Matzen
113 posts
Mar 27, 2011
5:41 PM
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Anyone out there play Hohner "Big Rivers"? I was just digging through some old harps and found one that Paul deLay had given me. I guess he played them for a while. Are they any good? I kind of don't want to try playing this one. I'd like to leave it as is. They seem like a good value?
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Stickman
653 posts
Mar 27, 2011
5:53 PM
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http://www.modernbluesharmonica.com/board/board_topic/5560960/961646.htm
http://www.modernbluesharmonica.com/board/board_topic/5560960/356271.htm
http://www.modernbluesharmonica.com/board/board_topic/5560960/404099.htm
http://www.modernbluesharmonica.com/board/board_topic/5560960/816448.htm
Lots of History of Big Rivers @ MBH. People either love them or hate them. Many are like me and put BR covers with opened backs on their Blues Harps
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Joe_L
1160 posts
Mar 27, 2011
6:01 PM
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Pretty much exclusively. No complaints. I play them right out of the box. Cant remember having a bad one out of 40 or so. They are inexpensive and playable. You either love them or hate them. Not much middle ground. If you can play them, you can play pretty much anything.
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The Blues Photo Gallery
Last Edited by on Mar 27, 2011 6:59 PM
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Hobostubs Ashlock
1452 posts
Mar 27, 2011
6:07 PM
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I just got 4 this week ,I didnt know if I would like them or not,Most my harps are Lee Oskar,And I was wanting to get some just tuned harps,I had to gap all them but that was easy,I like them so far,they seem all right for the money if they last awhile,I had heard they do because there not quit as air tight as the more exspensive hohners,Well thats what ive read,I only tried the hohner blues benders befor these,and they are alot better than the bluesbenders,Im probelly going to get a couple more.But time will tell ;-)
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Hobostubs
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clyde
117 posts
Mar 27, 2011
8:16 PM
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you have one....play it and see if you like it. seems pretty simple to me.
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Matzen
115 posts
Mar 27, 2011
9:06 PM
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The harp looks pretty nasty! I guess I could take it apart and clean it up. Maybe I'll just buy one.
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groyster1
949 posts
Mar 27, 2011
10:59 PM
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they are leaky but are vented well so their volume is good not very expensive but would rather spend another 10 dollars on special 20s
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Pluto
137 posts
Mar 28, 2011
7:12 AM
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Actually, it was all Paul DeLay played.
After learning that I switched to BR's. As said above they are inexpensive.
They do however suffer from poor quality control. Some are great, others leak. Some very simple adjustment gives you a great harp. You can buy replacement MS reedplates, that are about as much as a new BR, but are not the same plates. They are heavier, and less prone to leak.
I think they are one of the loudest harps.
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Todd Parrott
420 posts
Mar 28, 2011
9:31 AM
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To me, they have the same tone as the Seydel 1847, as the shape of the harp, as well as the coverplates are identical (except for the side vents on the Big River). So Seydel must have liked the tone of the Big River also, since they pretty much cloned it (but used stainless steel reeds). I'm pretty sure you could put the Big River in the dishwasher too. ;) Brass doesn't rust because it's an alloy of copper and zinc, and has been used on ships for centuries. The MS Marine Band, which was released in Europe, also had the same coverplate and tone as the Seydel 1847.
Quality control may be an issue on some Big Rivers, but you can't beat them for the money. And if you know how to tweak your harps, you can make a leaky one play better.
Last Edited by on Mar 28, 2011 9:32 AM
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ElkRiverHarmonicas
602 posts
Mar 28, 2011
1:31 PM
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When I was playing Hohners, I played them all the time. It's the same as any other MS harmonica, but at a much cheaper price. I like the side vents. I used to put wood combs on them...
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"There are only two things money can't buy - true love and homegrown tomatoes." - Lewis Grizzard
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hvyj
1329 posts
Mar 28, 2011
6:57 PM
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You know, i switched to Suzukis out of disgust with Hohner MS harps. But last year I picked up a Big River on sale from a store that was going out of business and even though I usually prefer harps with unvented covers, I think it sounds pretty good. I wouldn't gig with it, but i was surprised with how good it sounds.
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joeleebush
227 posts
Mar 28, 2011
7:28 PM
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Been using those BigRivers since they hit the market.
Good price and they hold up well for the working musician.
But I am easily satisfied. If it plays well and doesn't dog it in the clutch, then it goes into the "show sack".
(up north they call a sack a bag...same thing though)
Regards,
Me
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"The degree of someone's "open mindedness" will be in direct proportion to how much they agree or disagree with the issue being discussed"...William F. Buckley
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Joe_L
1164 posts
Mar 28, 2011
8:16 PM
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I do the same thing. I haven't had a bad one in a long time.
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The Blues Photo Gallery
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groyster1
953 posts
Mar 28, 2011
10:57 PM
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as far as hohner goes I have never played a leaky special 20 or golden melody but have leaky big rivers and the old marine bands I had did leak but thanks to the skill of people in this forum they no longer leak
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boris_plotnikov
494 posts
Mar 29, 2011
5:13 AM
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MS harps has the widest gaps ever. Plastic and metall MS combs suck air and in general sucks, bluesharp comb is ok. I hate side vents, so I dislike bigriver coverplates, I'd prefer customized bluesharps from all MS series, or MS with acril combs. Reeds are too wide, but in general reeds and reedplates are ok.
1847 are much better harps.
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Excuse my bad English. Click on my photo or my username for my music.
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Tundra1
10 posts
Mar 29, 2011
10:59 AM
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They're probably one of the best for chordal train-style playing, and they last for a long time. But my general approach is that there isn't very easy access to playing single notes as much as most others, more of a tongue-blocking harp.
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Lightnin' Harp
4 posts
Mar 30, 2011
4:47 AM
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I'm using Suzuki 'Folk Master', at the moment. Mingled with a few Lee Oscars' for gigging.
There is a Holy Grail of a cheap harp that sounds good, but I haven't found it yet. Cheap harps are in my experience, a waste of money. Buy the best you can as dictated by your budget.
If you're a beginner using a cheap harp, it's possible you'll be picking up bad habits, having to over compensate for leaks, sticking reeds etc.
Why buy a harp then have to spend time fixing it?
LH.
Last Edited by on Mar 30, 2011 4:48 AM
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MrVerylongusername
1641 posts
Mar 30, 2011
5:24 AM
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I've not tried Big Rivers yet - actually my experience of Hohner's 90s wilderness years was enough to put me off the whole brand until I discovered Golden Melodies a couple of years ago.
I have played quite a few Chinese made £4 harps though like Golden Cup etc... They aren't great, but then again they aren't 8 times worse (if that's even possible to gauge) than a £30 harp. I actually secretly quite like the challenge of making them play well (really just tuning and gapping)
So is a Big River only half as good as a Marine Band? Is a Crossover really twice as good? Is a B-Rad or a Suzuki Fabulous really 6 times better?
I guess my point is that harmonica price does give some indication of the quality, but I strongly doubt it is a linear scale.
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