FMWoodeye

Greetings, Steve.  I was gonna buy a second little Pignose and run two at once like you do at times.  Then
I saw your vid and checked out this Orange amp on Sweetwater.  It says it's a 20-watt amp.  Is that the
same one in your vid?  I was thinking of running the Piggy with a small Roland or even a Fender
Champ 600, you know, just for campfire and living room stuff.  But now I'm leaning towards the second
Pignose again.  You can pick them up for $80.  AND they are nice and simple....just right for me.

Check out Adam Gussow's site, Ronnie Shellist's site and Dave Barrett's site.

I can't say I notice any change in tonal quality from bamboo to plastic to pearwood. The bamboo is comfortable,
as is the plastic on the Special 20. The Crossover seems to be nicely built, using screws instead of nails. It is
very responsive and bends easily. The playability "seems" a little better on the Crossover, but then my car seems
to run better right after I wash it. It's a nice harp. Twice as nice as the Special 20? No. It plays nicely. Twice as nice
the Special 20? No. There is nothing I can do on the Crossover that I can't do on the Special 20. One of these days
when I get the overblows down, I'll have to try a custom harp. Maybe that will REALLY be shooting myself in the foot.
The custom guys are making combs of all different materials these days. Check out Adam Gussow's blues harp forum
at modernbluesharmonica.com. So I don't think the bamboo will "revolutionize" anything.

How are the bamboo combs? All I can say is so far, so good. But I say the same about plastic combs and
the machined aluminum billet comb of the Promaster. I had a sticky reed on one Crossover, so I pulled off the covers
and soaked the comb and reedplates. There didn't seem to be any swelling or warping of the comb, and when
everything dried out, it played like new. Still, next time I think I will remove the plates. I don't see how the comb
material would "revolutionize" harps, though.

Well, I have a couple of the Marine Band Crossovers. They are similarly priced to the Marine Band Deluxe.
I'm quite happy with them. I like them better than the Manji, Promaster and Overdrive by Suzuki. They have
a bamboo laminate comb. I have read on harmonica forums that the Crossover and Deluxe are also
comparable performance-wise. They cost double what a Special 20 does, sooooo....would I rather have two
Special 20's or one Crossover? Good question. I do enjoy the "premium" harp, although I practice mainly
on Special 20's with a couple Lee Oskars (minor keys) and a Harpmaster thrown in.