Finnegan
23 posts
Dec 05, 2015
12:49 PM
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I've been playing a couple of Golden melodies for nearly two months now and have really got to like them,they're Paddy richter tuned with custom combs. The problem I have is the cover plates or to be precise the front radius.
It's really quite a tight radius and I'm finding it uncomfortable to play after 20 mins or so.
I went out and bought a Marine band last week, retuned it and it's great,so much more confortable but doesn't sound or feel in the hands like a GM.
So is there anything I can do or am I stuck with it?
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Happiness is taking things as they are.
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ME.HarpDoc
53 posts
Dec 05, 2015
3:49 PM
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Not sure bur Rocket or Sp20 cover plates may fit on GM as they're in Hohner's Progressive Series. I know it can be done in the MS series. Call Rockin Ron's. Ron is very helpful and may be able to answer your question. Perhaps Tom Halchek at Blue Moon Harmonicas could help you as well
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nacoran
8800 posts
Dec 05, 2015
5:10 PM
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Could you be a little more specific by what you mean about the front radius?
Personally, the plate on the GMs pokes my lips a bit, but that's the plates, not the cover, and that can be fixed with a little sanding. (Meanwhile, the MB combs and plates corners bother my hands.)
The next question I'd ask is do you tend to play melodies or chords more? If you like the sound of the Golden Melody more it may be that you prefer Equal Temperament. I have been meaning to look at the tuning charts on different harps and compile a simple list of which harps are ET and which are Just or Compromise. At one point Lee Oskars were ET, but I'm not sure if that's the case now. Some of the Suzukis are too, and you can order Seydel's in different temperaments.
Personally, I tried the Golden Melody because other harps kept poking my hands. Ultimately I found that I prefered long cover harps like the Seydel Blues Favorites.
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Nate
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First Post- May 8, 2009
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arzajac
1708 posts
Dec 05, 2015
5:13 PM
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The covers shape the sound. (You mentioned you tuned it to your liking so I won't touch on that). A big difference between the GM and the MB covers is that the MB covers are vented on the sides. Special 20 covers are not vented. You can try SP20 covers on your MB and see if the sound is closer to what you are looking for.
You can round off the corners of the MB with a belt sander.
I'm not a big fan of rounded corners, myself. If you want to round off an MB that much, just get a GM!
If you only want to take off a little bit, say just a few millimeters to chamfer the sharp corners, you can just use a sheet of sandpaper on a table. You can seal the exposed comb with anything you like.
If you want a little more comfort, you can use a custom comb. I've made custom combs with rounded corners for many players. One that sticks in my mind is a fellow who sent me a drawing of the shape he wanted. It had three identical rounded corners and the fourth had a much wider radius. He said he liked that because he could pick up his harp in the dark and tell which way it went without looking at it....
But I digress...
Anyway, I hope that helps...
Last Edited by arzajac on Dec 05, 2015 5:14 PM
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florida-trader
835 posts
Dec 05, 2015
6:40 PM
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Finnegan - what do you mean by "tight radius" on the GM? Is it possible that the custom comb you installed is thinner than the stock comb? Is that what you mean? Please clarify so we can do a better job answering your question.
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Tom Halchak
www.BlueMoonHarmonicas.com
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Finnegan
24 posts
Dec 06, 2015
12:57 AM
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Hi
I'll try and explain a little more about the tight radius.
It's the bit where the numbers 1-10 are, on the Marine band the cover plate (not the reed plate) has a flatter gentler radius where as the GM is quite tight and so presses into that inner soft tissue of my lips.
I have custom combs on them made by Andrew Zajac which are the same thickness as the stock comb, about 6.5mm.
Late last night I did read through some old posts about GMs and found a thread where someone said they had to tilt the harmonica up at the back little more when playing to make it confortable. Maybe this is what I need to do. I'll give it a go today
@ nacoran, yes I do play far more melody than chords.
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Happiness is taking things as they are.
Last Edited by Finnegan on Dec 06, 2015 12:57 AM
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nacoran
8805 posts
Dec 06, 2015
10:27 PM
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I can't find my Golden Melody, but I think I understand what you are saying. You might try putting the harp farther in your mouth. I can't think of any practical fix for the shape though.
The only reference I can find says Lee Oskars are ET too, but I was told by someone much more qualified than me that they may not be anymore. I've been trying to dig up the info but no one has gotten back to me yet.
Seydel does allow you to configure the temperament of your harp when you order. It's a slight extra charge I think, but not bad. My idea harp is any long covered Seydel.
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Nate
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