Re: [Harp-L] Hohner Low F#

[William Lifford <william.lifford@xxxxxxxxx>]

Tom is right; I can vouch that a Big River harp with a replacement comb can be a superb harmonica.
I have all the low keys, and over time I replaced the stock combs with some from Blue Moon. ÂI did not do any other work to the harps, I didn't even flat sand the reed plates. ÂIn fact, most of them I put together in my car because I was excited to try them out.
In every case the upgraded comb was a big improvement in the breath force required to get the reeds moving. ÂThe harps were much more responsive to subtle playing than before.
Even with the cost of a corian comb or other material, a Big River harp is a lot more affordable than most harmonicas that come in low tunings.
Bill Lifford

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On Mon, Jan 4, 2016 at 10:09 AM -0800, "Gary Lehmann" <gnarlyheman@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:










One could do worse than to avail themselves of Tom's services.
Jason Ricci seems to have jumped on his bandwagon, and he knows his stuff.
Of course, I work on my own harmonicas, and so have less of a need--but I
hear Tom's customer service rivals that of the best!

On Mon, Jan 4, 2016 at 10:02 AM, Tom Halchak 
wrote:

> As some have pointed out, Hohner discontinued the low tuned harps in every
> model but the Thunderbird a couple of years ago.  However, there are still
> plenty of new old stock low F# Big Rivers left on the market due to the
> fact that not many guys play F# harps.  A lot of people scoff at Big Rivers
> but they are actually a pretty good harp.  They cost less than other MS
> harps like the Blues Harp but use the same reed plates.  The covers are
> very solid and if you put them next to a Seydel 1847 they are almost
> identical.  The problem is the comb.  Of course, being a custom comb
> manufacturer I admit to being biased about this, but I have built many a
> Hohner Big River on one of my custom combs and have never had a complaint.
> I do have a few sets of the low F# reed plates in stock and would be happy
> to build you a harp if you like.  Your satisfaction is guaranteed.
>
> Tom
>
> --
> *Tom Halchak*
> *Blue Moon Harmonicas LLC*
> *P.O. Box 14401 Clearwater, FL 33766*
> *www.BlueMoonHarmonicas.com *
> *(727) 366-2608*
>