[Harp-L] Marine Bands and Me

[Jacob Fund <jeikuman@xxxxxxxxx>]

So I am a fairly new harper, this will be month 9 for me. My first harmonica
was a marine band in the key of C.  I really liked the brightness of the
sound it made. It seems like it is hard to part away from your first
harmonica. But compared to my Manji in the key of C that I later purchased,
it really has some sticky reeds. sometimes I will go for a note and it just
wont sound unless I play the opposing reed, for some reason that seems to
reset the reed placement. So I basically replaced the marine band with my
manji from then on. But I really like how easy the marine bands hold in your
hand, and the chirpy sound it produces, so I decided to try a Marine Band
Deluxe this time in the key of G. As it is nicer to play than the original
and easy to overblow right out of the box for holes 6 and 5 for me, I still
get some reeds that wont sound when i need them to, draw 5 is the most
common culprit. Now with my tombo Major Boy in the key of G, I have never
once wanted to throw it against a wall because a note gets stuck. I am sure
its not so much my instrument as it is my inexperienced style of playing. I
tongue block a lot and sometimes a lot of saliva builds up and causes the
reeds to just get stuck ( I think). But this is more of a problem on the two
marine band models i have tried than others.

Questions:

I like the marine bands, so are there any pointers through maintenance and
playing technique that can solve this problem?

How does the MB crossover stand on this sticky note epidemic I am having?I
kinda want to try one... but darn so expensive.

PS: I have tried special 20s, they just don`t sound as chirpy as a marine
bandi, though I haven`t had this problem with them. Also, no, I don`t throw
harmonicas at walls.

Jake