[Harp-L] Marine Band Deluxe - One Man's Review

[Mojo Red <harplicks@xxxxxxxxx>]

Hi gang,

After hearing of the release of Hohner's new
"Marine Band Deluxe" model diatonic harps, I just
had to get one to see for myself what all the fuss
was about.

Mine is in the key of A. It arrived yesterday from
Coast to Coast music (thanks Doug!) in a very
cool-looking black plastic box with gold lettering.
Inside the box is lined in some kind of red
velveteen plush. Very nice presentation.

LOOKS
The MBD harp itself is beautiful. The lettering on
the top cover plate (Marine Band Deluxe No. 2005)
is not too deeply stamped making for a smoother
surface than standard MB. The bottom cover plate
appeared very similar to other MB harps. The back
of the cover plates have been opened up much the
way custom harps are. Four screws hold the cover
plates on rather than standard MB nails (a similar
system as Hohner uses with its MS harps). 

The tines on the pearwood comb have been rounded a
bit and the comb itself is professionally sealed
with some sort of lacquer (very nice). Gone is the
familiar black coating on the sides and back of the
comb of the standar MB. Nice honey colored wood all
around. The name "Hohner" is prnted in black on the
rear of the comb.

UNDER THE HOOD
The reed plates are held on with three screws
instead of those pesky MB nails. This makes any
cleaning and/or reed adjustment very easy to
accomplish with the MBD. When I removed the reed
plates to examine the gaps, I noticed that the
reedplates themselves had a slight bow left from
the stamping equipment (typical with many harps,
easily straightened, however). 

Gaps of the reeds seemed about the same as any
standard stock Marine Band or other Hohner product
that I've encountered (somewhat high and a titch
irregular). The clearence between the sides of the
reeds and the reedplate was about the same as any
stock harp I've seen. Reeds did not exhibit any
sign of arcing or curvature of any kind. Tuning
marks seemed about the same as with other Hohner
harps I've seen (angled scratch marks rather than
smooth sanding marks). 

Tuning on this harp appears to be some version of
Hohner's standard compromise between just and
equal, though I personally would prefer a 19-limit
just tuning (I may retune this harp to a 19-limit
JI in the future).

PERFORMANCE
I have to say I was rather dissapointed with the
initial out-of-the-box playing performance of this
comparitively expensive stock harp (I paid about
$53 U.S.). It certainly is a far cry from any
decently set up custom I've owned, and much less
respnsive than the other stock harps I own that I
set up myself.

Hohner's claim that this harp offers "faster
response" seems exaggerated at best. Volume was
very good, but the harp responded exactly like an
average out-of-the-box Marine Band -- that is, not
great. This problem was due, I am sure, to the
rather high gaps and standard reed-to-reedplate
side clearance. 

After playing it out of the box for about 15
minutes, and finding myself unable to get an
overblow on holes 4, 5, or 6, I decided to open it
up and do some of my own reedwork to improve the
harp's response.

I started by beveling down the sides of the reed
slots (using a penny) to narrow the clearance a
bit. Then I put a little arc in the reeds and
lowered the gaps to my liking. This process took me
about an hour (I'm no pro!). Once re-assembled, the
harp had some good bark to it, and overblows came
easily on holes 4,5, 6, and 7 overdraw (these are
the only holes I use with any regularity for
overbending). 

Once set up, overblows came easily without any sign
of torsional squeal (as with Lee Oskar and some
other harps). 

CONCLUSIONS
Though the Marine Band Deluxe is a beautiful harp,
out of the box it does not perform any better than
a standard Marine Band, IMO. I am grateful to
Hohner for creating a harp that emulates some of
the great ideas that customizers have implemented
over the years (opened cover plates, sealed wood
comb with rounded tines and screw fasteners), I am
also dissapointed that they didn't take the last
(and most important) step and set up the reeds
themselves for optimum response. This, IMO, is what
makes a good custom stand out. 

I am sure that implementing optimum reed stetup on
this harp at the factory would have added
considerably to its cost, and perhaps resulted in
fewer harp sales for Hohner, but then again,
perhaps they should have not promoted the harp as
having a "faster reponse."

On the other hand, this harp could be considered a
"poor man's custom" for players who don't mind
doing their own reedwork. Also, I think it would be
great if harp customizers offered to do the
reedwork on these harps for interested clients as
it would be less work for them (reedwork only
without the "body work". This may result in more
customers, albeit less $$ per customer. 

Personally, I feel like I now have a harp that
approaches the quality of a custom, but is limited
by my own lack of skill in performing reedwork.
However, as I improve my reed set-up skills, I may
acquire more of these harps. Time will tell.

Harpin' in Colorado,
--Ken M. 


		
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