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Dirty-South Blues Harp forum: wail on! >
A beginers harp journey...
A beginers harp journey...
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Herco
3 posts
Mar 24, 2013
1:04 AM
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Hello all and here we go.
Only recently picked up the harp after many attempts in the past to learn. I am primarily a guitar player with many years under my now ever widening belt (not musical but trouser) and once again decided to try to learn how to play the blues harp. I adored the sounds made by this small but powerful instrument so took the plunge and bought a Lee Oskar in C... So far so good.
Launched YouTube and found these 30 second lessons by a fella called Jake... Perfect place to start and am now well on the way to wailing and honking along to my CD collection... Have had a few acoustic jams and am loving every single minute of it all.
Now to the harps... Lee Oskar's are great, easy to play, long lasting, facial hair removing and trouble free instruments... I decided on a Suzuki Bluesmaster for my next harp in E...
What struck me is the comfort of the shape in my hands and mouth and the tone, which to my ears sounded a little quiter and after a while less brash than the LO...
Then my inexperienced technique managed to knacker my four draw reed so I attempted a clean and repair and succesfully made it worse... Ho hum another great learning curve in action...
I then in my need to keep on playong purchased a Marine Band 1896 and my whole harp world changed... What a soft, deep and bluesy tone I now get... It feels wonderful in my hands where the LO felt rather large and bulky... It for me is easier to bend notes and also easier to navigate my now ravaged lips around the comb.
The downside; Protruding brass reed plates with razor sharp edges...Remedied by sanding flush with comb and rounding off on top and corners.
Swelling comb complete with unforgiving and brutal side hole edges. Remedied by removing comb, lightly rounding the side edges and sealing...
Now I have a perfect for me blues harp, which also looks like a harp should look like... Old school at its best and sounds dark, warm, full and loud...
Thought I would share just in case any of you out there have a Marine Band 1896 but can't deal with the mouth discomfort. It is easy to make these mods and once done you kinda feel like its really yours... After all you have played it, taken it apart and re-worked it into a personalised instrument of your liking, that now feels as good in your mouth and hands as it sounds...
Job done, now back to Little Walter's Juke, a learning curve indeed...
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Stokes Bay Slim
10 posts
Mar 24, 2013
7:27 AM
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Hi Herco,
How about the Hohner Marine Band Special 20-the comfortable Marine Band. Best Wishes.
Pete
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jbone
1215 posts
Mar 24, 2013
8:02 AM
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When you are ready to try the next level and have a few bucks, you may want to try a Suzuki Manji as well Herco. While a bit more pricey, the Manji has some very NOW features which imho make it what the 1896 should have become in recent years. wood/resin comb never swells. side vented covers which give a unique sound similar to the 1896 but louder. High precision laser aligned and braised reeds made from superior brass material. No sharp edges. If Hohner had done this job with the 1896 I would, never have left them behind. Hohner does offer a couple of "improved" 1896 models, the Deluxe and the Crossover. But at the end of the day they have done nothing to improve their reed and plate situation, at least as I see it.
The Manji may be a bit harsh to some easy but to me not nearly as pitchy and rude as the Lee Oskar. Volume at the harp is louder with a Manji than any other harp I've ever played, in over 40 years of harmonica insanity. So Manji is my go-to harp, I have several in my case and look forward to getting the last few to have a full set of gigging harps. Did I mention replaceable reed plates?
Some years ago I began the sort of campaign you are embarked on, smoothing, sealing, drilling, tapping, etc etc. what the result was for me was, a great playing harp with a faster fail rate on certain reeds. I made a decision that I am no customizer or optimizer, I am a player. I completely respect peoples' right and desire to tweak harps, it's just not for me. Especially when I have found the best harp available.
A side note- Special 20 is a good workhorse harp as well, but the same reed issue is inherent there as with the 1896.
Not to be negative but I wanted to share my experience. Whatever you do or don't I hope you keep playing and have a life long avocation you will love as much as I have this one.
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