the_happy_honker
68 posts
Jun 17, 2011
1:53 PM
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I have a Blues Harp that I want to put Marine Band covers on. I'm thinking of nailing it, simply because screwing them down involves boring holes - hand drills and I tend not to get along too well.
My question is, can it be done - banging a flimsy-looking little nail into brass and then into a hardwood like doussie, that is - and are there any special tricks to doing it? Thanks.
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pistolero
145 posts
Jun 17, 2011
2:17 PM
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Can't say if you can or not as I have no MBs yet. But why would you want to? Unless you just happen to have a set of MB covers that have no harp to go on and a Blues Harp with no covers? In which case nail them on and let us know.
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It's MUSIC, not just complicated noise.
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arzajac
540 posts
Jun 17, 2011
3:04 PM
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If the nail holes line up exactly, then it can be done. Crack a toothpick into the wood and use a center punch (and hammer) to drive the nails in.
Some Blues harp (non MS) and MB coverplate nails go in crooked, and your new set may not line up properly. That would make it more difficult to get the nail in straight.
Good Luck.
(P.S.) if you mess up, you can always find someone with a drill press and go for the screws. You can almost always recover from a coverplate mishap with a drill press.
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Last Edited by on Jun 17, 2011 3:07 PM
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Miles Dewar
955 posts
Jun 17, 2011
4:44 PM
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Blues harps are pretty big. Wouldn't the covers feel funny being so small?
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---Go Chicago Bears!!!---
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arzajac
541 posts
Jun 17, 2011
5:35 PM
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Are you talking about the pre-MS blues harps (the ones that are really Marine Bands with cheap coverplates) or a modern MS Hohner Blues Harp?
I was refering to the pre-MS kind, not the modern kind.
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chromaticblues
893 posts
Jun 17, 2011
5:36 PM
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Try Big River coverplates. They are direct boltons and they are very similiar to MB covers. Why don't you just play MB's? They both have soft wood combs, but the MB has pretty good quality reedplates and the Blues Harp does not.
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the_happy_honker
69 posts
Jun 17, 2011
9:28 PM
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I know it sounds weird. I generally play Marine Bands and love them, but when I got this particular Blues Harp (MS) in my mouth it was like I suddenly became a 50% better player.
So I thought, why not try putting MB cover plates on, in order to get the tone I like? Its also what I have lying around the house.
@ Miles - the Marine Band covers don't quite extend to the back of the MS comb, but they are just as wide at the business end, so that doesn't seem an insurmountable problem.
@ chromaticblues - I have read here that Big Rivers are shrill? But it is the least invasive option, so I could try that first.
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nacoran
4213 posts
Jun 17, 2011
11:16 PM
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You could open up the backs on the Blues Harp covers. That might be the easiest first mod and if you are planning on changing out the covers anyway it's a low risk operation. I haven't opened up a Blues Harp, but I've opened up a few others. It's a cinch if you don't care what it looks like and not too hard if you do. (I seem to remember Dave Payne had a real good video on the topic.)
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pharpo
588 posts
Jun 18, 2011
7:20 AM
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You can open up Blues Harps in the back but a dremel or similar tool does it best. There is not enough there to "bend" you need to grind it out.
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Procrastinator Emeritus
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Fingers
54 posts
Jun 18, 2011
9:10 AM
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Honker go with the Big river covers! i still have 4 Marine band MS,s i think they were only available in Europe in the 90,s they are among my favorite harps and Big river covers are almost identical!.
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