Re: [Harp-L] Upgrade from Hohner Super 64

[Winslow Yerxa <winslowyerxa@xxxxxxxxx>]

Alex - 

If hard attack is causing reeds to fail, this will happen with any and
all harmonicas.

A more airtight harmonica may fail sooner, as the excess energy will
reach the reed with greater efficiency and therefore stress it more.

Consistency of response is another matter. Moouthpiece and slide play a
part, as do slot tolerances, reed gapping, and airtightness of
reedplate to comb. The more attention is given to these factors the
better the harp will be, and a good customizer will give this more
attention than a factory will.

But from your description, I think your friend needs to meet the
instrument halfway and find a way to achieve his musical objectives by
physical methods that are less punishing to the instrument.

Winslow

--- Alexander Savelyev <Alexander.Savelyev@xxxxxxxx> wrote:

> Hi, 
> 
> I got a phone call from my friend yesterday who became a little
> disappointed by Hohner Super 64 in terms of maintenance issues he had
> to
> come through. I should add that he practices frequently and plays
> extensively in a sense of hard attack while initiating the reed, etc.
> My
> understanding is that any instrument would need more frequent
> maintenance in this case. But my friend is restless and believes
> there
> ought to be better instrument which will perform better and would
> need
> less maintenance efforts. I felt puzzled for a while then expressed
> my
> point of view and promised to call back
> 
> Anyway, the point is whether there's a better option than Hohner
> Super
> 64 in terms of the abovementioned concerns (most importance complaint
> is
> about difference in airtightness across the comp in each hole - I
> guess
> it is supposed to be so to some extent as the reeds are of different
> length and gaps for each particular reed differ as well - and so
> should
> the airtightness in each hole/chamber, but there's a belief that
> there
> are much better choices in this sense than Super 64). 
> 
> So, Is there a chromatic harmonica that would perform at a similar
> level (of Hohner Super 64) or better and would need less efforts put
> in
> maintenance. In other words my friends needs harmonica that would
> much
> better survive hard and extensive playing and would be more
> responsive (
> reeds/chamber aritightness).  I understand that it's sort of a magic
> dream about say a car that would never need any fuel, but anyway, is
> there a decent upgrade from Super 64 at a reasonable increase in
> price.
> Say, up to $300?  
> 
> My initial answer to him was to try (1) other brands at the same
> price
> lever (Suzuki, Hering) (2) more expensive models of same brand of
> other
> brands (Suzuki Slider Professional or Suzuki Magic Garden) or (3)
> turn
> to private customizers like Brendon Power, but before we make a blind
> search, we'd appreciate comments from you side. 
> 
> Big thanks 
>  
> Alex
> _______________________________________________
> Harp-L is sponsored by SPAH, http://www.spah.org
> Harp-L@xxxxxxxxxx
> http://harp-l.org/mailman/listinfo/harp-l
> 



 
____________________________________________________________________________________
No need to miss a message. Get email on-the-go 
with Yahoo! Mail for Mobile. Get started.
http://mobile.yahoo.com/mail