----- Original Message ----- From: "samblancato" <samblancato@xxxxxxxxxxx>
To: "Harp-L" <harp-l@xxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Wednesday, December 08, 2004 10:06 AM
Subject: [Harp-L] Honer M.S. Series
Hi,
I have a question about Honer's M.S. components. I'm wondering if the
replacement reed plates that you can buy for M.S. series harps are equal in
quality to the original. I thinking down the line here about the Blues Harps
I just bought. I may want to add to my collection of these and I see that
the M.S. replacement reeds come in some low keys that the Blues Harps don't
have out of the box. If anybody is hip to the finer points on this series
and their components and can tell me if the replacements are like the
originals that would be great. Thanks.
Sam Blancato, Pittsburgh
Hi Sam,
Here in the USA the original reed plate thickness of the MS Big River/Blues Harp/Pro Harps are 0.90mm (and they are the same reed plates) and the other two, the Meisterklasse and Cross Harp are thicker at 1.05mm (the only main difference in the reed plates of these two models are the fact that the Meisterklasse uses a nickel plating on the reed plates), and in the USA, the Cross Harp reed plates are what the replacement plates are, and IMO, they are a big time upgrade and due to it's thicker plate, plays louder, so as far as I'm concerned, it's definitely an upgrade here. If you want to upgrade the wood comb, Mark Lavoie makes a laser cut maple comb sealed with beeswax that's a huge upgrade in quality, and wheras the original Doussie wod comb from Hohner only allows for 2 reed plate screws (which, IMO, makes those harps leaky), the one Mark Lavoie makes allows for 5 reed plate screws like the Meisterklasse, giving a considerably more airtight seal, more volume, and to my ears, a warmer tone. If you choose to use one of those combs and then replace with the Cross Harp plates, use both the screws the plate set comes with as well as the old screws, but do NOT overtighten any of the screws, especially the one near the mouthpiece area. These days, Mark sells them only thru his website, which is http://www.middlebury.net/lavoie. I have a few MS harps where I used a Big River coverplate, Cross Harp reedplate and this sealed Maple comb and I like the sound of this setup after I've retuned it to 7 limit Just Intonation better than any MS stock setup available. Make sujre that you get a good quality Pozidriv #1 screwdriver for all the screws used and the best quality one out there is made by Wiha, SnapOn, Matco, all of which make professional grade quality stuff often used by auto and aviation mechanics, and any other brands or substituting Phillips head screwdrivers can shred the screw head quite easily, and this is a HUGE with the cover plate screws. BTW, getting those screwdrivers here in the USA in hardware stores is almost impossible, and the only place that would sell them are industrial wholesalers like WW Grainger, but the only ones they carry are made by Stanley, but the quality of those aren't even remotely close to the brands I've mentioned.
Sincerely, Barbeque Bob Maglinte Boston, MA http://www.barbequebob.com MP3's: http://music.mp3lizard.com/barbequebob/