Rejoice Hohner Special 20 harmonica players, the ROCKET has landed!
Hello Harp Techs,
Now available from Hohner is the remarkable Rocket diatonic harmonica--melding the air tightness and comfort of the Special 20, with the acoustic voicing of the Marine Band harmonicas.
Before the Hohner Rocket, Harp Techs would have to modify the SP20 harmonica by:
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rounding all eight corners of the comb
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removing ten sprues from the interior of the comb slots
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opening the back of the SP20 cover plates by impact rolling the folds inward
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machine vents into all sides of both cover plates, or
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swap the SP20 cover plates with Marine Band cover plates
"Infuse more passion through your instrument" Now with basic (refer to past Harp Tech Studies) reed plate embossing/burnishing, and reed profiling/gapping techniques, the harmonica player can now command the bandstand with an extremely powerful and responsive instrument.
Packaged in the new Hohner display (note the “free harmonica lessons-courtesy of our very own David Barrett!)
From this angle, you can see the ends of the ABS injection molded combs have a slight radius for added comforted. Note the wide open back of the harmonica for maximum sonic projection, and the single binding post screws to secure the cover plates to the comb (read: Filisko & Sleigh)
Rocket reed plates, with exception of the alternate holes for the new cover plates, are identical to the Special 20 reed plates.
Here, I sandwiched the Rocket cover plate on top of the SP20 cover plate to show the extremely large vent fabricated into the Rocket, versus the non-vented cover plate of the SP20 (bottom). The vents act as “near field” monitors for the player's ears, as well as contribute to the acoustic voicing of this insturment.
The mouthpiece crest of both cover plates are identical to each other.
The nesting dimensions of the new slate gray finished Rocket ABS (Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene) comb are identical to the black finished SP20 comb (note the new holes for the cover plates).
The rear cover plate support posts are beefier than those found on the SP20 (mitigating the crush factor).
MOL (Measurement Overall Length) are the same.
The mouthpiece holes are clearly larger to allow greater flow (read: volume) of air to pass through the air chambers, and energize the reeds.
The diagonal measurement of the Special 20 mouthpiece opening is 6.55mm (0.26”)
The diagonal measurement of the Rocket mouthpiece opening is 7.33mm (0.29”)
The cross measurement of the Special 20 slot 4.20mm (.17”)
The cross measurement of the Rocket slot 4.54mm (.18”)
The Hohner Rocket (note the radius of the ends of the Rocket comb) shown with the HARPSMITH: a modified Special 20, with Marine Band 1896 cover plates (check out the rolled inward folds--Über cool ;o)
End views of HARPSMITH and Rocket
If your goal is to brighten up your Special 20 sound, I strongly recommend you try the new Hohner Rocket diatonic harmonica.
P.S. for you germaphobic harmonica players (guilty as charged ;o), the Rocket is ultrasonic tank and sanitizer friendly.
Your Harpsmith,
Kinya
Very cool Jon. Good to hear from you.
Kinya
Kinya,
Do the Special 20's and Marine Band reeds work on the new Rocket? I am thinking about purchasing an 'A' Rocket just to try it out. And like Jon Harl, I will probably do some customizing to it.
Your fellow Harp Tech devotee,
Ken
In my part of the world the Rocket is about twice the price of a Special 20. I work on my 20's including rounding the 4 front corners and opening the backs of the top and bottom covers. I have one Special 20 which had a hole punched on the treble side to open up acoustic volume but can't say I found a significant difference. Given that the reeds and plates are what I believe are identical is there any other difference, other than no sproules in the holes, that would make the Rocket the better choice for me? Thanks!
Always good to hear from you Ken
The stock Special 20 reed plate will fit the Rocket comb, but not the Marine Band reed plate. The "reeds" themselves are completely compatible.
Your Harpsmith, Kinya
Hello SmokeJS
It is hard to argue against economics @ 2x the cost--that would give anyone pause.
Essentially, with your SP20 customizing work, you had created a Rocket like instrument. To get it closer yet, I would recommend swaping the SP20 cover plates with Marine Band (1896, 2005 DLX, Crossover, or Thunderbird) cover plates, and/or open the bass sides of your SP20 cover plates.
