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Dirty-South Blues Harp forum: wail on! >
Custom harp & blues, just blues
Custom harp & blues, just blues
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puri
21 posts
Jan 31, 2013
7:15 AM
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Last night during a band rehearsal my "affordable" custom harp had it's comb swollen and was nearly cut my lips. It's a D harp that i've been fighting with for almost 2 years, all the notes and bends are there but it's just stiff in the way that I don't believe it's only because it's a high harp. It doesn't response well unless I force it to and now I got this swelling comb to put on top of it.
This got me thinking about options that I have to deal with it. Should I
- just sand down the teeth
- order a new comb, maybe blue moon? but then this happened just about the right time that usps just raised the price - maybe not worth ordering just one or two combs.
- buy new ootb harp (for the price less than 2 comb plus shipping to Thailand!)
Before I bought my first custom my choices were limited and blues harp or ms harps are not gonna get you very far so I went with custom and never really look back until now that I started to feel that playing custom is, in a way, quite a burden. I mean you have to place order, you have to pay more, you have to wait and you have to take good care of them. I guess I just kinda miss the feeling that ther're just tools to express yourself. I play just blues and mainly TB, would a harp like Manji serve the purpose just fine? Can you rely on the consistency of an ootb harp that you're not gonna get a bad one? I'd also go with MB deluxe with no doubt if the dealer here have it but my choice of harps from the local shop is pretty limited, it's either good old MB or Manji. Any thoughts, guys?
Last Edited by on Jan 31, 2013 7:24 AM
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Baker
270 posts
Jan 31, 2013
7:44 AM
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It's possible that the swelling comb it what is causing you to have to "fight" the harp. Possibly with a new comb it might play much better in general, not just cut you lips. I'm surprised that the comb hasn't been sealed seeing as it's a custom.
What model harp is it? If it's a Marine band you could order a new MB Deluxe or Crossover comb, if it's an MS you could order a Big river (Plastic) comb. It might be cheaper than a custom one.
You might still have problems with swelling if you get an old MB. They don't have sealed combs either and I think it is more of an issue with tongue blocking. I lip block and have never had a comb swell.
I've not played a Manji but have heard good things. You won't have an issue with the comb swelling as it has a composite comb.
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HarpNinja
3156 posts
Jan 31, 2013
10:01 AM
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Can you get your hands on a Seydel? The Stainless Steel are long slot for that key. I've found I prefer long slot for playability, and if you get a Session or Silver, it can't swell.
Otherwise, if you are buying new, a Crossover should not only play great but not swell. You'd like the MBD tuning better, but it could swell.
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nacoran
6441 posts
Jan 31, 2013
2:36 PM
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If you have multiple harps that could use a comb, buying a bunch of custom combs might be the way to go, but, like you said, shipping could be a killer if you aren't getting several. That said, if you treat them well, custom combs can go from harp to harp as reeds wear out.
You could get a new harp. The other option though, is fixing the comb, but if you are going to do that, it's worth doing it right. Take the harp apart, clean it up, sand the comb flat, sand any sharp corners on the reed plates and seal the comb so you don't have problems in the future. You could even try some reed work to see if you can't make it more responsive, on the theory that if you break something you are only back where you started, needing a new comb or a new harp.
If you do go for a custom comb, Blue Moon is a great place to go. I don't know of any dealers in your part of the world. Jim (Eugene Ivanov)keeps a list of customizers that's more up to date than mine. I don't have a direct link to his list handy, but you can contact him on the FB group he runs:
(https://www.facebook.com/groups/harprepair/)
I don't know if there is anyone in your neck of the woods. (Zhin Wong is in Malaysia, which would be a lot closer than Florida, but the last I heard he was focusing more on music than customizing.) If you do find anyone more local, let me know and I'll add it to my list.
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Nate
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1847
492 posts
Jan 31, 2013
2:31 PM
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isn't the first thing a customizer does
is to seal the comb?
hope you didn't pay to much for your custom harmonica
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puri
22 posts
Jan 31, 2013
4:10 PM
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My customizer did loads of work on the comb. I think it's the sealing material that this one has different than the other ones I got from him. I've notice that the sealant at the front of the teeth has cracked sometimes ago and now it swells :( I'm not sure why. This just make me wanna go the worry free route and buy harps that I can just trash.
