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Dirty-South Blues Harp forum: wail on! > No Quality Control Problems For Me!
No Quality Control Problems For Me!
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scstrickland
329 posts
Dec 05, 2009
3:38 PM
Wow! The way people talk on this forum it would seem that two out of every 3 harps purchased ( especially from Hohner ) are twisted, useless, leaky, unplayable pieces of junk. I don't get it. Either I have no idea what a good harp sounds like, or I have unbelievably good luck. After doing an inventory of all the harps I have ever purchased I have only had one problem and that was a sticky 4 draw that I fixed with some plinking. Here is my list of harps

3 Big River D,C,G
2 Hohner 150 Anniversary C
5 Blues Harps C,A,Bb,G,E
1 Blues Bender F (hate it but it works)
1 Blues-band C (hate it but it works)
1 Manji Bb
1 Lee Oscar C
2 MS replacement reed-plates A (one had the sticky reed)
2 Ms replacement reed-plates C
1 Ms replacement reed-plates Bb

13 harps
5 sets of reed-plates
1 problem

They all play. Some perform better than others. The Blues-band is stiff and sluggish and The Manji steers like Ferrari. I don't Overblow so there is no problem there. The only customizing I do is mainly for aesthetics. I have worn out reeds. Usually 4 draw, but that is because I swing on that note like Tarzan on a vine. So that is my fault and not the quality of the harp. Maybe I don't know what a bad or leaky Harp is. If so, than Ignorance is bliss. I wonder if there is anybody else out there who doesn't have problems with their harmonicas.

(Watch. the next 10 harps I buy won't work at all)

Last Edited by on Dec 05, 2009 3:44 PM
jonsparrow
1396 posts
Dec 05, 2009
4:47 PM
buy some marine bands.
MrVerylongusername
677 posts
Dec 05, 2009
4:58 PM
Well... there are plenty of bad harps out there, thin sounding, leaky etc... but even the crappiest £3 harp I've ever bought is playable. The tuning might have been off, but it was still playable. Similarly I have in the past criticised Marine Band quality control and i have had some really bad marine bands, but again, all were playable - just not quite as good as others.

In over 20 years, I have only ever had one harp unplayable out of the box - a suzuki where the reed (spot welded) jammed in the slot. I just exchanged it no problems.

There are plenty of crappy harps. There are very few genuinely unplayable ones.
GermanHarpist
780 posts
Dec 05, 2009
5:04 PM
"Maybe I don't know what a bad or leaky Harp is. If so, than Ignorance is bliss."

The question is, do you want the blue pill or the red pill? ;)

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germanharpist on YT. =;-)
Gwythion
28 posts
Dec 05, 2009
5:05 PM
I felt exactly the same way (I'm a Blues Harp fan too)

Then I bought a customised harp. It's much louder and the bends are way easier.

It's a bit like the difference between VHS and DVD.
You can enjoy VHS for 25 years, but once you've watched DVD, your VHS box goes to the charity shop.(store)

The difference here is that you can still keep your old harps - just make them into "DVD" versions.

Last Edited by on Dec 05, 2009 5:09 PM
mickil
690 posts
Dec 05, 2009
6:02 PM
scs,

I've only ever bought 5 Blues Harps: 3 were top notch; the other 2 were not so great. The D was virtually unbendable on the 3 draw, the A is - present tense: I've not binned it yet - is really hard work on the same reed.

By the way, I can play reasonably well. I do know the difference between an OK/good harp and one that is pants. I'm sure you weren't implying that most of us don't have a clue.
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YouTube SlimHarpMick

Last Edited by on Dec 05, 2009 6:04 PM
scstrickland
330 posts
Dec 05, 2009
6:54 PM
@Mickil "I'm sure you weren't implying that most of us don't have a clue."

HELL NO! I've seen many of you play. I'm afraid you guys would think I don't know what I'm talking about because I'm satisfied with my harps.

@gwythion I wonder if people have gotten used to their customized harps and now blame the manufactures that they don't live up to the standards of a $100 harp. It is my understanding that harmonicas were not designed to overblow, or even bend. Its like your Honda Accord was not built to go 150 mph so you drop a new engine in it, soup it up to perform to your standards, and then complain that Hondas suck because they won't go 150 off the show room floor.

@ Jon your right I should try a MB. I want one of those combs you made for it. I think they are Bas@ss!

Last Edited by on Dec 05, 2009 7:33 PM
Gwythion
29 posts
Dec 05, 2009
8:06 PM
You don't have to spend more than a few dollars to customise all of your harps. If you watch Elk River harmonica's YouTubes, he shows you how. (And others)

Even if you don't overblow or even bend the notes, the harmonicas will play more loudly and sweetly when they are adjusted this way.

As I said, Blues Harps are my favourites, I don't think they're junk. (and I bought my custom harp for £10 second-hand)

Last Edited by on Dec 05, 2009 8:39 PM
scstrickland
331 posts
Dec 05, 2009
8:41 PM
so what I'm hearing is that it is not a quality control issue as much as a raised expectation issue?
CJames
55 posts
Dec 05, 2009
9:00 PM
LOL

"buy some marine bands"
Kingley
529 posts
Dec 06, 2009
12:43 AM
Most harps are playable out of the box. Every now and then you'll get a dud but that is just one of the pitfalls of mass production.