Having said that, slightly larger intake holes (mouthpiece) and larger chambers of the new Rocket comb is a very cool thing--particularly if you lean towards being a heavy breather type of player.
Your Harpsmith, Kinya
Thanks! One question.Will all of those cover plates require new holes to attach to the plastic Special 20 comb?
Hi SmokeJS
With a drill press, retrofitting your Special 20 cover plates with the modern Marine Band cover plates (Deluxe, Crossover, Thunderbird), is a fairly straight forward procedure (relatively speaking ;o)
1. With the reed plate nested into the SP20 comb, align the MB cover plate to make contact with the inside edge of the comb/mouthpiece. This is important, because SP20 reed plates do not have the long narrow cut (1/32" back from the leading edge of the reed plate) found on all Marine Band reed plates. The MB cover plates drop into this groove to create an airtight mouthpiece seal. This is why custom "sandwich" style combs for Special 20 harmonicas leak air. The SP20 reed plate was purposely designed to sit slightly below the level of the injection molded "nested" comb, creating a "fence" that will allow the cover plate to snuggle up against.
2. Through the clearance holes of the MB cover plates, with a Sharpie ink pen, mark the blow reed plate with a center dot.
3. Disassemble the reed plates, and place the plates on your workbench. With a center punch, carefully hammer a dimple into the center of each marking. This will mitigate the drill bit from "wandering".
4. Re-assemble the plates onto the comb and secure with the reed plate screws.
5. Squarely clamp your harmonica into a soft-jawed vise.
6. Drill 1/8" hole through the blow reed plate, comb and draw reed plate.
7. Disassemble the plates one more time, so that you can clean out all the brass and ABS plastic shavings.
8. Assemble the entire instrument, this time with your newly fashioned Marine Band cover plates!
For classic Marine Band 1896 cover plates:
1. The Marine Band 1896 cover plates were originally secured with small nails (brads). This manufacturing process left sharp edges on the inside of the cover plate tabs. Simply flatten the shrapnel down with a jewelers hammer, while supporting the top of the tabs on a piece of scrap wood, or better yet, a self healing PVC cutting board.
2. I found it easiest to use the existing Special 20 cover plate holes in the comb/reed plate, as a template to mark the Marine Band Cover Plates.
3. Drill the 1/8" clearance holes into the tabs of the MB cover plates.
4. Clean up the metal burrs.
5. Re-assemble the harmonica and ENJOY!
Your Harpsmith, Kinya
I recently hot rodded a Rocket & I am impressed with the overall design. This is a great, sturdy harp and if you can replace reeds, you can keep this thing running for years.
The cover plates are terrific - love the vents...
Richard Sleigh
Richard, thanx for your review of the Hohner Rocket.
BTW, I confirmed the news you gave me earlier, that Hohner will no longer produce stand alone Special 20 reed plates--instead fabricating the Rocket plates to fit both the Special 20 and Rocket harmonicas.
Kinya
To Richard & Kinya,
That's why I love this website. You guys have the pulse of what is happening out there in the Harmonica world.
Sounds like the Special 20 reed plates are going to also cost more since they are the Rocket reed plates which have tighter tolerances?
Ken
Hi Ken, Hmmm ... maybe, but my hunch is that because the Hohner Special 20 harmonica fills the niche for affordable everyday, everyone working harmonica--it will stay put at the current price point.
Your Harpsmith, Ken
Kinya,
Your words are taken in. Grasshopper alwasy learns much from you...
Hello,
I'm beginner and will buy an A harmonica. I'd like to buy a crossover but I would prefer a plastic comb to begin with, so I'm thinking of buying a Rocket in key of A.
Is this harmonica good to practice for a complete beginner ?
Thank you
Hi Gero, welcome to the whacky world of diatonic harmonicas!
The Special 20 Diatonic Harmonica is a worldwide top seller for HOHNER and a major incentive for keeping their price point attractive for all players. I would recommend you start off with the Special 20.
Your Harpsmith, Kinya
I had the opportunity to customize a Rocket in the key of A. I liked very much. It responded well to customization and the new Hohner reeds are better the ever.