florida-trader
250 posts
Feb 27, 2013
6:22 AM
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I would be interested in hearing some opinions or personal experience regarding the Hohner Deuce and a Quarter and the Cross Harp. Both are now discontinued members of the MS-Series. The Deuce and a Quarter supposedly derives its name from the thickness of the reed plates. Contrary to popular opinion, they are not 2.25mm thick. They come in at 1.19mm thick which is slightly thicker than the 1.00mm Blues Harp reed plates. I heard that the "Deuce and a Quarter" is arrived at by adding the thickness of both reed plates together. That doesn’t quite add up to 2.25 but its close. The Cross Harp reed plates are the same thickness. The only difference between the two is the Cross Harp plates are brass and the Deuce and a Quarter has steel plates (but brass reeds).
So based upon your experience, would you give these harps a thumbs up or thumbs down? And why?
Thanks.
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Tom Halchak
www.BlueMoonHarmonicas.com
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1847
560 posts
Feb 27, 2013
8:59 AM
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i have several cross harps with custom combs
they are great for playing light, fast passages.
the reeds do not however stay in tune for very long.
i have one in "a" i use to play along with jimi lee
i can hear a couple of reeds starting to go flat
i will retune them. till they need to be replaced
then toss in a box with all my other out of tune harps
the 1847 seydel is about the same size,
they stay in tune for what seems like forever!
if you must have a hohner, the crossover is super bitchen!
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tipjar
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nacoran
6535 posts
Feb 27, 2013
9:13 AM
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Lol. If only TN Frank were still around the forum!
(A while back we had a member who had a Deuce and a Quarter. He was more famous though for his nearly pulling off an international harmonica for home made beef jerky trade. He had a clash of personalities with another famous member, NOD.) In the end, TN, who was a prolific poster, decided he was going to delete every post he ever made. We kicked him off the forum, but not before he got most of his posts, so if you search the forum archives you'll find all sorts of one sided conversations with half the conversation missing.
Ah, memories.
edit- oh, and I think he was fond of his D&Q. :)
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Nate
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Last Edited by nacoran on Feb 27, 2013 9:14 AM
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HawkeyeKane
1509 posts
Feb 27, 2013
9:42 AM
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Oddly enough, musiciansfriend had Deuce and a Quarters available for sale through the Christmas season. They didn't list them online, but they were in their holiday catalog listed at $39.99. I haven't seen them again since, but it makes me curious as to what Hohner's game is with this harp. Have they truly discontinued it and MF was just selling off NOS? Or is Hohner periodically bringing it back as a limited edition harp? Hmmmmm....
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Hawkeye Kane
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barbequebob
2203 posts
Feb 27, 2013
10:27 AM
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If you use any harps that have a thicker reed plate, you need to have more breath control because playing really hard on them is something you should not be doing (and that goes for any harp) because the thicker plate causes a wider swing for the reed and more stress, especially when playing too hard and on top of that, bending notes, and if you have a tendency to do that, these harps can get out of tune and/or blown out a lot faster than the more standard reed plate thickness of 0.90mm.
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isaacullah
2350 posts
Feb 27, 2013
10:45 AM
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The "Deuce and Quarter" always seemed like a bit of a "sham" product to me. That's not to say that it wasn't fully playable, or even bad, but rather that it was not a "new" product at all. It just seemed like Hohner was trying to generate maximum hype with minimum investment on that one. I'm not surprised that it's been dropped from their product line. I don't really see the need for additional harps for the MS line, anyway. I think they make plenty of money off of Big Rivers and Blues Harps. If I were them, I'd focus on those models and ditch the rest of the MS line.
Personally, I gave up on MS harps long ago. The inability to sustain nice overblows was the nail in the coffin. Otherwise, they are perfectly playable harps... I actually like the wood comb of the Blues Harp (with all it's problems). Though all my old Blues Harp are long dead, I've kept using their combs, and have a couple of Spec 20's with Blues Harps combs on them that I absolutely love.
