I've repaired a couple. Just plain old Seydel steel reedplates, cut down to that shape. Nothing special about those. Then the comb, which is maybe the interesting part. The rest is gimmick imho. But they played ok. Nothing to complain about.
I have 4 of them. Nice players, easy smooth, all holes play well. I think they are well suited to bluegrass, acoustic, gospel and jazz. Fine for blues too but pretty clean tone. Mine are little played, would sell all as a set if anyone was interested.
Last Edited by rbeetsme on Jul 03, 2017 9:50 AM
I played one....I can't say if it was a woman I'd kick her out of bed for eating crackers but to be honest for my money it was just a very cool look....played decent but that's all I can say
I should say, the fact they play well is no small thing. I've been a bit dismissive above, but on reflection I think the fact they seem well setup is worth something. I dunno how much they cost Those swing arms that clamp the plates in place probably ensure quite good connection between plate and comb. They'd eliminate the common problem of over tightening reed plate screws which can warp the plates. You need a torx drive to keep those clamps snug. I forgot which size, but it's small. Maybe 4mm? Or 5? I had to make a special purchase. Just 3 bolts hold the covers on, and they're easy to handle. I had 2 here, one was ET and the other was some compromise JI. In reflection I think there is a lot to like about them, but I assume they're expensive. And I don't care for steel reeds, nor do I need any harps
I bought one just to try it and like it quite a bit. I mostly play Session Steels, and the Yonberg was about $10 more. It plays well, reminds me of the Turbo Harp. The sound is a little bright for my taste. I doubt I'll switch to them, but they're pretty cool to mess around with. Makes me smile just looking at it.
I haven't played one, but it seems an odd engineering choice to use three cover screws to get to a toolless reed plate. I'd find more use, I think, having a toolless cover and then, if still necessary, still have the screws on the plates.
It's interesting, Turbolids, from Turboharp, solve the cover issue, but I don't think they'd fit on a Yonberg.
On a side note, it was after I saw pictures of the Yonberg that I got the idea to design my magnetic attach lids. They work, as long as you don't put them next to other things that they can get stuck too!