easyreeder
73 posts
Dec 28, 2011
7:03 PM
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I picked up a Blue Midnight harp last week to see what they're like. First impression based on this one unit:
1. It leaks like an open window.
2. It's gapped so you could drive a truck under the 1-3 reeds.
3. It's unplayable out of the box.
4. Because of #3 above, they mystery tuning is still a mystery.
5. The plastic comb is hollow.
6. Tuning isn't the only mystery. It's held together with a total of four screws, including the cover-plate screws. Take off the covers and there are two screws holding the rear of the reed plates to the comb. There are three empty holes. Two of those are lined up over the solid portion of the comb, so can't be used. The third hole is front and center on the plates, and could hold another screw, but isn't tapped on either plate, so you can't use use a screw there. As a result, the reed plates are held to the comb with just the two screws in the rear and the two cove plate screws. The front of the reed plate is held to the comb only by the pressure of the cover plates in the groove on the front edge of the reed plates.
Has anybody else taken one of these apart and found a screw in that front/center hole?
I closed the gaps up, which improved it, but the 3-draw is almost useless. Bending it feels like sucking a marble through a drinking straw, and forget about smooth. I don't know if the comb is flat, but I can't imagine how one could flatten it because of the way it's constructed.
Do these reed plates fit any other stock Hohner combs?
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groyster1
1658 posts
Dec 28, 2011
9:22 PM
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I have 2 blue midnights and think they are definitely superior to big rivers which are leaky but not as good as special 20s-you get what you pay for-chords sound good on them with the JI tuning
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Stickman
720 posts
Dec 29, 2011
3:24 AM
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I found their construction to be no different than the other MS harps. Same quality, but in my opinion have a richer sound below the 4 hole. I like them and have been replacing my BR reeds with BM reeds. I would like them better if the comb were solid, but I use custom combs on most of my harps so its not a big deal.
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whiskey&harmonicas
13 posts
Dec 29, 2011
4:57 AM
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I was going to drop my Christmas money into a Blue Midnight, but decided it's not worth the risk as what EasyReeder mentioned. For a buck or two more, I'd go with either a MB or even a Suzuki HM.
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HawkeyeKane
581 posts
Dec 29, 2011
6:42 AM
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I liked my Blue Midnight while it lasted. I'm tough on my harps and it blew after about 4 months of play. I've thought about getting some new plates, but then I lose that JI Chicago-style tuning. I've written Hohner and asked them if they're planning on releasing JI plates for the Midnight. As of yet, no response from them. But truth be told, for what you pay for it, it IS a good harp considering Hohner doesn't make another harp with the same tuning. And easyreeder, according to Hohner, the comb is hollow for a purpose. Apparently it's supposed to enable a brighter tone than the standard black BR comb.
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Hawkeye Kane
Last Edited by on Dec 29, 2011 6:47 AM
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easyreeder
75 posts
Dec 29, 2011
7:24 AM
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@HawkeyeKane
I was only noting the hollow comb as a point of interest. The harp certainly is bright. But the comb does concern me because I think it will be very difficult to correct if the leaks are caused by the comb not being true. There's a permanent tab that protrudes from one side to line up the reed plate. I think it would be difficult beyond the value to try to flatten the multiple surfaces of that channeled comb.
I've been able to tweak several Big Rivers into playable condition, but this Blue Midnight is still nothing more than a $30 learning experience.
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easyreeder
76 posts
Dec 29, 2011
7:25 AM
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Still wondering about that empty hole in the front. Has anybody taken one apart and found it occupied with a screw?
Anybody had a really leaky one and been able to make it airtight? If so, how?
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groyster1
1659 posts
Dec 29, 2011
8:45 AM
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@easyreeder
when you say you tweak big rivers,do you mean correct the leakage?they have good volume but not air tight at all,but then again they are not expensive harps
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HawkeyeKane
582 posts
Dec 29, 2011
8:53 AM
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@groyster
One other issue I've encountered with Big Rivers is that the reedplates that they come stock with seem to be of lesser qulaity than those in Blues Harps or MS replacement plates.
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Hawkeye Kane
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groyster1
1660 posts
Dec 29, 2011
9:17 AM
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maybe thats why the replacement plates are more expensive than the harp itself
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easyreeder
78 posts
Dec 29, 2011
9:38 AM
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@groyster1:
I re-gapped the Big Rivers. That made them playable, and for the money they play pretty well. I would call them "breathy", but very playable.
