundamental stuff - making it airtight.
More details will follow once I get the video online. Stay tuned!
