[Harp-L] Mojo reds MB review



I agree with all of this word for word well done RED!!!!
Jason


[Harp-L] Marine Band Deluxe - One Man's Review

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*	Subject: [Harp-L] Marine Band Deluxe - One Man's Review 

*	From: Mojo Red <HYPERLINK
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*	Date: Sun, 7 Aug 2005 11:29:05 -0700 (PDT) 

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Hi gang,



After hearing of the release of Hohner's new

"Marine Band Deluxe" model diatonic harps, I just

had to get one to see for myself what all the fuss

was about.



Mine is in the key of A. It arrived yesterday from

Coast to Coast music (thanks Doug!) in a very

cool-looking black plastic box with gold lettering.

Inside the box is lined in some kind of red

velveteen plush. Very nice presentation.



LOOKS

The MBD harp itself is beautiful. The lettering on

the top cover plate (Marine Band Deluxe No. 2005)

is not too deeply stamped making for a smoother

surface than standard MB. The bottom cover plate

appeared very similar to other MB harps. The back

of the cover plates have been opened up much the

way custom harps are. Four screws hold the cover

plates on rather than standard MB nails (a similar

system as Hohner uses with its MS harps). 



The tines on the pearwood comb have been rounded a

bit and the comb itself is professionally sealed

with some sort of lacquer (very nice). Gone is the

familiar black coating on the sides and back of the

comb of the standar MB. Nice honey colored wood all

around. The name "Hohner" is prnted in black on the

rear of the comb.



UNDER THE HOOD

The reed plates are held on with three screws

instead of those pesky MB nails. This makes any

cleaning and/or reed adjustment very easy to

accomplish with the MBD. When I removed the reed

plates to examine the gaps, I noticed that the

reedplates themselves had a slight bow left from

the stamping equipment (typical with many harps,

easily straightened, however). 



Gaps of the reeds seemed about the same as any

standard stock Marine Band or other Hohner product

that I've encountered (somewhat high and a titch

irregular). The clearence between the sides of the

reeds and the reedplate was about the same as any

stock harp I've seen. Reeds did not exhibit any

sign of arcing or curvature of any kind. Tuning

marks seemed about the same as with other Hohner

harps I've seen (angled scratch marks rather than

smooth sanding marks). 



Tuning on this harp appears to be some version of

Hohner's standard compromise between just and

equal, though I personally would prefer a 19-limit

just tuning (I may retune this harp to a 19-limit

JI in the future).



PERFORMANCE

I have to say I was rather dissapointed with the

initial out-of-the-box playing performance of this

comparitively expensive stock harp (I paid about

$53 U.S.). It certainly is a far cry from any

decently set up custom I've owned, and much less

respnsive than the other stock harps I own that I

set up myself.



Hohner's claim that this harp offers "faster

response" seems exaggerated at best. Volume was

very good, but the harp responded exactly like an

average out-of-the-box Marine Band -- that is, not

great. This problem was due, I am sure, to the

rather high gaps and standard reed-to-reedplate

side clearance. 



After playing it out of the box for about 15

minutes, and finding myself unable to get an

overblow on holes 4, 5, or 6, I decided to open it

up and do some of my own reedwork to improve the

harp's response.



I started by beveling down the sides of the reed

slots (using a penny) to narrow the clearance a

bit. Then I put a little arc in the reeds and

lowered the gaps to my liking. This process took me

about an hour (I'm no pro!). Once re-assembled, the

harp had some good bark to it, and overblows came

easily on holes 4,5, 6, and 7 overdraw (these are

the only holes I use with any regularity for

overbending). 



Once set up, overblows came easily without any sign

of torsional squeal (as with Lee Oskar and some

other harps). 



CONCLUSIONS

Though the Marine Band Deluxe is a beautiful harp,

out of the box it does not perform any better than

a standard Marine Band, IMO. I am grateful to

Hohner for creating a harp that emulates some of

the great ideas that customizers have implemented

over the years (opened cover plates, sealed wood

comb with rounded tines and screw fasteners), I am

also dissapointed that they didn't take the last

(and most important) step and set up the reeds

themselves for optimum response. This, IMO, is what

makes a good custom stand out. 



I am sure that implementing optimum reed stetup on

this harp at the factory would have added

considerably to its cost, and perhaps resulted in

fewer harp sales for Hohner, but then again,

perhaps they should have not promoted the harp as

having a "faster reponse."



On the other hand, this harp could be considered a

"poor man's custom" for players who don't mind

doing their own reedwork. Also, I think it would be

great if harp customizers offered to do the

reedwork on these harps for interested clients as

it would be less work for them (reedwork only

without the "body work". This may result in more

customers, albeit less $$ per customer. 



Personally, I feel like I now have a harp that

approaches the quality of a custom, but is limited

by my own lack of skill in performing reedwork.

However, as I improve my reed set-up skills, I may

acquire more of these harps. Time will tell.



Harpin' in Colorado,

--Ken M. 





		

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