I play Hohner Marine Bands which I customise myself, just because I can make an average harp into a great harp.

The Hohner Marine Band is a pretty good harp out of the box and I'd have no qualms about playing them stock at all.

At the end of the day it all comes down to the player. Those of us who have played for a long time remember the days before customising harps and we had to concentrate on properly developing our techniques to get the sounds we wanted from the harmonica.

Today the choice of harps both custom and stock is simply staggering as is the wealth of information on how to customise your own harps.

I suspect that this has given a lot of players a lift up on the road to developing technique. Especially in regards to custom harps. They are infinitely easier to bend / overblow than most stock harps.

Maybe just maybe when some guys are saying that their stock harps are crap or leaky of hard to bend, etc. It could just be that they haven't developed their technique enough to play stock harps to a reasonable level.
djm3801
262 posts
Dec 06, 2009
4:19 AM
I think Jon may have meant "if you want a crappy harp out of the box, buy a marine band". I like my Blues harp too. Yeah, I like my Special 20's and Delta Frosts, and Seydel Soloists too. Have one Manji and it is very nice. The worst harp I ever bought out of the box is the marine band. I would agree that if you want to have every harp play perfectly and do overblows, you need to learn the mechanics. If you want to just play, most of them are OK. I worked on a few of mine and do not find it an interesting way to spend my time.
jonsparrow
1397 posts
Dec 06, 2009
9:27 AM
lol ya thats what i ment. i love marine bands thats all i play but there just terrible OTB.
Blackbird
123 posts
Dec 07, 2009
12:47 AM
@scstrickland

Gotta agree with you. I've purchased a handfull of nearly everything Hohner, and Lee Oskar have ever made, and none have been defective or unplayable out of the box. I'm certain that if I probably challenged them to a strobe tuning, I'd be able to find some off-pitches, but not outrightly so when I play them with no mods. I don't get what the high amount of complaints are about the harps - I feel like I've been lucky also with all of the complaints that go on about Hohner quality.

Granted, I've not yet played any 'high end/customized' harps, comparatively. At best, I find a new harp sometimes a bit sluggish or unresponsive (go figure! It's a new harp!) and either moderate playing, or a few minor reed tweeks (I keep going back to Adam's video - #16 if I recall, for 99% of what I do to any of my new or mildly oddly responsive harps) gets them warmed up to what feels good.

They all play and sound fine out of the box for me. That means I'm either ignorant of what they're supposed to sound like, or that I'm hearing and playing what harps ought to be like, and can't understand the problems the rest of the world has with them.

If anything, the stiffest harps out of the box have been the blues harps, but once mildly loosened up/broken in, are as responsive as any other harp.

I hope one day to be spoiled by a customized harp to know the difference in it all, but until then, I can't argue with the harps (especially Marine Bands) out of the box.
congaron
330 posts
Dec 07, 2009
4:12 PM
A guy at work is learning now. He brought his brand spanking new marine band in c and I brought my blues harp/big river covers. My harp is WAY louder than his, but he has been playing 3 or 4 days. He actually got louder the second day, just by improving his technique. He has the classic "i think my 2 hole draw is broke" syndrome. In fact, his 2 hole draw is gapped a little too much..and he is actually bending it by accident because he somehow learned to bend the 1 hole draw on day one on his own and is transferring his air passage to the 2 hole and playing it flat.

The longer I play, the less i care about what harp. Mine have been essentially trouble-free with a big river in f# the worst ootb. It plays fine now with a very slight regapping on most of the holes to make them feel the same. I have flatted one reed in my first 9 months..4 hole draw, D harp..at a gig where the monitors were terrible and I tried to compensate to hear myself..lesson learned.
djm3801
264 posts
Dec 08, 2009
6:32 PM
My problem is I do not spend enough time practicing.When I practice a lot, it is amazing how much better the harps get. I used to shoot as lot of trap. A lot. Took it up in 2001 and won my first "low class" championship the next year. My shooting buddy who shot for 13 years never won anything. When he had a bad day, it was the flies or the wind or the shells or the heat waves off the barrel. Went out for a round of 25 and I shot an uncharacteristic 19. He shot a 19 and blamed the gnats in the air. i said my score was "all me". Next round, he shot another 19 and blamed the flies again. I ran the 25, and i said "that was all me too".
Stickman
188 posts
Feb 07, 2010
9:41 AM
Got my first problem. I recently jacked up my favorite harp trying to clean it. No problem. I just ordered replacement reeds. Its not my favorite anymore. The harp that responded sooooo well and sounded soooo sweet sounded airy and raspy with the replacement reeds. There was just way too much air. However thanks to some Elk river vids I made my first embossing attempt and it turned out well. I didn't do much embossing because all the warning that I would mess up the reed. I only closed the gaps a bit on the lower end of the harp and was able to plink my way past any burs. It plays much better now but still doesn't have the "feel" that it had before. we will see if it remains my favorite.
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The Art Teacher Formally Known As scstrickland


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