From: WVE~ol.com Date: Sun, 29 Aug 1999 15:50:49 EDT Subject: =?ISO-8859-1?Q?Re:=20Chromatic=5FRattle=5F&=5FH=5Fohner=B4s=5F? In a message dated 8/28/99 2:48:45 PM Pacific Daylight Time, jrro~mpire.net writes:
> If you really want a high quality chromatic, you have to go to the > customizers, who have the time to focus on one instrument and get it right. > A mass manufacturer will not be capable of this, unless they radically > change the means of production (which, I believe, is being looked into by at > least one of the major harmonica companies) into a single-person/single-unit > situation, IMO.
The quality of my Hering Chas Musselwhite chromatic is surprisingly good, and the price is much lower than the equivalent Hohner harps, and a tiny fraction of the price of a custom harp. Consider the following features:
1. Clear plastic comb that allow doesn' t swell, shrink, warp, split, or peel. It allows light to enter for easy inspection of interior windsavers.
2. Excellent mouthpiece assembly and plate-to-comb fits make for very low leakage.
3. Very close reed-to-slot fits contribute to the overall airtightness and reed responsiveness. The tremendous responsiveness and air-economy is the thing that immediately impresses the first-time player of the Hering chromatic.
4. Narrow mouthpiece and round holes suit my personal preferences.
5. Reedplates attached by machine screws and not nails.
6. Eight screws ( two cover screws, two screws on the mouthpiece side, and four screws on the back side) hold reedplates securely to the comb.
7. Plated reedplates; electroless nickel, I believe.
8. There are 4 tapered metal pins that exactly fit 2 matching holes in each reedplate. These precisely and repeatably locate the reedplates on the comb before any screws are inserted. An EXCELLENT feature that indicates the high quality of engineering that went into the harp! Plastic bushings also fit over these pins to support the covers.
9. My Hering 501 and my Musselwhite were both very well tuned and setup right out of the box.
10. I had a reed fail on my 501 during the first week. I couldn't get their designated serviceman to respond so I replaced it myself. I replaced a curled up/gargling windsaver in my new Musselwhite....no big deal. These are the only problems that I have had with Hering.
11. There are those that have stated that Hohner has better reeds. My one failure isn't statistically significant....it could have been a hard-to-detect bubble or inclusion. There is no reason why Hering's reed metal should be inferior to Hohner's because a metal alloy is very easy to analyze with a mass spectrometer. It is inconceivable to me that all the manufacturer's don't know exactly the formulas for their competitor's reeds. Furthermore, because so little of the reed metal is used, cost differences for various alloys are negligible. So, even if Hering's reed material is different/inferior, there is little to prevent them from changing it.
I have no affiliation or connection with Hering. Since I am quick to criticize sloppy harp engineering and workmanship, I should be equally quick to applaud excellence.
