Re: [Harp-L] Hohner Industrial Lemons? - some easy fixes you can do yourself

[Winslow Yerxa <winslowyerxa@xxxxxxxxx>]

While I agree that harps should be assembled correctl yin the factory, there are two simple things you can do in your own defense that will likely have an immediate payoff.

You're experiencing air leaks, either between the reedplates and the comb, or around the reeds themselves.

1) take a screwdriver and copletely disassemble the harp. The reassemble it. make sure to tighten the screws firmly. When fastening the reedplate screws, make sure the plates are seated flat on the surface of the comb. Then start in the middle of the plate and work your way out toward the ends, tightening each screw. The screw may resist slightly because it hadn't finished the job of cutting its threads in the lower reedplate. Don't overtinghten; just make sure the screws are firmly tightened.

That by itself may give you a major improvement in ease of playing.

2) Lower the reed gaps. Compare a harp that seems like it takes all your wind with oen that plays well. Note the gap between the tip of the reed and the reedplate. If the leaky harp seems to have higher gaps, you can lower them to be more in line with the non-leaky harp. Press the reed through its slot, and tug on it *VERY *LIGHTLY - just enough to lower the gap a little.

Chances are the Fix no. 1 will get you where you need to be. If not, or if you want even more airtightness, you can try No. 2, though be aware that this has the potential to change the response, bending characteristics, and even the tuning of the harp.

Hope this helps.

Winslow

Winslow Yerxa

Author, Harmonica For Dummies ISBN 978-0-470-33729-5

--- On Mon, 8/31/09, Billy James <billyjames@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

From: Billy James <billyjames@xxxxxxxxxxx>
Subject: [Harp-L] Hohner Industrial Lemons?
To: harp-l@xxxxxxxxxx
Date: Monday, August 31, 2009, 7:19 PM

Oh no !... not this annoying 'issue' again. Let me firstly say I am not generally a 'whinger', I however expect products to be functional when purchased, be it harps, amps or mics.* [I have exchanged emails before with Steve Baker; obviously it's a drag after a while, he seems a very amiable decent guy and it's great he responds]...however I just purchased three Hohner Special 20 keys A,C,D which, quite frankly I wanted to 'return' before I'd left the mall carpark. They ALL have a very whispy, slow reaction.They all need to be 'sucked extra hard' when I perform, in order to get near a response and volume easily afforded by my last batch. *(Obviously I compared them).This is not imagination amigo's... I'm fully sick of this! It seems to smack quality control are they getting just too hungry for the dollar? I am a professional player over here [even if you guys  havn't heard my music I've won awards in the Hohner Golden Harmonica Championships '06,'07,'8.
 In fact I play similarly to Steve Baker [who I must say makes great products eg: Play-alongs and CD's]!
At $55 a harmonica I expect the darn things to be of professional quality. I don't care about the excuses of modern industrial manufacture it's a major frustration to buy inferior instruments. My last 'full key' batch of Marine Band Deluxe had problems out of the box sticking in performance [some still do]. I'm using a blend of  Lawrie Minson 'tweaked' Spec. 20's with Stainless Steel Cover Plates, Special 20's and the Deluxe.Possibly it's because I'm often doing full 4 hour shows but still to get these 'lemons' out of the box and find it's not up to scratch is a another corporate 'rip-off' in my opinion and $55 AUD is not cheap. One really begins to desire the 'hot-rodded' models [I don't have the time to fiddle around in the shed], besides the price, the thing I wonder about is if they are truely long lasting instruments with any warrenty for your dollar? When I began playing and in the 70's I'd be lucky to meet a blues harmonica player every 5 years.
 Obviously, there are millions of enthusiasts these days. Avid hobbiests, up and coming players and many more living the dream. One wonders if since the demand has risen the quality has diminished and greed flourished [we only have one Hohner distributor over here].. In my collection [and buckets of used harps and parts] I have years of various harmonicas. Some diatonics are still kicking along pretty well including early Seydels. Harmonicas were made with so much more care it seems? I really like the You Tube posts from Elk River harps it is very inspiring stuff from Dave. Hopefully one of these days I'll sit down and get into it myself but for now, I'm open for suggestion on this 'quality' issue because frankly I'm pretty much over Hohner products at present and I don't know who to trust anymore? Oh by the way I am not a bluegrass player. I play a mix of majorly acoustic country blues style and amplified hard blues [Muddy Waters/Lester Butler] and
 [Canned Heat styled] boogie. But heck, one wonders what the hell are guys like the amplified Chicago and swing blues guys useing? Do they encounter this issue. It seems from over here in Australia in the U.S. players have much more choice.  Thats rather enviable.
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