Mel Bay's Harmonica Sessions | The Comb Over, Part 4: Monster Harmonica Workbench - Kinya Pollard

For those Harmonicats new to the Monster Harmonica Workbench's Comb Over project, I thought the best approach to satisfying the burning question of "which comb material should you select when building the ultimate custom harmonica" was to demonstrate how to build harmonicas with a variety of different materials. Then through a process of elimination, have you make the final decision.

The premise of the project is that if you found or created a perfect set of reed plates (the heart and soul of your instrument), then swapping them onto different combs should provide greater flexibility in your choices of materials and their corresponding sounds.

To fully appreciate the results of comb swapping, it is crucial to select a set of reed plates that have been calibrated to your tastes (refer to past issues).

The first step was to establish a baseline using the stock pear-wood comb of the Hohner Marine Band harmonica. The result was a fantastic looking harmonica that played great.

For this article, I unpacked my drill press and bits and prepared my workbench to build a customized Marine Band harmonica based on brass.

	I ordered the brass "blank" from Master Machinist Chris Reynolds, with factory Hohner Marine Band specifications (refer to Comb Over, Part 2)
	Align your reed plates onto the blank comb and clamp into place.
	Peer through the slots and see if you have any light leakage along the backside where the plates marry up to the comb. On my project harmonica, I noticed significant amounts of light peering through the back of the draw reed (which is common). Closer examination revealed minor warping and divots on the draw reed plate.

Unlike untreated soft pear-wood material, which becomes swollen due to normal playing (respiration), the gaps "fills in." Dense materials, such as brass, will not experience this swelling effect. The reed plate surfaces must be absolutely flat. Remember, light equals air leakage and air leakage translates into a harmonica that will not live up to the potential of becoming your favorite instrument.

	To remedy this, gently sand the non-reed side with wet/dry #360 grit sand paper (make sure the sand paper is on very flat surface).
	Apply even pressure and slide the reed plate forward and back. Be careful not to distort the gap settings of your reeds.
	Discoloration formed between slots #6 ~ 9 and slot #1, identifying the high spots.
	Rinse with clean water to remove residue. For those of you who have never sanded with water, you will be pleasantly surprise with the polished shine that will appear on the surface of your reed plate.
	Next, align the modified pear-wood comb onto the brass blank. Use blue painter's tape to ensure a slip free union of the two combs.
	Clamp the combs with a soft-jaws machinist vise. Using the holes from the pear-wood comb as your guide, drill 5/64" holes through the brass blank.
	Remove the tape and separate the two combs. Use a counter sink bit to de-burr the holes.
	Notice the slight beveling of each hole. "Smooth and Flat" is our mantra.
	Assemble the reed plates onto the brass comb. Adjust reed offsets (gapping) as necessary.

Attach the Marine Band cover plates.

My Impressions

Not only does this harmonica look gorgeous, but the weight of the brass comb gave me the sense that I was holding a "real" instrument in my hands.

With the stock vented Marine Band cover plates attached to a brass comb, I was able to experience a sonic "reediness" to the harmonica. The bright frequencies resonated with the dense properties of the brass comb.

As a general rule of thumb, combs built from dense materials, such as, brass, aluminum, titanium, stainless steel, and composite, will accentuate the brighter tonal qualities of the harmonica. Softer materials, such as, wood and plastic will bring out the muted tones of your instrument.

For those players who prefer a more muted, fat and "brown" tone with their harmonica, particularly when using a bullet microphone, I recommend swapping the vented Marine Band cover plates with "non-vented" Hohner Special 20 cover plates.

	Align the SP20 cover plates and mark the two holes onto the brass comb.
	Drill 7/64" holes for the SP20 cover plate nuts and bolts.

Yikes! This is an extremely air-tight harmonica that resonates and responds to my every command (over blow on 6+ was a breeze ;o) I think I may have found my new favorite harmonica.

I sincerely hope our "Comb Over" series provided you with the necessary techniques and materials so that you could discover for yourself the ultimate harmonica comb.

Celebrity Hand

Yep, it's hard to ignore that noble thumb profile. Our featured celebrity hand belongs to none other than custom harmonica pioneer, Joe Filisko.

It's not likely you will find many aspects regarding the current state of the diatonic harmonica that have not been influenced in some way by Joe Filisko. His craftsmanship, musicianship, and knowledge of the instrument and its history are being acknowledged and praised by the likes of Howard Levy, Kim Wilson, Charlie Musselwhite, Gary Primich, Mickey Raphael, John Hammond, Curtis Salgado, Madcat Ruth, Steve Baker, Mike Stevens, Mark Graham, The National Music Museum, the Harmonikamuseum Trossingen, and even the M. Hohner Company. The SPAH organization named Joe "Harmonica Player of the Year" in 2001. Joe has recently completed the definitive discography on Big Walter Horton. Currently he has been writing the harmonica entry for the "Encyclopedia of the Blues" to be published by Routledge.

Joe has been teaching with the Harmonica Masterclass Workshop since our New York class in 2003. As David Barrett states, "Since our very first time working together in New York I knew that Joe was a highly skilled instructor, as well as an amazing player and historian of the blues. Since that first class we have spent time together and it's evident that Joe is the best blues harmonica teacher I have ever met. Our Chicago class in 2004 was his first time with us as a full staff member and there were nothing but praises from students all weekend on how much they enjoyed Joe's classes and personal dedication to helping them achieve what they came to the class to learn."

Joe can be found teaching harmonica every Monday at Chicago's Old Town School of Folk Music besides playing evenings with The Carl Davis Band and On the Mainline throughout the Chicagoland area.

Oops!

In the August issue of Monster Harmonica Workbench I caught an error. Attached are the corrections.

Here is a picture of reed slot #1 after I had completed my sizing modifications. Draw your attention to the bottom two thirds of the slot (below ink line to the rivet), and you will see just an imperceptible amount of light peering past the reed. Now look above the ink line an you will see a fair amount of light surrounding the top third of the reed. This modification will create greater lift to the free end of the reed and will improve playability.

Stay tuned!

Kinya Pollard
The Harpsmith

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