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Dirty-South Blues Harp forum: wail on! > Donor reed options for PreMS Meisterklasse
Donor reed options for PreMS Meisterklasse
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Frank
1748 posts
Dec 30, 2012
9:22 AM
Do you work on your own harps?
Todd Parrott
1077 posts
Dec 30, 2012
11:01 AM
The reeds from any harps in the handmade series should work - Marine Band, Special 20, Golden Melody, Crossover, Marine Band Deluxe - they all use the same reeds as the pre-MS Meisterklasse has.
John Krzmarzick
2 posts
Dec 30, 2012
1:35 PM
Frank,
I've only adjusted reeds so far with mixed results. Have a few harps now that need rescuing including a Super Chromonica I bought new as a teen in the 70's. I'm inspired by this forum to do more but perhaps I shouldn't try my first reed replacement on the Meisterklasse. I have a collection of LO's, GM's, Spec20's, Pro-harps, Blues Harps, a MB, and just added a Manji & Crossover. Nothing plays quite like the Meisterklasse -perhaps it's just a "good one".
Looks like I need to invest in some tools.

Thanks to Todd for answering the reed question. I thought the reeds might be unique on the Meisterklasse.
arzajac
929 posts
Dec 30, 2012
1:32 PM
I agree that you should avoid using your favourite harps during the learning curve of reed replacement. I suggest you buy a few $10 Marine Bands on ebay and use them. It does take practice, but once you get the hang of it, it's straightforward.

If you live in the US, I recommend MP (link to his profile) for reed replacements - $10 per reed. If you live in Canada, I would be happy to do it.

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barbequebob
2154 posts
Dec 31, 2012
9:11 AM
The reeds in the hand mades should work. When the pre-MS Meisterklasse harps came out, Hohner was using short slot reeds, and the original reed material for the pre-MS version was made of berillium copper alloy rather than brass.
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Sincerely,
Barbeque Bob Maglinte
Boston, MA
http://www.barbequebob.com
CD available at http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/bbmaglinte
Todd Parrott
1078 posts
Dec 31, 2012
10:10 AM
Bob is correct. I have a few Meisterklasses that have those old reeds in them - they're more of a copper color.

John, some of the old Meisterklasses were very good, while some were not. The key to the tone of the Meisterklasse was the use of full-length covers. Those covers really warmed up the tone nicely, especially on the higher keys. If you place the Meisterklasse covers on a Crossover, for example, you get that nice, warm Meisterklasse tone.

At SPAH, I suggested to the folks from Hohner that they should bring back the old style Meisterklasse with a cover plate design that is interchangeable with a Marine Band Deluxe or Crossover. In other words, two cover plate screws on each end instead of one, so if you wanted to place Meisterklasse covers on a Crossover, you could easily do so.

Many of Suzuki's and Seydel's models feature parts that are interchangeable, which is really nice for those who like to mix and match. I suppose this was Hohner's intention with the MS system, but that's another topic.....
barbequebob
2155 posts
Jan 02, 2013
8:18 AM
The only other harps that used those reeds were both chromatics, and they were first used on the Hohner Silver Concerto and on the very early versions of the Super 64X.
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Sincerely,
Barbeque Bob Maglinte
Boston, MA
http://www.barbequebob.com
CD available at http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/bbmaglinte
MP
2627 posts
Jan 02, 2013
10:53 AM
EDIT:
thanks arzajac!

hey Bob,

do you remember the very first Super 64. i bought one because i saw Junior Wells and James Cotton playing them.

at the time i thought the only difference from my other 64 chro was the full length cover plate design. it was a very good chromatic harp.

i don't remember an X, as in 64X so i assume these didn't come with the berrilium copper alloy reeds?

oh, i think i sold a berrillium copper alloy reed Meisterklasse to Todd Parrott if i'm not mistaken.
pretty sure i did.
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MP
affordable reed replacement and repairs.

"making the world a better place, one harmonica at a time"

click user name [MP] for info-
repair videos on YouTube.
you can reach me via Facebook. Mark Prados

Last Edited by on Jan 02, 2013 11:02 AM
barbequebob
2156 posts
Jan 03, 2013
10:21 AM
I remember when the Super 64's first came out and they were essentially the same as the 64's that were being made at the time with the main difference being that the Super 64's had a stainless steel cover plate that went the full length of the harp (the 64's were nickel plated brass covers that had been similar to the ones being made for decades) and wheras the 64's of the time the Super 64's were introduced (the Super 64's were introduced in 1973/74), the 64's reed plates were nailed to the comb mainly using first aluminum nails, later escutcheon pins, and the Super 64's reed plates were held to the comb using 0-80 machine screws. The reeds were always brass from day one. The Super 64's were introduced in the late 80's/early 90's with the berillium copper alloy reeds.

From the late 70's until the mid 80's, the Super 64's weren't sold in the US and were reintroaduced in the USA once Hohner closed it's old Canadian headquarters in the mid 80's.
----------
Sincerely,
Barbeque Bob Maglinte
Boston, MA
http://www.barbequebob.com
CD available at http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/bbmaglinte


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