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Dirty-South Blues Harp forum: wail on! >
Hohner Pro harp, etc.
Hohner Pro harp, etc.
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Andrew
1594 posts
Dec 24, 2015
2:53 AM
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I'm really sorry to ask what has probably been discussed ad nauseam long ago, but I've been away from this forum for more than two years (mostly uke and classical guitar) and I can't find a search facility.
When I was last on here I think Hohner were revamping the Marine Band, but I didn't know how they wanted to do it.
Now I gather they have brought out the Hohner Pro Harp also without my being aware of it.
Can any of you bear to summarise these developments over the last two or three years? And have they been a success?
(P.S. If I don't reply for a while it's because I won't be on the web over Christmas. Have a merry one, y'all!)
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Andrew.
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Last Edited by Andrew on Dec 24, 2015 2:57 AM
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Slimharp
407 posts
Dec 24, 2015
7:18 AM
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Well Andrew, since KHS Instruments ( Taiwan ) bought out Hohner outright last year ( they were major stock holders for years ) things have gotten a little strange. For one, major suppliers have had a hard time getting harps stocked. Supposedly due to the Headquarters being moved to Nashville last April.Talk is they are opening up different distribution centers. I know getting parts from Hohner C-shop is difficult. Have tried to get reed plates for a CX-12 for 6 months.
Dont know much about the Pro Harp. I can say the new Marine Bands and Sp.20's ( if you can get the key you need ) vary.The brass has changed big time. Some are excellent out of the box, some are leaky, out of tune. The cover plates have been changed to a thinner material. Outside of that, nothing has changed. Hope KHS does not screw the pooch. Ive been playing Hohner for a long time.
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SuperBee
3124 posts
Dec 24, 2015
2:10 PM
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Hi Andrew,
I don't know what then problems associated with the recent takeover of Hohner USA by KHS might be, but they don't have much to do with the manufacturing operation.
The Pro Harp at one time was the same as the Special 20 is now, but with coated cover plates.
The current-production Pro Harp is an MS harp. It has a similar comb to the Big River I.e. A plastic comb, but the plates are not recessed like a sp20, it is a sandwich like a marine band. The reed plates are the same as the Big River and Blues Harp models. The cover plates are still coated black.
The MS harps these days can be quite decent harps though I am personally not a fan of the combs. I recently 'restored' a 3 year old pro harp. It was basically a new harp because the owner had bought it, didn't like it and put it away. When sent to me I immediately noticed the gaps were too wide. Resetting the gaps made a huge difference.
The Marine Band was changed several years ago. The 1896 model received an upgraded comb which is sealed. These harps no longer suffer from the problems with combs swelling.
Apart from that, there was a period late last year or earlier this year when hohner issued a bunch of harps with quite wide reed offsets. I really don't know what they were thinking because it's hard to imagine even the most vigorous player thinking these harps were well-playing. Anyway, it coincided with the rebadging of special 20 as 'progressive series' and let to lots of unfounded assertions that hohner had changed the manufacturing process, they were using different brass, thinner metal...the bullshit was amazing. It was a serious problem for people who can't adjust reed offsets, no question of that. But it was just about reed offsets. That's all. I've adjusted quite a few of these harps and once adjusted they all play just like the best hohners from last year, or the year before and the year before that. And a damn' sight better than the harps of a decade or 2 ago.
That's it.
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STME58
1486 posts
Dec 25, 2015
2:51 PM
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When I was working in a bike shop in the 80's one of the brands we sold was a Taiwan brand KHS. Does anyone know if this is the same KHS that bought Hohner?
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nacoran
8848 posts
Dec 27, 2015
2:48 PM
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You can do a search! On the left side, if you mouse over the Blues Harp Forum tab a little sub menu will come out. The forum search will be the third item down.
Also, any time you are on Google you can type @modernbluesharmonica.com at the end of your search terms and it will search the site. (There is another newer way to do it too, but I don't remember what it is, and this still works). Actually, it will work for any site. You just change the name of the site after the '@'.
Other search engines probably have a similar feature, but I don't know what the command is for them. :)
Of course, aside from the rebadging of the Sp20 as part of a 'Progressive' line, there are now MBs, MB Deluxes and MB Crossovers with bamboo combs! The Crossover has a slightly different temperament. Plays nice. I think after going to partial sealing on the MB they eventually went to full sealing? The Deluxe and the Crossover, both held together by screws, always had full sealing on the combs.
I haven't bought a new Hohner in a while, so I seem to have missed the gapping fiasco.
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Nate
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