Testing this 5 Hohners harps. Hohner Crossover(whith Suzuki wood comb) Hohner Marine Band Hohner Crossover Hohner Rocket Hohner Marine Band Deluxe Is a spanish speaking video.
Last Edited by yermanyahyah on Jul 02, 2016 4:56 PM
I did it in spanish because for me, there is a deficit of this king of material in my language. The rocket has for me a good round sound and is the loudest harp in the market. Has good attack and is a good harp to play everything... is for classic blues players and for overbenders to(sorprise me the 1 blow overbend) Whith the five harps i played a blues lick and some licks in 4th position for testing the second bend in 3 hole draw(the A in a C harp). The rocket is responsive and you can bend it whith a lot of volume. All are good harps for different styles. For me the crossover is my first choice but the rocket is amazing. Is diferent. PD: the marine deluxe is not customize, is less bright than the croosover and loudest and better quality than the marine band classic.
Last Edited by yermanyahyah on Jul 06, 2016 3:18 PM
Your analysis does bring up the question, were the non-custom harmonicas' reeds adjusted for your playing style or were they bone stock out of the box?
Michelle
---------- SilverWing Leather - Custom leather creations for musicians and other eccentrics.
I think now almost all profesional players adjust the reeds. Blues players to. I don´t use out of the box harps for any style. I dont know if this aswer the question but i prefer gapping and embossing my harps.
Yes, I agree about all serious players adjusting reeds. I asked because in a recent post someone else compared custom harmonicas with off the shelf un-adjusted ones. I thought that was not as realistic a comparison as yours is.
Thanks,
Michelle
---------- SilverWing Leather - Custom leather creations for musicians and other eccentrics.
I think now almost all profesional players adjust the reeds. Blues players to.
here is a quote from the other thread...
“The Marine Bands they’re making now,” says Sleigh, “are on the level of anything they did in the past. In many cases, they’re better.” Baker agrees. “I hardly need to adjust the instruments any more,” he says. “I just play them out of the box now. So does Joe.”
here are two of the top customizer's on the entire planet, who claim they can, and often do play out of the box harmonica's
if it's not broke don't fix it. if it is not working then yes, it if it needs attention then give it attention.
Last Edited by 1847 on Jul 14, 2016 7:21 AM
1847, I guess it depends a little on the turnover in your collection. As a soft player I don't go through harps that quick. My Lee Oskars seem to last forever (unless I leave them in my pants pockets in the laundry). I probably only get one or two new harps a year, which means that if I get them from the local music shop which has a lot of older stock harps that a lot of them are still from the mediocre period.
That said, the one Crossover I had I don't think I ended up actually adjusting. I didn't like it at first and did take it apart, but everything looked like it was where it needed to be, and after some breaking in it has become one of my favorites. (Still don't like the sharp corners on the comb and covers, but it plays great.)
I got one harp from the local store, a Hohner 365*, that had a reed that wasn't sounding well at all. The harp had been sitting in the display case so long it had a layer of dust on it and when I took it apart to get a look at the reed the reed wasn't just misaligned, it was bent badly enough that it was creased. To Hohner's credit though, they were really good about getting it repaired, and now it's fun to play, even although the layout still throws me sometimes.
*Or is it a 364. I get those two confused all the time. It's the one with the extra low notes on the bottom.
1847 seems that you dont know anything about harmonicas and customize..and you never leasing Steve Baker when he plays overblows and overdraws...Is imposible to do it that easy if you dont adjust reeds. Joe Filisko and Steve Baker works for Hohner and Hohner has to sell harps man. Almost all professional player adjust reeds...including Dennis Gruenling(a classic blues player)
while I freely admit to being a jam hack, it would be a mistake to underestimate the knowledge i have re: harmonicas and music in general. if you want to call in question mr bakers integrity, that would also be in my opinion a huge mistake. i do agree with you re: the fact, if you want to play a diatonic harmonica chromatically, then yes, it would need to be fully customized to get the best results, no argument there.
i have a question, how many players here actually play a diatonic harp chromatically? I would estimate perhaps 10 percent? even a hack like me can get a 6 ob on an out of the box harmonica 9 times out of 10, if i cannot, it is a simple matter to tighten the gap.
i recall one time, a very well known blues player was playing a gig for hohner , this was at the time when the quality of their harps was at a all time low. i asked him, you are using a stock marine band? he whispered in my ear, "Filsko"... the fact he had to whisper shows just how far we have come. but at that time, a lot of harp players had all ready jumped ship. he was at least still playing a hohner. on the topic of Filsko, his style is more traditional, while he obviously can optimize a harmonica with the best of them, there is no doubt in my mind he can play an out of the box harmonica. he is the reason hohner harps have improved to the level they are now. Thanks also to steve baker.
personally, for the most part, i play out of the box harmonicas. most of them are seydel. i would guess 8 out of 10 required zero adjustment. on occasion the tuning will be out of tolerance, once again i simply tune it. on occasion perhaps a reed does not respond, it needs to be adjusted. it just seems to me, some people spend more time tinkering with the harp than actually playing one. as rick estrin would say, "just keep it in your mouth"
nate, i had one of those harps 364? never found a use for it either.
