Re: [Harp-L] Low D Hohner harp triage

[The Iceman <icemanle@xxxxxxx>]

I've got a Special 20 low D in my arsenal and really enjoy it.



-----Original Message-----
From: Trip Henderson <trip.tunes@xxxxxxxxx>
To: harp-l <harp-l@xxxxxxxxxx>; moorcot <moorcot@xxxxxxx>
Cc: Peter Henderson <peter_henderson@xxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Fri, Aug 16, 2013 8:21 am
Subject: [Harp-L] Low D Hohner harp triage


Hi Steve,

I too am a fan of Hohner Low D harps. In addition to playing gigs, concerts
and recording sessions I too play a fair amount of what you refer to as
"pub sessions" where rather than playing Irish tunes, I'm playing the
American bastardization of those fine old tunes in the form of old time and
bluegrass.  And yes, if you are playing bluegrass music in a bluegrass band
you are playing bluegrass harmonica - but that's a different thread.

When my Low D Special 20s or Marine Bands go our of tune I first tune them
using files, etc and when that no longer works because of all out reed
failure I simply replace the reed with stock from old harps or replacement
stock that you can get from the Hohner web site. As far as installing these
replacement reeds you have a few options but the one that I'd recommend is
the system that Richard Sleigh has developed and offers for sale - Richard
is a genius with his trailblazing work on harps. Once up and running your
precious Sp 20s become lifetime instruments.

-- 
*Trip Henderson*
https://soundcloud.com/trip-henderson
https://www.youtube.com/TheWhistlingWolves


Well, here's my experience. I've been a SP20 devotee for many years. But
Hohner stopped making low Ds, so I moved to Seydel Session Steel. I
recently bought two of these, quite an investment, after reading the rave
reviews and claims about longevity. Problem solved, I was thinking.
I'm not a hard hitter. My harps always last me a very long time before
reeds go south. But the first of my two Session Steels, less than two
months old, which I have played lightly at home and just twice in pub
sessions (again, quite lightly), has let me down badly. The 7-blow reed has
gone flat. In all my years of buying and playing harps, this is by far the
worst performance of any harp apart from the extreme cheapos I've
occasionally experimented with. I'm devastated because I'm not a wealthy
fellow and I can't afford to replace harps every few weeks, and, for
reasons best known to Seydel, replacement reedplates cost just about as
much as new harps. I would easily and routinely get almost a year of "hard"
playing out of a SP20.  I suppose I could have been unlucky, but I won't be
putting much trust in my second Session Steel example. Instead, I'll be
digging out all those wrecks and replacing reeds in my knackered SP 20s in
the hope that I have enough spares to keep me go!
 ing until I don't care any more!
Cheers
Steve