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Dirty-South Blues Harp forum: wail on! >
Best out of the box harp yet
Best out of the box harp yet
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LIP RIPPER
128 posts
Oct 27, 2009
7:11 AM
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Until yesterday, the best out of the box harp I'd ever purchased was a Seydel 1847 silver in the key of "D". When the mail was delivered yesterday we were on the patio and I looked at my wife and said, "maybe my harp came today". Sure enough. I bought this prewar Marine band in the key of "C" on ebay. When I opened the box I couldn't believe it. It looks new and unused. I mean shiny like new.I don't think it has ever been played. I looked inside and it was so clean I began to play it. It is a great stock harp. Everything works fine. Another testament to the old stuff. This is going to make a tremedous instrument.
LR
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tookatooka
693 posts
Oct 27, 2009
8:23 AM
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Funny how we hear that these pre-war MB's are so good. You would think that with modern production methods, computer controlled quality control, advances in material science and metalurgy, that todays harps would be streets ahead. I wonder what went wrong.
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XHarp
205 posts
Oct 27, 2009
8:55 AM
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Nice Lip Ripper, good to hear you found a little magic in that thing.
Tooka, Perhaps you called it.....
"modern production methods, computer controlled quality control, advances in material science and metalurgy"
Seen it many times, so called advances have led to attempts to use less material or slightly different compositions to achieve similar goals. The end result is similar but not the same. Cast Iron vs Ductile Iron for instance. What's better?
In some cases, like fuel economy in cars or tailpipe emissions, technology and science is better but in others where material densities, thicknesses, stress relieving or treating etc are similar but not the same, then we have problems.
Some might say, where balance sheets are the driving factor over quality, planned obsolesence is the ultimate goal.
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"Keep it in your mouth" - XHarp
Last Edited by on Oct 27, 2009 8:56 AM
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ElkRiverHarmonicas
323 posts
Oct 27, 2009
9:24 AM
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I cleaned up this prewar mouse ear G Marine Band for Philosophy once that would blow any 1847 out of the water. best one I ever saw was OTB, so to speak, was a prewar Seydel Bandmaster G.
That one of philosophy's would OVERDRAW... out of the box, overdraw. That said, generally prewars are a crap shoot. But the Kostlers were often just as good, same with many other makers.
The difference is in the brass. While the technology is there today, there is no chance for experimentation. Somebody who makes brass needs to cooperate for that to happen. THat cooperation hasn't happened since World War II. Back in the day, you, as a harmonica company, could send a small batch of brass to some dude down the street, he'd mix up a small batch, you'd make some reeds out of it and try it out, then adjust the alloy and try again until you had it right.
Nowadays, the little brass foundries are all gone and companies have to have it made in large batches, like enough brass to do reeds for 1,000 harps. The inability today to adjust brass alloys is a major reason Seydel is shifting to steel reeds more and more. It's also the reason why the old harps are so much better.
In the grand scheme of things, so little brass is used to make a harmonica reed, the makers don't really have any power... the brass foundries don't have to cater to that clientle.
Another reason, is recycled brass. Recycled brass works much better, something Joe Leone is always talking about. He says the reason is there are more opportunities in each step from the original alloy to its various points of being recycled for various impurities to leave the alloy. I don't know if that's the reason, but recycled brass does seem to work better. After World War I, you had casings for millions of artillery shells, that had originally been bells and the like, used in reeds. Those reeds were better, thus they made such a big deal out of "bell metal reeds."
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www.elkriverharmonicas.com
Last Edited by on Oct 27, 2009 9:25 AM
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jonsparrow
1241 posts
Oct 27, 2009
9:27 AM
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i have a few prewars an they all play perfect.
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Aussiesucker
409 posts
Oct 27, 2009
12:31 PM
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It could also be that these old harps that played well had materials in them that messed with peoples health.
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Ioannes
8 posts
Oct 27, 2009
1:20 PM
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Beside, never forget the fact that before WWII harmonica was much more popular instrument. And I do not think that that many people died from playing harmonica ever, including old days...
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MrVerylongusername
582 posts
Oct 27, 2009
4:22 PM
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Didn't they have lead in the brass?
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