Modern Blues Harmonica 160 - new album, new harps

[firedancer67]

Adam, what do you recommend about the issue of the Marine Band comb not being flush with the plates. The comb is out 1/32" in some spots. Can I sand it this much if I am careful? And is pure mineral oil best for sealing comb?

[Giorgigogaladze]

hey man 1 question while you are playing you are breathing in and breathing out right?

[alexmacgillivray]

Hey Adam, should you "break-in" a new harp before playing bend notes, or is this just a myth?

I've seen some net sources (less authoritative than you) that say you should not play bends on a new harp, otherwise you'll damage the reeds.

[MYTHIRDSHADOW]

Can one get a "glassy" sound from a draw note?

Also to clarify: One would gap a BLOW reed CLOSER to the reed plate to solve bad sounds and gap a DRAW reed FURTHER from the reed plate to solve bad sounds?

[mwhite1249]

Musician's Friend is great. They have a huge 4-city block warehouse in Kansas City. Never had a problem with them, quick shipping, great prices.

As for harps, I've started using the Seydel blues harp for C & D. Seydel holes are a little larger and pull more air, so I can play loud without notes sticking. I play in a rock band and loud is essential just to be heard. I can play loud and don't have the feedback problems and sticking I was getting with other harps played hard.

[BluezBro604]

marine band uh? i play special 20's. i wonder if the MB's will help with overblowing. i cant seem to get it on the special 20

[EnterSkywalker]

All the marine bands I have ever purchased have also had a protruded comb which does hurt the lips. I think sometimes the wood expands during transit especially to the uk. I find that a little bit of sand paper kept handy can even it out and then suck out the sawdust with a dustbuster. If you want a harmonica that feels nice on the lips you can't beat a Lee Oskar by Tonko Awesome harps. The Hohner special twenties are also nice

[pinkushn2]

I've only tried the Lee Oskar twice, but one of them was awful on the left side. The metal bend of the top plate protruded slightly and cut my lips whenever I was playing the one hole.

[mwhite1249]

Put a bit of bees wax on that sharp left edge and smooth it out. End of problem.

[Wharty]

Yeh get this download. I saw it live and these two guys are awesome together. Everyone already knows Adam but Charlie, well, he needs to get his stuff out there too. He sent us a CD that is WHITE HOT!!! I hope it too becomes available for people to download. On it he gets his version of Stevie Ray's "Cold Shot" goin' for about 15 minutes and it kept my ass alive on the Autobahn after a night of Jammin' in Trossingen. Adam and Charlie, you guys are Tops!!!

[stephenmald]

Hi Adam, can I ask you once again - have you come across out of the box marine bands with the wooden comb not flush with the crome plate? making it painful on the lips!

[KudzuRunner]

Not a problem for me. One out of 8 Marine band harps has that problem when a lot of spit gets in the holes.

[hippieman128]

@KudzuRunner Adam, you never sand and seal your combs do you? if not why?

I ask because the reason why I haven't bought a marine band for a while is because I'm not a fan of the over expansion of the comb. It warps and compromises my playing. I just figured i'd ask what you thought about sealing the harp and making it more air tight.

[firedancer67]

@stephenmald I have that same problem with my Marine Band- comb not flush with the plates from 4- 7. Was wondering whether I should sand the comb flush and seal. Did you fix yours this way? My lips hurt from playing and I just realized why.

[chromatic8d]

Hey, Diatonic expert!

Many thanks!

Eddie

[darkdave25]

I thoroughly enjoyed that! I wish I had all those shiny new harps to unwrap!

[bluesette82]

btw, am extremely impressed with your out of the box marineband versatility...I was disgusted with mine when I first bought it, was leaky, hard to play...only after extensive tinkering with it was I half-way satisfied. Now I'm thinking I should be disgusted with myself, not the harp(p.s. I do love it's(marineband---9 sound though!!)

[bluesette82]

I think it's because I'm always looking at your hands in your videos as you play, but I keep seeing your wedding ring and ask myself...is your wife musical like you? Will she ever make an appearance in your videos? What does she think of your videos? Etc. Sorry if they are too personal questions...I'm inherently nosy, and after seeing 100+ videos, hard not to ask yourself who is this guy behind the musician?

[KudzuRunner]

My memoir, MISTER SATAN'S APPRENTICE, fills in quite a few of the details. My wife is a lovely woman from Texas (Dallas) who isn't particularly shy, but feels no desire to broadcast her wicked grin to the world at large through the medium of YouTube. I endorse that decision. She did make an appearance at Jon Gindick's jam camp in Clarksdale, Mississippi, last March, and will certainly repeat her star turn at camp this coming March.

[bluesette82]

Thanks for your reply, am glad you're not offended by the questions...Where can I order your memoir? I live overseas. Yes, I agree that youtube can be a very strange and dangerous place to broadcast yourself on...you seem to be managing just fine, though!

[GustavGoober]

Adam, I recently ordered a Hering 1923 Vintage Harp in Bb (to play along with your videos) from MF and they only sent me one harp. Your celebrity status definitely got you free stuff...

[jrring]

Adam, how does the blow reed affect the ability to bend a draw note, and can you make bends easier by gapping the blow reed? Reason i'm asking is because I had a Special 20 that stopped bending on the 4 draw, so I took it apart and noticed the 4 blow reed was frozen by some gunk. Cleaned it out and immediately the 4 draw was bendable again.

[miloesskater]

Good Lick Adam, I'll be up till Morning messing around with this one.

[ZookyoMS]

Hi Adam, thanks again for this new video.

Did you get my DeFord Bailey T-Shirt?

Greetings from Münster

Mario

[KudzuRunner]

Mario: Yes! I just got it from the Post Office. I was meaning to write you. Thank you very much!

[ZookyoMS]

Okay, I hope it has the right size :-)

And please: wear it on one of you videos!

Keep Blowin`....

Mario

[DistantSoul13]

Musicians friends is not good...

[KudzuRunner]

Please be more specific. I cast my fate with them because a number of players who participate in my blues harp forum spoke highly of them.

[PaulNiehausIV]

Musicians Friend is the Walmart of music stores. Also, now it is owned by Guitar Center, which puts it down another notch in my book.

[KudzuRunner]

I have no problem with mere size; that's a positive--large stock, low prices, rationalized ordering and shipping procedures--as well as a potential negative. But I did just check out MF on Wikipedia, and discovered that they'd been given a Better Business Bureau rating of D+. That is not good. Although my own experience has been good, I'll certainly reassess.

[aaronp0324]

I love Musician's Friend. I have ordered stuff from them for 15 years now.