The Hohner-Power Slider Bass

[John Broecker]

Hello, Bass Harmonica fans.

I received my Hohner #265 bass harmonica,
modified with the Brendan Power Slider Bass
slider assembly, on April 19th, 2017.

The modification work was done by George Miklas.
He does superior work, even on his birthday (Apr.17th).

I'll need another 2-3 weeks to fully explore the
Slider Bass, before doing a review of the instrument.

Playing it is a real pleasure, compared to the standard
Hohner bass harmonica. Everything seems much easier
to do.

Best Regards

John Broecker

[SlideMeister]

Yeah, George showed off the versatility of that thing at the Virginia shindig. It was pretty impressive. 

[BeauKim]

Hi John.  Since you owned the bass before the conversion, do you think it responds better than before?  I'm really thinking of getting mine converted in the next half year, although I might do it myself.  Please post a video recording of you playing it. 

Thanks.

[John Broecker]

Hello, Beau Kim.

I've had my Slider Bass less than a week, so it
needs more time to evaluate. The following are
first impressions, subject to change later:

Hopping from one deck on the standard bass harp
to the other deck to play in various keys was
difficult at times for me. I'm a harmonica hobbyist,
not a professional, and more practice time is needed.

With the Slider bass, everything is as familiar as playing
a standard Hohner #270 slide harp. Press the button in
for # and b notes.

In the future, I'd like to see a bass harp with draw and blow
reeds.The Slider Bass, like the standard octave bass harps, is
exhale reeds only. Since I'm familiar with the exhale only aspect
of the standard bass harp, exhale-only reeds are not a problem.

The standard E-E Hohner #265 weighs about 3 pounds. I haven't
weighed the Slider Bass with the slider assembly yet, but the slider
assembly does add weight to the bass harp.

I had a choice of a #265 slider bass or a #268 extended slider bass,
and I chose the #265 for the upgrade, because it's lighter in weight
than the #268 bass, and, the #265 slider assembly is lighter in weight
than the #268 slider assembly.

Whatever you decide, any small problems will be eliminated or minimized
with practice.

My lack of computer skills prevent me from recording a video at this time.
For a video of George Miklas playing the Slider Harp, go to his website,
under slider bass harmonica.:

http://www.harmonicagallery.com/repair/sliderbass

Best Regards

John Broecker

[John Broecker]

Hello, Slider Bass fans.

It's been almost a month since I received the
Hohner-Power #265 Slider Bass, with the Brendan
Power slider assembly.

The installation was done by George Miklas, a
highly experienced and respected harmonica
technician, performer, instructor and Hohner
representative in the USA.

The price for the Brendan Power Slider Bass
assembly was USA $281.31. George's installation
fee was USA $200. Since I only paid $300 for the
used #265 Chromatica octave bass initially, the
deal was a certain bargain.

The USPS postage fee of the 3 lb. bass harp to
the Harmonica Gallery was USA $37, insured
for $1,000. The Gallery paid the postage for the
return of the bass harp, from the Harmonica
Gallery, to me.

I was totally surprised at the extensive work George
did on the bass harp at the low price:

Original mouthpieces removed; Flat sanded top & bottom
combs; Fit and level bridge, securing with screws at each
chamber; Fit slide button, assembled slide & mouthpiece;
adjusted reed gap as needed for medium air (breath) intensity;
tuned two reeds; polished cover plates; sanitized instrument
with ultraviolet light.

When the Hohner #265 Slider Bass was received, I was,
as SmoJoe would say, befuddled.

The mouthpiece hole #15, farthest on the right, plays only
one note, the slide out E4 (octave tuned). I sent George an
email, thinking that the other note, the slide in note, might be
mis-aligned or something.

I had to kick myself. The range of the instrument is E-E,
not E-F. There is no slide-in note on the hole 15.

The two inner cover plates were loose on the audience side
of the bass harp. I went to the local hardware store and
for less than $3, inserted a threaded rod through the hinges'
central holes, wrapped the rod in vinyl surgical tubing to avoid
scratching the inner covers, and to keep the inner covers
close to the reed plates. The rod was capped with a lock
nut on each hinge's outside.

After all of that, how does the harp play? The technique used
for a solid tone will need adjustment, as the single mouthpiece
is farther from the comb than the flatter, original mouthpieces.
The tone will be improved with practice.

The slider bass has a plastic slide button and an external coil spring,
for super-quiet playing. The slider bass is lightening quick, and light
years ahead of the standard Hohner #265 Chromatica octave bass,
in playablilty.

Best Regards

John Broecker