@Stickman
The Blue Midnight's comb felt lighter to me than the Big River's, but I'm traveling and don't have one to compare. And it's been over a year since I had the plates off one. The construction of the Blue Midnight may be similar to the Big River, but certainly not the Bluesharp MS, a much nicer playing harp than the BR or BM, for my money.
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Stickman
723 posts
Dec 29, 2011
10:26 AM
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@Easeyr
The only difference between a BR and BH is the BH has a wood comb and a slightly thiner coverplate. The parts on all of the MS harps are interchangeable. I move them around all the time. I prefer the opened BR coverplates on BH combs. The reeds are the same. As for feeling lighter, they are almost exactly the same thing. I would bet less than 1% difference in weight.
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easyreeder
80 posts
Dec 29, 2011
11:53 AM
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@Stickman
Thanks, I understand MS concept. To me a wood comb is a major difference in construction, and my experience has been that 100% of my Big Rivers (and the Blue Midnight) were unplayable out of the box, and 100% of my Bluesharps were playable out of the box. By "unplayable" I mean they required a huge volume of air to create a tone, and the sound of air rushing past the reeds was about equal to the sound from the reed. Gapping changed the signal to noise ratio, burnishing helped some more, but they're still no match for the Bluesharps I have. The different combs might explain differences in how air tight they are (wood being better in my case), but my experience is obviously much too small a sample. And I've heard others complain that the Bluesharps were very leaky. Mostly this points to uneven quality. What's new....
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RT123
261 posts
Dec 29, 2011
12:01 PM
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easyreeder
Simple answer is they are all hohners. they are notorious for being leaky, gapped all over the place and sometimes out of tune. They are the perfect harp for people who like to tinker with them, sand, seal, gap, etc..
I dont enjoy spending that much time messing with them, i would rather be playing. give a Suzuki or Seydel a try. You may not go back to Hohner.
The BlueMidnight does have a tempting sales pitch, but after all is said and done it is probably nothing more than a sales pitch.
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Cristal Lecter
248 posts
Dec 29, 2011
12:10 PM
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@ RT123 : "I dont enjoy spending that much time messing with them, i would rather be playing. give a Suzuki or Seydel a try. You may not go back to Hohner."
I'm with you, more than you know
_________________________________________
Daughter of Hannibal Lecter, also known as "Christelle Berthon"
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Tommy the Hat
523 posts
Dec 29, 2011
12:17 PM
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Very subjective. If first impressions make the difference then the 7 stock SP 20's I own are all great. The Suzuki Harpmaster I have is also great as is the Delta Frost. The Crossover I bought, IMO, blew everything out of the water, until I got a MB deluxe; fantastic! All three Seydel's I own...a Blues Session and two Solist Pro's? Not so good. So if first impressions make a difference then how about thirds? I'd say I'm done. Yet there are two threads going on here about how great Seydels are and you can certainly dig up many more on how buying a Solist pro will make you an immediate convert. I won't argue that as I'm sure they're great for many people, just not for me. But I'm also sure a poll would show varied responses as for favorite harps across the board. One mans trash is another mans gold.
The blue Midnight (at least the one he got) isn't working out for easyreeder. For others, maybe they like them. Subjective and the best approach is trial and era on personal preference. (IMO)
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Tommy
My Videos
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easyreeder
82 posts
Dec 29, 2011
2:43 PM
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Still no answer on the third screw?? ;^)
@RT123, My experience with Hohner over the years agrees with you, except that they're sometimes also very good.
I try new harps to find out what I like. I have a Seydel 1847, and it's the best harp I've ever owned. I also have Manjis (mixed results, but overall positive) and numerous others. I bought the Blue Midnight out of curiosity, wondering if it would sound like the Marinebands I used to play back in the 70's (and wondering if I even could tell). I still don't know...
As for tinkering, I don't mind the idea of tweaking to optimize, or repair a well used instrument. But I'd rather spend my time playing than fixing a brand new product that can't perform the task it was built for. I call that defective.
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Stickman
724 posts
Dec 29, 2011
3:49 PM
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I guess I'm lucky. I have never bought a harp that is unplayable OOTB, More expensive Harps play better than cheaper Haps. I completely understand you get what you pay for.
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