Problem with 5 Draw on my A Harmonica
Hi. I have an A Hohner Marine Band Crossover, about 18 months old. The 5 draw (D) is off, a little flat. I have taken the harmonca apart, cleared the reed with a wooden toothpick, put it back together, and it's still off. Is there a fix, or do I need a new harmonica? Thanks, Dave Menken.
Hello Dave (and thanx R3D),
The MB Crossover is factory tuned Compromised Just Temperament. This means the 5 draw reed is supposed to be approximately 10 to 12 cents flat. The reason for this is that many 2nd position players (Blues, Rock) prefer a smoother chord (playing two or more notes at the same time) in the middle of the harmonica, rather than the harsh chord heard on an Equal Temperament harmonica, such as the Hohner Golden Melody or the Lee Oskar line of harmonicas (where single note playing is preferred).
Before you buy or do anything, please review our Harp Tech Study #3 TUNING: https://www.bluesharmonica.com/harp_tech_studies_3
Also read past Forum articles on this subject:
https://www.bluesharmonica.com/very_flat_5_draw
https://www.bluesharmonica.com/5_draw_reed_fractures
https://www.bluesharmonica.com/how_replace_reed
Your Harpsmith, Kinya
Hello Dave,
Okay so someone will eventually ask so here goes : off by how much ? just a tad or like way off ?
Your reed could be detuned or it could have failled.
if it's detuned it's a simple fix ( well simple enough )
if it's failled it's a slightly more complex fix ( or buy a new one )
personally I recommend that
a- it's detuned : you just retune it. Lots of info on this site to learn to do that.
b- it's failled : you buy another one (18months is seriously not a bad run I think ) but you also keep and try to fix this one. Why ? because the new harp will let you keep playing right now. This way you don't have to rush learning to fix the one you have ( yeah there will be days where you just drop it and go "okay that's enough" ) but learning to fix it is imo a LOT of fun !!
A simple tuner app from googleplay store (or applestore) should be able to tell you aproximately how off your note is.