Re: Subject: Re: [Harp-L] SPAH 2010 Comb Test: Retraction & Apology

[MundHarp@xxxxxxx]

Smo-Jo said... About wooden combs on chromatic harmonicas...
 
<<
......but I haven't had them warp or crack. The cracking is   
usually prevalent in chromatics that have been stored for a   
relatively long period. (Like 4.5 to 5 years...or more). Once a   
wooden chromatic has been played, it should be continued to be   
played. Just like it is a bad idea to take a wooden boat in and out   
of the water a lot.
>>
 
Good point.... But over the years I have had perhaps a dozen wood comb  
chromatic combs crack. It happens mostly when one travels through extreme  
climate conditions. This spring I spent a couple of months based in Glendale,  
Phoenix, AZ, in the "Valley of the Sun". That is, the Arizona desert! A VERY 
dry  area. I travelled from there,  into the Arizona mountains, and then  
across America to Georgia, SC and NC,  up into the Great Smoky  Mountains... 
Temperature range? About 28 degrees F in the mountains, to about  105 degrees 
F in the desert, and back again. Humidity? Very variable  indeed.
During my trip I had FIVE "270" combs crack, and those harmonicas were in  
use mostly on a daily basis.
Now I'm back in tropical south-east Asia, in an extremely humid place, and  
the cracked combs have regained moisture,  the wood has swollen back,  
sealing (mostly) back up.
I guess such climate change is not "normal"... 
 
Someone suggested keeping my pear wood comb harmonicas in a cigar  
humidor... To keep them "damp"...
 
I'm unlikely to chose pear wood again in the future as a comb material  of 
choice!
 
Smo-Jo said also:
<<
You're entitled to your opinion but if you put a 270 on a plastic   
comb, the sound may not change but the feel does. The vibrations   
change. While this may not be noticable to the listeners, sometimes   
the player is sensitive to it.>>
 
I agree. Different comb materials seem to make the harmonica feel  
different. Not (IMHO) worse, just different.
 
I have had several 270s re-combed, to Plexiglass combs. When I get the  
money together, I'll have my working kit of "270s" all re-combed.
 
Best wishes,
 
John "Whiteboy" Walden
Cebu City
Philippines.