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HawkeyeKane
1511 posts
Feb 27, 2013
10:55 AM
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" I don't really see the need for additional harps for the MS line, anyway. I think they make plenty of money off of Big Rivers and Blues Harps. If I were them, I'd focus on those models and ditch the rest of the MS line."
I can see where you're coming from. IMO, Hohner should drop everything from the MS line except Blues Harps, Big Rivers, and maybe Blue Midnights.
The DaaQ was more or less a gimmick piece in terms of functionality if you ask me. But it was a damn good-looking gimmick piece! One might make the analogy of the DaaQ to Seydel's Winter Edition Session Steel. Prexisting harp model with different snazzy cosmetics.
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Hawkeye Kane
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florida-trader
255 posts
Feb 27, 2013
11:08 AM
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Isaac and Hawkeye - There will always be some debate about whether or not Hohner makes the best harmonicas but there is no doubt that they are superb marketers. The Marine Band has been the basic chassis for literally hundreds of different models. Same guts with a different set of covers. Visit the Harmonica Collector's group on Facebook and you will get an idea of how many more harps sold because they look cool or just different from what they made last year. Think about all the postage stamps that are bought but never used by collectors.
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Tom Halchak
www.BlueMoonHarmonicas.com
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Goldbrick
89 posts
Feb 27, 2013
11:16 AM
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I like the duece looks great and plays well. I bought two when MF had them on sale.
Its a shame they only made them in A
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MP
2669 posts
Feb 27, 2013
1:07 PM
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both are good harps. i come across every MS harp in my repair biz so i've played these guys.
i have to run a harp through its paces before returning it and these harps turn out really well with a minimum of work. i don't know why, but MS brass tunes faster than the Handmade series.
also, if you felt like it, you can set them up to OB fairly easily.
it is a myth that MS harps or any mid priced harps are not good for OB set-ups. they are good for OB set-ups. i think a lot of misconceptions have been created simply because this or that well respected player expressed their opinion. it is a good idea to to use your own critical thinking skills.
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MP
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Last Edited by MP on Feb 27, 2013 4:20 PM
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OldGeezer
6 posts
Feb 27, 2013
3:54 PM
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Tom Halchak said: "The only difference between the two is the Cross Harp plates are brass and the Deuce and a Quarter has steel plates (but brass reeds)."
The 2 1/4 has chrome-plated brass reedplates. (Try touching one with a magnet.) Otherwise, they're just plain old MS series reedplates.
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nacoran
6536 posts
Feb 27, 2013
4:01 PM
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Wait, there is a Facebook page dedicated to pretty pictures of old harmonicas? Why wasn't I told about this?
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Nate
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HawkeyeKane
1514 posts
Feb 27, 2013
4:04 PM
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There ya go Nate. :-)
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Hawkeye Kane
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1847
566 posts
Feb 27, 2013
6:31 PM
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the meisterclass had chrome reed plates
looks like they just stuck them on a ms bluesharp comb
i think that would make it better.
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tipjar
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1847
567 posts
Feb 27, 2013
6:40 PM
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the meisterclass had chrome plated reed plates
they used that cause it had an aluminum comb
it helps to prevent electrolysis perhaps they are using up the old stock without degrading the premium meisterclass brand
it's all about branding. they are one and the same.. you do however pay a lot more
for the top of the line meisterclass
i would prefer the wood comb myself
this what i posted.... i lost it when i entered the wrong code
if you lose your post you can just nack click and there it is voila
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tipjar
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tipjar
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1847
568 posts
Feb 27, 2013
6:40 PM
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the meisterclass had chrome plated reed plates
they used that cause it had an aluminum comb
it helps to prevent electrolysis perhaps they are using up the old stock without degrading the premium meisterclass brand
it's all about branding. they are one and the same.. you do however pay a lot more
for the top of the line meisterclass
i would prefer the wood comb myself
this is what i posted.... i lost it when i entered the wrong code
if you lose your post you can just back click and there it is voila
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tipjar
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tipjar
Last Edited by 1847 on Feb 27, 2013 6:41 PM
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