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Dirty-South Blues Harp forum: wail on! >
Custom comb materials
Custom comb materials
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Kingley
2079 posts
Dec 31, 2012
1:06 AM
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I have a few questions regarding comb materials on stock or lightly customised harmonicas. More specifically Corian vs Acrylic vs Wood (including Bamboo) on a Golden Melody harmonica
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Is one longer lasting than the other?
Does a Corian comb add much weight to a harp?
Does either have any real effect on stock tone?
Does Corain have any particular taste to it (like some wood combs often do)?
How do either compare to a stock comb apart from the obvious flatness usually present in a custom comb?
How does each comb (Corian, Acrylic, Wood) compare to each other?
Last Edited by on Dec 31, 2012 1:07 AM
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SuperBee
775 posts
Dec 31, 2012
3:56 AM
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Corian does add weight. Marine band weighs 55g. With corian comb, 67g. Only 12g, but about 25%, so you can actually notice. Doesn't affect anything IMHO, just feels a bit chunkier.
Corian doesn't taste and is very smooth.
I haven't noticed a tonal change. My harp had a swollen comb. I shaved it back, but then it had lost its lacquer and as a tongue blocker I found it unpleasant. Like a Manji ;)
I have 2 with custom combs, both Corian, and MP did the work. I'm not sure how much he did besides fitting the combs, but the MB was already a good harp apart from the comb. Now it's a great harp. I play it in preference to my crossover in that key.
The other was a "bad years" pre-MS blues harp. It was a dud before, now it's a decent harp. I have better C harps, but this is actually quite decent. ( I suspect Mark did a bit of work on this one. Putting MB covers on it really made a big improvement. )
I really do like the corian, but I think the bamboo combs are probably every bit as good if not better. Just an impression I have from comments I've seen.
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Kingley
2081 posts
Dec 31, 2012
7:12 AM
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SuperBee - Thank you for the great info. It's much appreciated.
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Lyle
2 posts
Dec 31, 2012
8:31 AM
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I personally think bamboo is way overrated, and is one of the ugliest, plain-Jane colors when it comes to wooden combs, regardless of whether it's blonde or brown, but that's just my opinion. I love Corian and acrylic combs because they are easier to clean those crusty "harp boogers" (dried saliva) out of the tines. With wooden combs, whether dymondwood, bamboo, or whatever, the saliva seems to get embedded into the wood, almost like it absorbs it. You have to disassemble the harp from the comb and spend a lot of time to get the comb really clean. With Corian or acrylic, it just flakes off pretty easily.
I've tried a bunch of materials recently, and I don't think there's any "magic" tone with any particular material, but this has been and will continue to be debated for years to come. The differences are very minimal. It took me a while to accept it, but I have come to believe and agree with others who have pointed it out on this forum, that the cover plates and the player are what change the tone more than comb material.
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nacoran
6336 posts
Dec 31, 2012
10:26 AM
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I've played ABS Plastic, wood sealed with mineral oil, unsealed wood, wood sealed with poly, acrylic and aluminum. I haven't played Corian. The wood sealed with poly had a smell to it that faded with time, but I'm hypersensitive to smells. The aluminum had a slight taste to it. I didn't mind the taste. It has some real heft. If you were carrying a whole case of them around the extra weight would be noticeable. The acrylic and ABS are both tasteless and odorless. All of them where smooth except unfinished wood. They'll all last if you treat them well. The only comb breaks I've had were when the harps were apart being worked on. I had a fantasy marble I cracked trying to use it as a guide to refit a MB reed plate to fit it, and an acrylic that cracked right by the screw hole on the end of the low reed slot where it is so narrow. It was in a drawer without a harp at the time, and was made by someone who was just getting into the comb game.
The only consistent damage I've seen to combs is on harps where one of the edges of the cover rests directly on the plastic. Golden Melodies get chips, and I'm convinced it's because the back struts rest on the plastic instead of the reed plate. It's probably compounded by squeezing too hard, but vertical metal seems to act like a wedge and over time break the plastic. Covers should rest entirely on the reed plates (or, in the middle, on screws).
I'm also in the 'no tone difference' from the comb school. I posted some long theories based on what I'd read about how harmonicas work, but they limit the length of our posts now! Basically, free reeds work differently than pretty much any other type of instrument. The sound is made by the reed stopping and starting the flow of air by swinging the reed. A flute, on the other hand, produces sound by controlling the length of the vibrating air column inside it. Things you do to effect the swing of the reed- reed profiling, air tightness, even magnets on steel reeds, can change the sound, but that little reed slot doesn't interact with the air long enough to do much to it as far as tone. The covers are a much bigger sound chamber, as is the cup of your hands. Opening up the back of a harp's covers changes the tone because it effects how fast and compressed the air is leaving the harp. (I can hear the difference, but some days I like the sound of open backs better, other days closed, and hand cupping trumps the difference.)
