Ask Harp Tech Expert Kinya Pollard

Hello Harmonicats,

When playing octaves (two reeds of the same pitch one octave apart simultaneously), do you hear a tremolo … a quiver or beat?

Most players (and audience in the know) find this extremely annoying. Essentially one of the two reeds is out of tune.

Maybe it’s time to begin a dialog regarding reed tuning … what do you think gang?

“Play the notes people want to hear” © 2008

Kinya Pollard
The Harpsmith

Noted harp customizer Joe Spiers is a member of BluesHarmonica.com... not to put him to work or anything ;-)... just wanted to acknowledge him... he''s a great builder.

Kinya,
What do you think of the Suzuki Fabulous vs the Manjii?
Thank you!
Steve

"Harmonicocus" is a new word in the harmonica lexicon that Barbara, my wife invented.

At the time, Barbara was working on her pre-med studies and decided to break up the day by swinging by my workshop for a visit. I had recently disassembled a customer's harmonica, with the exposed reed plates and comb spread out on my workbench. She marveled at the grotesque gunk I was scrapping off the harmonica. Apparently it reminded her of a microbiology experiment she was working on, hence the medical term Harmonicocus. continue reading...

Hey Steve,

Thanx for your question regarding Suzuki harmonicas. In the December 2009 issue of Mel Bay’s Harmonica Sessions, I wrote a review of the new Suzuki Manjit harmonica. On the first page I wrote:

“As a Harp-Tech, I have always been a fan of Suzuki’s craftsmanship. Their harmonicas are a marvel of precision engineering. As a harmonica player, however, I became frustrated with Suzuki harmonica’s lack of “vivedus” (Latin: ‘to live’, ‘be alive’). Fortunately, the new Manjit by Suzuki altered my belief system”. continue reading...

Apparently he was not aware that by replacing the string, he would have been able to restore his guitar to its original playing condition.

Sound preposterous? Maybe … but how many of you harmonica players throw away a perfectly good instrument over one blown reed?

"Play the notes people want to hear" (c) 2008

Kinya Pollard
The Harpsmith

Every now and then, I see some thread on a site complaining about Hohner quality - particularly how it's declined over the years. A "G" Special 20 harp I have that is very leaky around the 2 & 3 blow reeds got me wonderin' about this as well. I'm thinking on upgrading my harp selection this year - possibly with the Crossover.

What is your opinion on Hohner quality these days? Are there particular Hohner harps that are better quality than others?

For you electric (mic) players, did you know the fastest way to “fatten” your sound is to swap your vented Hohner Marine Band cover plates with non-vented Hohner Special 20 cover plates?

And for you acoustic players, did you know the fastest way to “open” and brighten the voicing of your Special 20 is to swap your Special 20 cover plates, with Marine Band cover plates?

Interested in learning how?

Welcome to the site Kinya! Can you explain for the BluesHarmonica.com Community the difference between the Hohner Marin Band, Hohner Marine Band Deluxe and the Hohner Crossover?