Re: hohner vs oscar vs 1923--Custom harps

["Bob Maglinte" <bbqbob917@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

- ----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Howard Chandler" <chandler@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
To: "Bob Maglinte" <bbqbob917@xxxxxxxxxxx>
Cc: "Pat Missin" <pat@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>; <harp-l@xxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Thursday, September 18, 2003 12:42 PM
Subject: Re: hohner vs oscar vs 1923--Custom harps


> Bob,
>
> Just to throw one more harp into the ring.  What's the accumulated
> wisdom on the new Herring 1923.  After reading your glowing review on
> the coast-to-coast site, I picked one up (in F) a couple of weeks ago.
> I haven't played it that much but my first impressions have been good.
> I'd like to try some other keys but this really does seem to be a good
> way to get closer to a customised MB in an out of the box, reasoably
> priced harp.  This would also seem to be a good choice for the budget
> minded player who prefers wooden combed, just tuned harps, but can't
> justify the full customization costs.  I'd like to hear the opinion of
> others who've played this harp and what sort of issues might be involved
> in tweaked them.
>
> Thanks,
>
> Howard Chandler

Hi Howard,
In some ways, a Hering Vintage Harp is SOMEWHAT closer to a custom MB, with
a sealed comb, all held together with screws, (and for the traditional blues
player) the just intonation that Hohner abandoned in 1985. But make no
mistake, a custom Marine Band, or ANY custom harp, as a general rule, will
still be light years better than an out of the box instrument, but I do find
these play better out of the box and need less tweaking than the MB's. As it
uses the thickest stock reed plate of any diatonic (1.20mm, compared to a
Hering Blues/Black Blues/Golden Blues at 1.07mm, and the Hohner MS Cross
Harp reed plates at 1.05mm), bear in mind that with a thicker reed plate,
the reed plays louder and more aggressively, and if you're the typical blues
player who smacks on them REAL hard 24/7/365, you run a very SERIOUS risk of
blowing them out real quick.

The only things you may want to do in terms of  tweaking, IMO, would be to
further open up the back of the cover plates (though in their stock form, is
clearly more wide open than the hand made Marine Band is already), readjust
the gapping if the factory gapping isn't quite to your liking, and if you
don't like the sound of just intonation, retune it to either equal or
whatever you may want. I've already been told by another player who tweaked
his that the reed slot tolerances on this is pretty tight, tighter than a
stock hand made MB, and almost as tight as a LO.

As for this being a good choice for players like myself who prefer a wood
comb, the just intonation Hohner stopped using in 1985, and the idea of
buying a stock harp whose wood comb is sealed from the factory, but can't
afford the customization costs, it's a pretty good choice in terms of budget
and playability. Again, make no mistake, it isn't as good as a custom harp,
and until things change drastically (which I seriously doubt, based on
experience), no sroick harp will ever be quite as good as a custom harp.

I plan on doing a followup to my review on the Coast To Coast Music website
that will primarily deal with its longevity. So far, from what I've heard,
these easily outlasted anything else (as far as diatonics go) they've ever
made, and has also EASILY outsold any other diatonic they've ever made by
nearly a 2 to 1 margin.

Sincerely,
Barbeque Bob Maglinte
Boston, MA