[Harp-L] Re: Defective harps

[Richard Hunter <turtlehill@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

I recently bought a Hohner Rocket in the key of Ab; I needed that key at the exact time that the Rocket in Ab went on sale.  The harp was very leaky on arrival and would not overblow.  Removing the cover plates, I saw that gapping was very high, much higher than I'm used to lately in production harps.  I lowered the gaps and that made the harp more responsive.  However, I also noted that the draw 3 reed had been deeply slashed near its base, apparently in order to tune it.  The slash carried over to the reed plate, and it was deep enough that I had to clean metal burrs off the edge of the reed in order to gap it lower without having it hang up on the side of the slot.

Not great quality, in my opinion.  Interesting to hear others tell similar stories, many of which are about problems with the draw 3 reed.

I just ordered a nearly full set of Manjis.  I've played a lot of different harps over the last couple of years, including Hohner MB Deluxes and Crossovers, Lee Oskars, Special 20s, Seydel Session Steels and 1847s, and Manjis--I probably missed one or two.  I'm about to do a loud rock gig, and in the rehearsals the Manjis are giving me the kind of performance I need for that gig--they respond to hard playing pretty well.

Regards, Richard Hunter