jiceblues
60 posts
Jan 19, 2012
5:01 AM
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Well , i ordered a dymondwood comb for SP20 at HETRICK's . The comb is fine , very flat and fits very well . The tone and airtightness are better . Very good stuff for the price .
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Greg Heumann
1433 posts
Jan 19, 2012
10:12 AM
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And they look cool. I have a few on my favorite 1847's. I like them!
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/Greg
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chromaticblues
1137 posts
Jan 19, 2012
11:48 AM
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I put Bamboo combs on SP 20's and I agree it seems to make them better in every way.
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Fingers
139 posts
Jan 19, 2012
11:54 AM
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I use them on my Manji's and MS Marine bands!! great combs! @ Greg do you find them better than the 1847 original combs?.
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groyster1
1694 posts
Jan 19, 2012
11:58 AM
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I put one on a sp20-sp20 combs look very bland but they are actually great combs-I think the hetrick combs are probably better served on golden melodys
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hvyj
2063 posts
Jan 19, 2012
1:40 PM
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I put a Hetrick corian comb on a Manji. Very nice comb and an improvement over the original Manji comb.
I put Hetrick bamboo combs on a couple of Marine Band Deluxes. These are GREAT combs and a significant improvement over the original MBD combs.
I'm certainly favorably impressed.
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groyster1
1695 posts
Jan 19, 2012
3:36 PM
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the hetrick combs are really pretty and give a cosmetic edge-but do they really make your harps sound better????
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hvyj
2065 posts
Jan 19, 2012
4:15 PM
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Yes. A good custom comb is FLATTER than most stock combs. Any harp will perform better with a flatter comb since it creates better compression (air tightness).
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groyster1
1696 posts
Jan 19, 2012
5:24 PM
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so do the hetrick combs need to be sanded to make them flatter? it makes good sense to me-air tight combs are better,thats probably why sp20 combs have a toy like appearance, but nevertheless ,sp 20s are as air tight as any harp made,IMHO
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HarpNinja
2088 posts
Jan 19, 2012
5:58 PM
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All my level one and two combs are Hetrick. They do a custom color for me. In 30+ dymonwood combs, I've had NO issues.
Sometimes the corian needs some sanding.
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Mike
VHT Special 6 Mods
Quicksilver Custom Harmonicas - When it needs to come from the soul...
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Greg Heumann
1435 posts
Jan 19, 2012
6:10 PM
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NO! You don't have to sand them. They're already sanded flat and polished WAY beyond sand paper. (I know because I talked to them about their process at SPAH.) Yes, I think they're better than the original Seydel combs but it could be wishful thinking. They Seydel combs are pretty good to begin with. I did it for yucks and cosmetics.
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/Greg
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hvyj
2066 posts
Jan 19, 2012
8:33 PM
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If I have to sand a comb, I'm not interested in buying it. That's the whole point of buying a custom comb--you don't need to screw around with it. You just install it and it plays well I'm not into arts and crafts or do it yourself projects. I mean, I'll adjust gaps if I need to, but that's all I'm willing to do to a harp, so II don't mind paying for quality.
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jiceblues
61 posts
Jan 20, 2012
3:44 AM
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Bamboo combs on SP20 ? it's a good idea .The bamboo combs from HETRICK have a very good reputation .
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HarpNinja
2090 posts
Jan 20, 2012
6:36 AM
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If you don't flat sand the draw plate well on harps with rivets that protrude from the reedplate, it won't matter how flat the comb is - if said rivets hit the comb. Also, there is nothing saying that the reedplate in general is not entirely flat.
Different harps will work differently with aftermarket combs, and I would always assume some the possibility of having to do some trouble shooting.
Most the time the issue is not the comb, but the reedplates.
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Mike
VHT Special 6 Mods
Quicksilver Custom Harmonicas - When it needs to come from the soul...
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harpwrench
556 posts
Jan 20, 2012
8:19 AM
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One shouldn't confuse surface smoothness and flatness. These are not pictures of Hetricks product BTW; the first two are of someone else's, the third is my Corian comb.
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Spiers Harmonicas
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chromaticblues
1139 posts
Jan 20, 2012
8:42 AM
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I always sand them flat! Smooth doesn't matter at all!
Actually I don't sand them smooth so the sealant will penetrate the wood better. Bamboo is very dense and if you sand it with fine sand paper you can clog the pores of the wood and that can lead to the finnish flaking off.
Also I never take it for granted that anything is flat. I don't care where it came from. I sand everything!
If nothing else it's my version of quality control.
Double also what Harp ninja said about the draw plate.
They are not flat. Last night I noticed (as I was sanding)the plate was flat before I had sanded the the nubbs of the rivets down.
I have never had that happen before. Some of the plates are pretty twisted!
Last Edited by on Jan 20, 2012 8:50 AM
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HarpNinja
2093 posts
Jan 20, 2012
12:19 PM
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I agree that the smooth shiny finish on the reedplate sides of the comb don't have to be shiny and smooth to be flat or at least flat enough.
If you flat sand anything, just make sure it is cleaned off well so you aren't inhaling stuff. You can get a reasonable check simply by holding the sandwhiched pieces up to the light. That doesn't for sure mean the tines are all sitting flat, but Joe's pics will give those reading this an idea of how to check that.
Sometimes, I put the comb or plate on a flat hard surface. You can kind of tap on them to see if there is a gap. I am not explaining it well in text, but lots of times, after opening and tapping MB reed plates, they aren't totally flat. I just put a finger in the middle and tap the sides to see if they are moving.
It probably doesn't work as great for combs, though. You can use sandpaper and such to check some of that. I've tried looking for highspots by looking for the dust on the paper - or water with the wet dry kind.
The hardest comb I ever worked with was brass. It wasn't totally flat and the way it was cut didn't leave room for the rivet ends at all. It took forever to get everything to mate well.
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Mike
VHT Special 6 Mods
Quicksilver Custom Harmonicas - When it needs to come from the soul...
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Todd Parrott
820 posts
Jan 20, 2012
12:50 PM
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Thanks for your post, Joe... the truth is often hidden from these threads.
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HarpNinja
2094 posts
Jan 20, 2012
1:03 PM
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There are some great flat sanding vids and pics online. Not at the computer, but David Payne, Kinya Pollard, and Richard Sleigh, for example, have shared their techniques.
I use 600 grit on dymonwood combs and then 1000. I like the wet-dry paper. I use 200ish on readplates.
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Mike
VHT Special 6 Mods
Quicksilver Custom Harmonicas - When it needs to come from the soul...
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