kingrobot
31 posts
Jul 23, 2010
6:53 AM
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ebay gave me a 20 dollar prewar marine band in C with corroded covers and a cracked comb. Pat Missin's site suggests this harp is 20's or 30's. I'm not sure of the age, but it sounds good.
I cleaned it up enough to play. It sounded sweet and responsive with the original comb and covers. Maybe it's the tuning, but chords and double stops seeme dto 'work together' a lot more than the contemporary MBs, MBDs and crossovers I've played. It's probably in my head, so i took it apart to investigate and improve.
i ditched the covers and comb. The comb crumbled apart.
A MBD in A generously donated her comb. It has been sealed in butcher block oil. She will be getting an aluminum comb from Chris Reynolds soon. It will be ok...
I drilled new reed plate holes. The cover plate holes were spaced a little differently between the prewar and MBD. I prefer lower keys, so I chose some Special 20 covers I had to mute the C a little bit.
The reed plates got a cleaning with barkeeper's friend and then kaboom. If i think about it enough, it'll get into my head that I should get cover plates that actually say "C" and maybe finesse the alignment of the reed plates and comb (the plates are a little bit longer than the comb), but things are very nice right now. I'm happy how it turned out.
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arzajac
295 posts
Jul 23, 2010
7:12 AM
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Very nice. There is no groove on the reedplates, so that would make it pretty old.
What's wrong with the original coverplates? They look serviceable after a bit of cleanup. Check this example of a harp revival:
http://www.builderofstuff.com/364_resto.html
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toddlgreene
1587 posts
Jul 23, 2010
8:26 AM
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Nice pics and narrative! I'm anxious to get my hands on an old MB like that-and you got a hell of deal on it, so congrats!
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Crescent City Harmonica Club
Todd L Greene, Co-Founder
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barbequebob
1035 posts
Jul 23, 2010
9:45 AM
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That looks closer to one made in the early 1900's. I have one that I bought in almost brand new condition and it plays unbelievable good!!!
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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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ness
267 posts
Jul 23, 2010
10:09 AM
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Looks good.
So, did you end up doing Sunday brunch? :D
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John
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kingrobot
32 posts
Jul 23, 2010
10:52 AM
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John,
Nope. I was busy putting nuggets on hooks.
Wow Bob. Makes me feel a little worse that maybe i scrubbed the tuning off a bit (still sounds good).
I couldn't find specific refernce to the shirt sleeves on the back cover so guessed 20's 30's.
For stuff like this, i always dream there is an unopened crate of mint harps somewhere, waiting for someone with an ebay account to pop the top and say something like, "hey, toy harmonicas. I bet i could get $5 for them since they are old..."
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barbequebob
1036 posts
Jul 23, 2010
12:01 PM
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@Kingrobot --- If you retune the harmonica, the correct tuning for it is 7 Limit Just Intonation, which is what almost all Hohner diatonics used (with the exception of the Golden Melody, Marine Band Soloist/School Band models, which are tuned to Equal Temperament) until 1985. From 1985 to 1992, they were tuned to 19LJI, and since 1992, they've been tuned to a comprimise tuning. I'm gonna assume that you didn't retune the harmonica and when all the double stops and chords sound sweet and perfectly smooth, clear and harmonious, then that's tuned to 7LJI, which for traditional style blues, I much prefer.
The pre-WWII Marine Bands are THE standard that all diatonics are judged against and what customizers originally were trying to restore the MB's back to when diatonic customizing first began in the early 90's.
Tho the wood known for MB combs has been pearwood for over a century, a number of them until around the early 1900's used peachwood as well.
I have several pre-WWII MB's, most of them made sometime in the late 30's. In 1983, I bought four of them from an elderly gentlement in the mail, sight unseen, for a grand total of $17.00 and they were all in the original paper boxes with the attached photograph of an 1896 US Marine Band on it, and every one of them played better than ANY MB that was being made at that time, and the one that was the best of them was one in the key of D, and when I went over to Jerry Portnoy's house and let him play that, he damned near wet his pants and said, "My God!! That's sooooo f******g loud!!" I later gave him one that was in the key of E as a birthday present and he never lets ANYONE touch that at all.
Those were the best OOTB harps ever made.
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Sincerely,
Barbeque Bob Maglinte
Boston, MA
http://www.barbequebob.com
CD available at http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/bbmaglinte
Last Edited by on Jul 23, 2010 12:27 PM
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Sandy88
64 posts
Jul 23, 2010
1:40 PM
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That's so lame that you replaced the covers...that's the best part. What's the point of even having one if you just put special 20 covers on it. Just retune a special 20
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WORLD CLASS HARMONICA PLAYER
Last Edited by on Jul 23, 2010 5:33 PM
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toddlgreene
1588 posts
Jul 23, 2010
2:04 PM
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It almost kills me to say so, but I agree with Sandy88, minus the harshness. Hit those plates with some Naval Jelly and Maas or other good metal/silver polish. They don't look bent out of shape in the pics, so I think they'll finish off your restored classic nicely.
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Crescent City Harmonica Club
Todd L Greene, Co-Founder
Last Edited by on Jul 23, 2010 2:06 PM
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kingrobot
33 posts
Jul 23, 2010
7:58 PM
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Yeah I hear you about restoring the original gear. It probably would've been a different project for someone more talented or who put more time on it. This is the way I took it. If it hurts, I'm sorry. Just remember to hug your favorite harp tonight and be thankful I didn't work on it.
I don't like the mouse ears. Maybe I'll try to clean them up some other time or at least stack regular marine band covers on the plates.
The big victory for me was getting the reeds into a more robust setup. I'm enjoying playing them all muted and cupped in the special 20 plates. Happy or upset, thanks for getting excited about it with me.
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Sandy88
65 posts
Jul 24, 2010
12:10 AM
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I'll take the coverplates then
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WORLD CLASS HARMONICA PLAYER
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barbequebob
1040 posts
Jul 24, 2010
11:27 AM
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@Kingrobot --- If you were to sell that harp back on the market again with those Sp20 covers on them, you'd actually seriously be devaluating that harmonica a BIG way. The MB cover plates accounts for a big part of its classic sound.
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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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