Re: MS Marine Band

[Pat Missin <pat@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

BBQ Bob wrote:
>
>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.

The MS harps originally used a short-ish slot plate for keys of D and
lower, with an extra-short slot reedplate for keys of Eb and above.
When they retooled, they went to using longer slot plates for key of C
and below, the keys of Db and above using the short-ish slot plates.

This means that the currently produced MS harps in D have the same
size reeds as the older MS harp in D. The do however use a much better
reed alloy and are machined to better tolerances. These factors are
probably much more responsible for the overall improvement in the
quality than just the changes in reed length.

There have also been other changes in the MS line since it was brought
in, such as slightly different rivets, different tuning methods, etc.

 -- Pat.