DanP
318 posts
Nov 27, 2016
3:41 PM
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I have a question for you harmonica historians out there. I've noticed on the pre-war Marine Band harps, the covers are thicker with the plates crimped in similar to the Hohner Rocket and the Suzuki Manji making for a larger sound opening at the rear while on my newer Marine Bands the covers are folded out at the back. Can anyone tell me what year or period this started happening? Thanks in advance.
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florida-trader
1044 posts
Nov 27, 2016
4:55 PM
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The definitive source for this type of question has long been Pat Missin.
How has the Hohner Marine Band changed over the years?
This is a great place to start.
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Tom Halchak
www.BlueMoonHarmonicas.com
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DanP
319 posts
Nov 27, 2016
5:32 PM
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Well, duh. I have visited Pat Missin's site a number of times and I never saw that. I guess I couldn't see the forest for the trees. Thanks
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STME58
1874 posts
Nov 27, 2016
11:48 PM
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Can someone please tell me if this is a pre-war Marine Band Cover?
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barbequebob
3321 posts
Nov 29, 2016
11:22 AM
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Those prewar MB's used hardened steel and they were actually larger in size and so the openings are considerably wider. If you look carefully on the production of them since about the 60's, and even more so since 1980, where you see the lip on the back of the covers is where that lip gets the crease, unlike where you see it now and where tend of the lip is, that's the crease and an equal amount of metal is there for the cover, plus they're angled out wider.
The link to Pat Missin's site is very helpful and is a terrific guide.
All of the present day covers are chrome plated stainless steel. Harp customizers have long crimped the lip of the back covers back, much like you see with the Marine Band Deluxe and the Marine Band Crossover to get those covers as wide open as the prewar ones in order to get the volume and projection of the prewar stuff.
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Sincerely,
Barbeque Bob Maglinte
Boston, MA
http://www.barbequebob.com
CD available at http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/bbmaglinte
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STME58
1876 posts
Nov 29, 2016
12:20 PM
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That is interesting Bob. From a mechanics of materials standpoint, the folded down lip greatly increases the stiffness of the cover. When you fold the lip back, you reduce the stiffness and make the cover easier to deflect. Using a hardened steel does not affect stiffness, but it does increase the yield strength so the metal can flex further before taking a set. So a pre war with an open back and a modern stainless modified to a similar geometry would feel similar as far a flex, but the stainless cover would take a set, or crush with much less force than required to crush the hardened steel cover. If carefully designed, you could get a geometry where the cover would touch the reed plate before it took a set, ensuring that it always sprung back to its original form. At least as a mechanical Engineer I find that interesting, others may not.
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Philosofy
782 posts
Nov 29, 2016
8:11 PM
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Bob, are you sure about the chrome plated stainless material? From my observation, the Meisterclass and Suzuki Promaster are chrome plated stainless. Marine Bands corrode too much to be chrome plated stainless.
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SuperBee
4315 posts
Nov 29, 2016
8:22 PM
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They're just stainless.
They used to be nickel plated.
I don't have any current production covers with significant rust. But the old ones used to rust badly
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STME58
1877 posts
Nov 29, 2016
8:35 PM
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Stainless is not typically plated. It can be done, but the process is a bit different than for other steels. Stainless gets its name from the fact that it does not corrode like other steels. You can polish it and the surface stays stable and bright. There are many different types of stainless and some will corrode. I read right over chrome plated in reference to stainless in Bob's comment because normally stainless is not plated. I would expect the modern covers are polished stainless, but Bob would know better than I.
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barbequebob
3322 posts
Nov 30, 2016
10:46 AM
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When they stopped using nickel plated hardened steel sometime around 2001, that's when the change began.
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Sincerely,
Barbeque Bob Maglinte
Boston, MA
http://www.barbequebob.com
CD available at http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/bbmaglinte
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