[Harp-L] Hohner whiners, maybe a reality check is in order?

[Paul Routledge <paulandrewroutledge@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

"I don't see any diatonics comparable in quality to Hohner handmades,  
at the prices they can easily be acquired for."

Good point Joe.

Many people who put down Marine Bands as harmonicas are basing that on  
a dodgy period in time (the 90's) when Hohners quality was dirt poor.  
However in recent years they have gotten a hell of a lot better.

All of the Marine Bands I have played in recent years have been good  
harps out of the box. A couple had minor gapping issues, but other  
than that the tuning, etc, has been very good.  I have also yet to  
play any out of the box harmonica that even comes close to a Marine  
Band for tone.

The only reason I  customise them is to make them easier to repair  
myself and to learn more about setting up my own harps to optimise  
them for my style of playing. Which of course I'd have to do with any  
out of the box harmonica.  Customising them myself allows me to turn a  
good harmonica into a great harmonica.

I would happily play Marine Bands out of the box at a gig without any  
qualms at all.

Paul