[Harp-L] RE: Marine Bands and Me

["Mark \"Mad Dog\" Friedman" <maddog@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Hi Jake,
I am a definite fan of Marine band tone since they were my first harps also.
They used to cost $5 and I would soak and shave them when the wood swelled.
I love the MB Deluxes mainly for their tone although they tend to be
somewhat sticky as you pointe out, especially when compared to plastic comb
MB models. I love the MD Crossovers too.  They are basically the same price
as  the Deluxes but either one lasts me 2 to 3 times longer than a
traditional or plastic MB model so they are worth it.  The Crossovers do not
have the sticky problem, but have a slightly less deep raspy tone so that is
the trade off.  Crossover also are tuned better for solo play but  Deluxes
better for richer chords.
Mad Dog
www.maddogharp.com


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Message: 2
Date: Mon, 23 May 2011 10:31:02 +0900
From: Jacob Fund <jeikuman@xxxxxxxxx>
Subject: [Harp-L] Marine Bands and Me
To: harp-l@xxxxxxxxxx
Message-ID: <BANLkTimiShMaamHFymkJu37g5yEsGrbm8A@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1

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