RE: [Harp-L] Marine Bands and Me

[John Neff <soulchicken@xxxxxxxx>]

The "sticking problem" you are experiencing could be that the reeds are not properly gapped to your playing. Also if you are hitting the note too hard, this can also choke the reed, depending on the gapping. Have you made any adjustments to the gapping on the Marine Band?
 
> Date: Mon, 23 May 2011 10:31:02 +0900
> From: jeikuman@xxxxxxxxx
> To: harp-l@xxxxxxxxxx
> Subject: [Harp-L] Marine Bands and Me
> 
> 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