QUESTION: Is diatonic solo tuned harmonica with recessed reedplates and 12 holes produced?

[arsen]

Hi everyone.
I am thinking long time why nobody produce diatonic solo tuned harmonica with recessed reedplates and 12 holes. (for example like hohner special 20 style). Does anybody know if is possible to buy somewhere such harmonica? Maybe from Asia. It would be good for retuning into Power Chromatic.

[triona]

Why it must be recessed (= lipped) combs?

With standard combs of wood there would be Seydel Solist Pro 12.
And if it could be 13 holes as well, there would be Brendan's Lucky 13 with standard plastic combs. And these are even available readily tuned as Power Chromatics as well.


dear greetings
triona

[IaNerd]

I have looked high and low for such an animal. To the best of my knowledge it does not (yet) exist.

By the way, I "get" the desire for a lipped comb, a.k.a. recessed reed plate. My most comfortable-to-play harp is the Kongsheng Mars. The profile of its lip is nearly a half-circle; and the holes are perfect circles with rounded-off inner edges. I wish all my diatonic harps had that design.

[EdvinW]

By the way, I "get" the desire for a lipped comb, a.k.a. recessed reed plate

I second that! I have a few "sandwich style" harps, but I much prefer the recessed ones. (Hmm... Does this have anything to do with me being a pucker player? Does pucker/tounge blocking agree differently with the two main designs for diatonics?)

[Brendan]

You could make your own by slicing up and gluing together two lipped combs from 10-hole harps, then putting in the reedplates from a 12 hole solo diatonic. I used to offer these (I called them Stretch Harps), but no longer.

12 & 14 Hole MB 1.jpg (186.98 KiB) Viewed 25071 times

[arsen]

Thanks everyone to reply.
Triona, I was playing long time Golden melody but after long time playing my lips started to be uncomfortable. So I started with Sp20. But after I start to play Power cromatic I am trying to find 12 hole with recessed reedplates.

Brendan. Can you remember maybe which combs and reedplates you used to make your “Strech harps”? Comb doesn’t look like Hohner? And did you have to send edges of reedplates to match comb size? Thanks.

[arsen]

Hi Brendan.
I was thinking that you did strech harp with seydel comb and hohner marine band 365 reedplates but seydel have hole spacing 8mm and marine band 8.5mm. So now I don’t have a clue from which parts you have made them. Later I was thinking to buy seydel soloist pro 12 reedplates and make comb from session standard. Later I saw on your page photo that you did same with lucky 13. If is not secret can you tell us from which parts you have made it?
Thanks.
Regards.

https://www.brendan-power.com/images/lu ... enders.jpg

[Brendan]

Hi Arsen... I used Suzuki Harpmaster/Bluesmaster combs. However you could use any lipped combs: Seydel Session, Hohner Special 20 etc.

Actually I made my first Stretch Harps from Special 20 combs back in 1980 and used them for rest of the decade. They were 11-hole size, to fit Regular Breath Tuning, my first original tuning. They were also the world's first half-valved harps. Very roughly made, but they worked!

https://www.brendan-power.com/images/11 ... _Box_1.jpg

https://www.brendan-power.com/images/11 ... chment.jpg

More recently I made my own 13-hole harps from a mix of Suzuki SUB30 and Harpmaster combs. Rather better made this time!

Lucky 13......JPG (1.88 MiB) Viewed 24426 times

These were the precursors to the Lucky 13, but are actually more advanced since they contain 36 reeds instead of 26.

[triona]

Frankenstein's harp!


dear greetings
triona

[arsen]

Hi Brendan. Thanks a lot for your very detailed answer. You encouraged me.
I think I am going to buy Lucky 13 power chromatic and try to make comb from harmonicas that I have at home.
Best regards.