Marine Band Deluxe and Crossover combs
Hi Kinya, are the combs of the Deluxe and the Crossover interchangeable?
I mean the reed plates of a Crossover will fit on a Deluxe comb?
Thank you
Hi Rob, my Crossover has a broken comb and I want to try a Deluxe comb found on Wallapop for 5 EUR.
Before buying it I want to be sure it fits.
Thanks for your feedback.
While to be safe you might want to wait for Kinya's confirmation, it should fit just fine. At 5 EUR is it new or used? Going street price here in the USA from a retailer right now is a tad over the equivalent of 11 EUR. Anyway, hope it works out!
Hello Gabriel, you should have no issues swapping out your broken Marine Band Crossover Bamboo comb with the Marine Band Deluxe Pearwood comb.
As Rob had suggested, now is a good opportunity to consider upgrading your comb. The reasons for this include:
- Custom combs are SUPER flat with zero defects. This will ensure a tighter fit between the mating surfaces of your reed plates and comb. Any air leakage will compromise the playability of your horn
- Keep in mind HOHNER purposely do not seal the mating surfaces of the Marine Band Model combs--only the perimeter. They promote the porous combs as an enhancement to the traditional voicing of the Marine Band; however, many of my customers prefer not to sacrifice playability for this subjective nuance.
- Comb thickness is another little known tid-bit. Jon Harl and I fabricated our Composite Pakkawood combs to a 5.75mm thickness--thinner than the stock comb. This has proven to increase reed response.
- Having written that, don't forget to review my video lesson on flattening the DRAW reed plate (you won't regret it) https://www.bluesharmonica.com/harpsmith_bench (11A)
Your HARPSMITH, Kinya
Thank you Kinya.
Thanks to your videos I'm able to gap, tune and replace reeds but I go no further.
Thanks again.
We are glad to help Gabriel
Your HARPSMITH, Kinya
Kinya:
Glad you could help Gabriel. One cool thing about the acrylic combs Tom Halchak is making at Blue Moon is that he bevels the holes much as Hohner is doing now with the Rocket. So they are (combined with flat-sanding the draw plate) a nice upgrade any for Hohner harp that doesn't have those beveled holes.
And they come in real cool colors, too!
SWEET! Thank you Rob
Your HARPSMITH, Kinya
Gabriel: While I'm pretty sure I know how the interchangeability of Marine Band reedplates works, I'll leave confirmation to the Harpsmith; however, I'm curious: What are you changing, and why? E.g., are you thinking about taking a Crossover and installing a custom comb (e.g., Andrew Zajic, Blue Moon, etc.)? Lots of cool options out there!