Re: MS Marine Band

[Howard Chandler <chandler@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Barbeque,

The one I have is an A.  It doesn't seem so dreadfull.  I remember there 
was some getting used to it and I think the temperment is different than 
the regular MB.  I was also playing latin tunes and kind of making up a 
style for playing them at the time, so  I wasn't working in a comfort 
zone anyway.  Did they ever fix the short slot problem on the low keys 
for the European production harps?   Maybe I got one of these.

Thanks for the info.

Howard Chandler
 

Bob Maglinte wrote:

>----- Original Message ----- 
>From: "Howard Chandler" <chandler@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
>To: "HARP-L" <harp-l@xxxxxxxxxx>
>Sent: Friday, September 05, 2003 1:38 PM
>Subject: MS Marine Band
>
>
>  
>
>>Harpers.
>>
>>I picked up a MS Marine Band in Mexico maybe 12-15 yrs  ago.  The first
>>MS I had ever seen.
>>
>>Are they still made?  Were they ever available in the US?
>>
>>Thanks,
>>
>>Howard Chandler
>>    
>>
>
>Hi Howard,
>They're sold in Europe only. They tried to sell themhere, but many players
>got the protorype, or played them, including myself, and 95% of them
>absolutely HATED it, and a large number of these players wrote to Hohner
>letting them know their feelings about it in NO uncertain terms, and more
>than a few endorsees threated to drop their deals. What they basically are
>is the same reed plate and comb as the MS Blues Harp, and the covers are the
>same as the Big River, except the top cover plate has the Marine Band
>engravinmg as opposed to the BR engraving on it. They were using shorter
>slot reeds back then on all of the harps pitched lower than C, and really
>didn't play particularly well. However, had they changed to the softer,
>thicker brass, and longer slot reeds as when they retooled in 1995/96, and
>then used the Cross Harp reed plates instead, it might have caught on. With
>the orginal setup they used, especially on the lower key harps, the bends
>were very unstable and hard to control even for very experienced players.
>The BR was basically a cheapo version of this, and since they went to the
>longer slot setup on the lower keys, it improved the playability
>dramatically IMO.
>
>Sincerely,
>Barbeque Bob Maglinte
>Boston, MA
>
>PS,
>Rick Epping in Hohner will confirm much of what I said.
>  
>