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Nate
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Kingley
2084 posts
Dec 31, 2012
10:32 AM
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Thanks for the info guys. Every bit of information helps.
I have quite a lot of experience with sealed wooden combs having played Marine Bands for years. I've also been opening the covers and customising my own harps for a few years now.
I have recently acquired some Golden Melody harps and am intrigued by the Corian and acrylic combs, after watching Todd Parrott talk about them on YouTube. I have ordered an acrylic comb from Tom Halchak to test. I'll most likely order a Corian one too.
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harp-er
291 posts
Dec 31, 2012
11:15 AM
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I'll just offer a different opinion about the bamboo combs. I happen to find the blond especially lovely. As for it's effect, I guess its flatness transformed a dudly G GM into a wonderfully playing harp. I've put bamboo on several other GM's with happy results. I also have corian on a couple of GM's and I like those also. They do add some nice weight as well.
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Kingley
2087 posts
Dec 31, 2012
11:21 AM
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harp-er - Thanks for the info. How do you find the Bamboo compared to the Corian? Is one better than the other in your experience? Are those the Bamboo combs from Hetrick ?
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harp-er
292 posts
Dec 31, 2012
12:22 PM
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Aside from the fact that the corian is noticeably heavier, I can't say that I notice any significant difference between them and the bamboo as far as playability is concerned, except I think I just like the wood better. The brown bamboo is nice too (I have a couple of those as well). I just prefer the blond. Both the corian (what in my opinion is a beautiful solid ivory color) and the bamboo are Hetrick combs.
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Kingley
2088 posts
Dec 31, 2012
12:22 PM
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Thanks harp-er.
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ElkRiverHarmonicas
1458 posts
Dec 31, 2012
12:32 PM
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Nate, if we ever get together, let's test your no-comb theory... get a couple of identical suzukis, one with a metal comb, one with a wood or plastic or whatever comb. Turn around and I'll tell you which one you're
playing.
ALso, just wanted to chime and and say that bamboo is not wood. It is grass.
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David
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At the time of his birth, it was widely accepted that no one man could play that much music so well or raise that much hell. He proved them all wrong.
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David
Elk River Harmonicas
 
Last Edited by on Dec 31, 2012 12:33 PM
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Kingley
2089 posts
Dec 31, 2012
12:42 PM
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" bamboo is not wood. It is grass. "
Good point Dave. That thought never crossed my mind.
Nate, just don't bet him money on it. That Elk River harp man has a damn fine ear!
Last Edited by on Dec 31, 2012 12:43 PM
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nacoran
6337 posts
Dec 31, 2012
2:39 PM
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Dave, that would be fun. I have switched between aluminum and chestnut on the same harp. I didn't hear a difference, but then again there was time lag of taking one comb off and swapping it out. I can hear the difference in covers definitely though- open back, side vents, etc. I've even put Piedmont covers on Sp20's. I'm not sure if it was the plastic, or the extremely closed (even compared to an Sp20) back, but it sounded muted, which is a shame, because the plastic covers are really easy on the lips.
I'd also comment, that there may well be some other things a comb can effect. There seems to be a playablity difference between exposed and recessed reed plates, and people have played with comb thickness, although I don't know the verdict.
I would say any comb that discourages you from practicing will have a bigger impact on your playing than the comb material. Fancy combs look awesome though! And flat sanded makes a big difference.
Hmm, I've got a comb question, sort of. I've got a Turboslide (Blues Session Steel). I've got a beautiful American Chestnut comb for a Blues Favorite. I'm kind of afraid to even open the Turboslide up. That chestnut comb would look so much better than the bright orange comb (I do have a bright orange comb on a Sp20 that looks awesome, but it also has a sunrise sticker from Blue Moon on the cover. Without the sticker, I'm not a fan of orange).
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Nate
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Rubes
633 posts
Jan 01, 2013
2:07 AM
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My bag is mixed brands and mixed combs, and most combs are customs..Among my favouirites are: Bb MB with blonde bamboo (seems just like an improved version of original...woody and light...and I think this 'type' of material helps define the MB sound), Db MB with Evanwood comb (it's just #@$%!&*^%$ BEAUTIFUL!!, want more!), another MB in G with a highly polished Ebony Corian comb (again I feel that this nice hard shiny material adds to the 'G' flavour, want more also), I don't mind the Sjoeberg comb in Rosewood on a country tuned C GM (again this material seems to suit the GM, and the thin tines are ok), and concernig the Orange Session comb, yes the original is substandard so I thought I'd celebrate the colour with a Corian comb in yes orange! (it's pretty shiny and smooth also....yum!) The only real 'dud', is a LO comb in cocobolo that is very 'dry'! Catches your lips even, useless if you're drinking any alcohol!
Anyway....my two cents worth. Might try to upload some pics! Cheers
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Kingley
2097 posts
Jan 01, 2013
9:23 AM
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Thanks Rubes.
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