Re: [Harp-L] solo vocal and 14 hole marine band in C

[Larry Sandy <slyou65@xxxxxxxxx>]

Hi Burke T,

My brother ( who introduced me to harmonicas six decades ago did not like 364/365's.  He played Marine Band 10 hole and Bushman's exclusively.  He claimed they were too thick for his liking.  I play several makes and models with my CBH2016 being a favorite, along with 364/365's.

Most of my playing is first position and the SBS365's are better suited for second position.  I actually bought them by special order with the hope they were tuned lower and could be enjoyed in first position, joining my C, D, & G 364/365's.  NOT.  

I have a few solo tuned 364's and do enjoy them when in my chromatic frame of mind.  LOL  I have considered retuning but that is a future adventure.

I have not tuned a C to a D because the 364 is sold in D and I already have a few of them.  D 364's sound great after modifying and fine tuning them.  They're easy to play, if a little slow to respond at low volume.  I love them.

I have not been convinced to buy custom combs, although I may try one some day.  I do like my metal combs but do not believe audiences hear the difference.  Actually I love to disassemble a 364/365 harp, flatten the pear wood comb, round the teeth edges, re-mate to the reed plates, round the corners, reduce the brass edge height where the lips touch,  disassemble and hone the brass edges very smoothly,  carefully clean and polish the brass, wax and/or treat with Liquid Glass,  tune the reeds, ultrasonic clean, stain and thoroughly seal the comb, reassemble with stainless bolts,  clean & polish the covers, sometimes open the cover backs,  reassemble, admire, get a fresh cup go Joe and------- 
Breathe Music!!!!! 
Lockjaw Larry





________________________________
 From: "burket@xxxxxxx" <burket@xxxxxxx>
To: slyou65@xxxxxxxxx 
Sent: Wednesday, February 29, 2012 2:54 PM
Subject: Re: [Harp-L] solo vocal and 14 hole marine band in C
 

Hi Larry:
I saw you post on Harp -L.
I too am a big fan of these harps and have several 364's and 365. 
I have found them New or Like New on ebay for very low prices
as a lot of people don't appreciate this model so much.
I love to hear about any mods or custom approaches 
you may have found successful to making them less leaky.
I think the extra holes and comb length are mostly the culprit. 
Also where you may have taken these in your tuning adventures.
Great adventure
I would like to make a Low D (pitched up from a low C)
And maybe even a low A from the same.  (Would probably need to add some solder).
Anyway, my usual approach:
Sand, seal the comb, open the edges of the mouth holes
(I also have two nice custom combs I plan to add to the best sounding mods.
Add screws and bolts to reed and cover plates.
Flat sand the draw plate.
Emboss (though I haven't determined if this helps or not).
Gap, Arc, and Retune to my style of playing.
If repair and customizing harps didn't take so much time
I would really like to dive in.  But for now, its a great way to 
make my harps sound a lot better, and help out a handful of
players who need a quick repair or want to try a re furbed custom.

What didn't you like about the SBS versions?  Have you ever
tried the Solo tuned version?
Thanks
Burke T.
-----------
Message: 8
Date: Tue, 28 Feb 2012 16:04:38 -0800 (PST)
From: Larry Sandy <slyou65@xxxxxxxxx>
Subject: Re: [Harp-L] solo vocal and 14 hole marine band in C
To: Kevin Hamilton <kham27@xxxxxxxxx>
Cc: harp-l <harp-l@xxxxxxxxxx>
Message-ID: <1330473878.14048.YahooMailNeo@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=iso-8859-1 Kevin, the 12 hole 364Marine Band and the 14 hole 365 MB are still available. 
The 364 comes in C, G, and D while the 365 comes in C and G. They are 
essentially the same instrument except for the extra high notes. They are my 
favorite models of all harmonicas ( and I have a lot of them. lol). I have 
self-customised several and am currently attempting to retune to unavailable 
keys. One caveat, they need the comb flattened for less air leakage. I purchased a couple SBS 365's in A and F but they failed to meet my 
expectations. You might like them though.  Lockjaw Larry
Breathing Music daily