jiceblues
198 posts
Feb 10, 2013
3:20 AM
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I've seen on PAT MISSIN REWIEWS that the late HOHNER BLUES HARP were completely sealed and entirely triple lacquered .
Do some of you guys have these "new BH's" ?
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arzajac
981 posts
Feb 10, 2013
5:31 AM
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This is quite old news.
The MS blues harp does have a fully sealed comb, but that doesn't mean it plays well - the comb is not as flat as it can be. Besides being leaky, MS harps have short reeds. But if you don't set up your harps for overbends, the latter problem in not very relevant.
Out of all the MS harps, the Blues Harp has the most potential for quick improvement because you can easily flat-sand the comb to dramatically improve airtightness. You need to seal the surface you flat-sanded, of course. While you do that, you can fill up the cracks in between the tines that is inherent in the Doussie wood.
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jiceblues
199 posts
Feb 10, 2013
6:50 AM
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Yes , i flat sanded some combs on BH's .Like you say , there are some cracks in the doussié wood .I have a few BH's with custom DORTEL combs .These combs upgrade the BH a lot.
The reeds on MS harps are longer than on MB's .
Thank's for the answer .
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A440
61 posts
Feb 10, 2013
10:06 AM
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Last year I bought some new BHs during a visit to Germany - in all the flat keys. They are pretty air tight, with no comb swelling and no cracks. They sound really nice and I enjoy playing them. The quality seems more consistent OOTB than the MB 1896, and they're screwed rather than nailed - for the same price. Buy one and try it out.
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jiceblues
200 posts
Feb 10, 2013
10:38 AM
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Yes , i'm gonna order a new one , i need a Eb .
Thank's for the advice .
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SuperBee
899 posts
Feb 11, 2013
10:43 AM
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I don't think they've changed for a while. I've never had a MS BH comb swell, and I've had a lot of them. I used to really like them, but I couldn't bring myself to buy another one these days. Since I got hip to the joy of marine bands in their various forms, I can't go back. I still have quite a few BH, even still have one in the gig case, but the love isn't there anymore. I thought MBH stood for 'marine band harmonica'....
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jiceblues
201 posts
Feb 11, 2013
11:02 AM
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Yes , the comb don't swell but it's not airtight...
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SuperBee
900 posts
Feb 11, 2013
12:06 PM
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Very easy to break that comb...
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jiceblues
202 posts
Feb 11, 2013
12:38 PM
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Yes , once i broke a teeth by taking apart the harp !
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Rubes
665 posts
Feb 11, 2013
3:30 PM
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I was gonna chime in earlier....but I've only got one BH and wouldn't you know it..it's an Eb!
Ok, it's a good one! I have only lightly sanded, applied some beeswax (don't mind the taste) and rounded the corners. Despite the slightly protruding plates...it goes like a rocket!!
Despite it's temperament too, I managed to impress some local jazz heads with some funky 2nd pos. licks in Bb! I haven't opened the back out however, I think anything above D is loud enough (tin sandwiches anyway).
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One of Rubes's bands, DadsinSpace-MySpace
Old Man Rubes at Reverbnation
Last Edited by Rubes on Feb 11, 2013 3:31 PM
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jiceblues
203 posts
Feb 11, 2013
11:50 PM
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Yes , we got only one tune in Bbm , so i ordered a BH for that song .I wanted to know if HOHNER had "upgraded" the BH because mine were bought used ( but in good condition) .
And i want to compare a stock-new BH with my "old" ones with custom combs .
I think the beeswax is a good way to go if you want to keep the stock comb .
I don't open the backs , i like them stock...
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barbequebob
2195 posts
Feb 12, 2013
7:59 AM
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From the time the of introduction of the MS Blues Harp until just recently, the combs, which are made from a wood from Africa called doussie, had never been sealed at all and the reason why Hohner chose to use this wood for this model (as well as for the MS Marine Band and the MS Martin, which are now both discontinued and the MS-MB were sold only in Europe) was that with the MS series using interchangeable parts, they didn't want to be bothered with sealing the combs at all and dousssie was chosen because it was much more resistant to swelling as it was from the African tropics, but it CAN actually swell as well as crack from being a bit on the brittle side at times, but it's good that they are fully sealing them.
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Sincerely,
Barbeque Bob Maglinte
Boston, MA
http://www.barbequebob.com
CD available at http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/bbmaglinte
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jiceblues
204 posts
Feb 12, 2013
8:52 AM
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I received today my Eb BH .I'm pleased with this harp .
Not as loud as my other BH's with DORTEL comb , but seems reasonably airtight and sounds good .
The blow reeds need a little gapping , easy to do .
Maybe it just need to be played for a while .
I think HOHNER really upgraded the BH these times ;
thank's to MICHAEL TIMLER .
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jiceblues
205 posts
Feb 13, 2013
5:23 AM
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I took the harp apart and , yes , the comb is fully sealed and lacquered .
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