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Dirty-South Blues Harp forum: wail on! >
low harp comparison Hohner Thunderbird and Rockets
low harp comparison Hohner Thunderbird and Rockets
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Popculture Chameleon
212 posts
Aug 20, 2017
4:18 AM
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Was wondering if anyone had any kind of thoughts on the differences between the hohner thunderbird and the rockets low keyed harps. Are the rockets suitable replacements for thunderbirds? pro and cons? any info would be helpful thanks
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the_happy_honker
275 posts
Aug 20, 2017
9:01 AM
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I have Thunderbirds in Low C and Low D, and Rockets in Low D, Low Eb, and Low E. (I also have a Marine Band in Low F#. It plays beautifully, but I have never had a use for it.)
In regard to tone, I experience a tad more "surround sound" with the Thunderbird, attributable to the side vents, but in an A/B sound test with my wife as judge at 15 feet away, the two Low D harps were indistinguishable.
For rhythm vamping, all harps were OOTB ready to go. No problems with any of them.
Thunderbirds have a lower cover plate that is slightly taller at the low end to prevent reed-rattle, the Rockets do not. I get acceptable volume from the Low D Rocket without rattling. I never feel I'm "holding back" to avoid it.
If accurate, sustained bending and fast response is important to your low-harp playing, then you should be prepared to do some gapping and leak fixing.
One mistake I used to make was to gap my low harps too low. Low harps require more air and gapping low helps to conserve it. The trade-off is that volume decreases. Trying to maintain volume with low gaps leads one to use more breath-force, which depresses pitch.
For me that meant a lot of bawling-calf noises in the middle octave and blanking out in the top octave. Solution: increase the gaps and get my diaphragm toned up.
Flat-sanding the Thunderbird's bamboo comb is easy and there are YouTube tutorials to help you avoid screwing up.
The Rocket's recessed-reedplate comb is pretty air-tight, but does benefit from gasketing. Gasketing is not as easy to do (properly) as flat-sanding.
The difference comb style (exposed or recessed reed plate) makes is entirely personal. Some have a strong preference for one or the other, some do not.
For me, the low Rockets are just fine. I might put vented Rocket cover plates on them.
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hvyj
3448 posts
Aug 20, 2017
1:45 PM
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Interesting comparative analysis. I've got some Thunderbirds with Hetrick bamboo combs which are flatter than the stock combs. I think they are good harps.
I also have 3 Seydel 1847 Noble low harps with full length covers. They are, IMHO, superior to the TBs. And no reed rattle even with the full length covers.
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hvyj
3449 posts
Aug 20, 2017
1:48 PM
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Interesting comparative analysis. I've got some Thunderbirds with Hetrick bamboo combs which are flatter than the stock combs. I think they are good harps.
I also have 3 Seydel 1847 Noble low harps with full length covers. They are, IMHO, superior to the TBs. And no reed rattle even with the full length covers.
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