@Mike, unfortunately the dealer over never care to order the Deluxe or the Crossover.
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nacoran
6445 posts
Jan 31, 2013
4:36 PM
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A cracked seal might be worse than no seal at all. When I was a kid we painted a long outdoor staircase that came down a cliff to my grandmother's cottage. We'd replaced a few boards, and we repainted them. It turns out, with untreated lumber, if you seal them up by painting all sides of the board it holds any moisture that does get in there in and rots it out twice as fast, so on stairs, at least with untreated lumber, they actually suggested not painting the bottom. If your seal has a crack right on the front, you may be letting moisture in, and since the rest is sealed, it may not be getting back out.
As for your local dealer, tell him what harp you want, and see if he'll order it. Sometimes dealers have better distribution networks. If he's ordering a few other Hohners he could just get the harps you wanted shipped at the same time. Just a thought. My local shops always offer to order for me, and they can usually match the online prices. (It's usually not worth it for me though, since they just match prices, and my post office box is closer than driving back over to their shop.)
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Nate
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jiceblues
193 posts
Feb 01, 2013
1:41 AM
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Try to order a SP20 or MBDL from your local dealer...
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puri
23 posts
Feb 01, 2013
2:26 AM
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Can't resist the curiosity, guys. First I've sanded the teeth down but it's very uncomfortable to play so that left me with two other options.
I am at the moment so sick of buying stuffs online and wait for it to travel half way around the world before I get to play/try it plus the curiousity to try another brands out and find a decent ootb harp has increased massively after this D harp got bad. I tried contact the local hohner dealer and like usual they've shown no interest in ordering better/pricier harp to stock since they may not be able to sell them. I only have one other choice left for quality ootb harps which I really should've tried them long time ago, The Suzuki.
Actually I've never doubt the quality of Suzuki harps but since I was into custom harps before so I never get to try it. I got many reason to try them out actually, good quality, I can pick them up locally and much cheaper here than in US. so I got myself a D Manji this afternoon. I'm gonna give it sometimes since it quite different from what I'm used to and will come back tell you guys about it.
Last Edited by on Feb 01, 2013 2:27 AM
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SuperBee
874 posts
Feb 01, 2013
3:27 AM
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Good luck with the manji. Personally I found the comb was a bit nasty (i tongue block virtually everything) and the reeds rather stiff on the one I had. I liked the size and I liked the covers.
But I would take a classic MB any day. Swelling combs used to be an issue but I think the current production marine bands don't swell, and the quality seems to be quite consistent. The last order I got (6 classic marine bands, in keys LO Eb, Ab, A, Bb, Eb, F, ) were all immediately playable ootb and only the Lo Eb shows signs of swelling. The A and Bb are current production with the new comb. I really think they are great harps. I had no great expectations of these, primarily ordered as backups, but the Ab, Bb and F quickly became first choice gigging harps. I couldn't believe it really; I just accept the first job with a new harp is to set the gaps but with this batch I have not had to touch them. Only the Lo Eb is of any concern, and I have Lo skill with Lo tuned harps, so I am not inclined to pay out on it too much.
Manji though is potentially a good unit. Quality seems to be rather patchy but hopefully you have a good one.
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florida-trader
238 posts
Feb 01, 2013
6:42 AM
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puri - contact me directly. I'll hook you up.
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Tom Halchak
www.BlueMoonHarmonicas.com
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puri
24 posts
Feb 01, 2013
7:20 PM
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How can you not love this forum!
@SuperBee, I'm kinda with you on that. I TB pretty much everything too and can see that it's not TBer's heaven but it's a very decent harp; all the bends are there including blow bends up to hole 10 and that's pretty impressive for a high harp! I did some gapping (it didn't need much) and right now maybe only 3 hole that still needs some adjustment but other than it's fine harp, but just not my cup of tea. I can see why LPer like it though. Anyway, I've not regretting buying this one but I'm definitely gonna stick with the MBs.
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