Here is what is new in the world of custom harmonicas by R. Sleigh…

The New R. Sleigh Marine Band Deluxe Harmonicas

I am now in the Hohner Affiliated Customizer program. What this allows me to do for you is to assemble a harmonica from a combination of parts that I special order direct from Germany. I then add a black acrylic comb made to my specs. My goal is to create the ideal harmonica for ease of playing and maintenance.

The Starting Point:

• Marine Band Deluxe Cover Plates with cut-away tabs on the top right (see photo). This design has the cover plate cut away to expose the reed plate. The reed plate has the key stamped directly into the brass.
• This design recalls the original “mouse ear” Marine Band harmonica made in 1896. You will never have to figure out what keys the reed plates are when you take your harmonicas apart for cleaning and maintenance. The cover plates are strong, very crush resistant, and open in the back for sound projection.
• Black Acrylic combs – You can put these combs into an ultrasonic cleaner or immerse in hot water with dish soap to keep your axes “clean as a whistle” with none of the problems of wood. They also will not crack or shatter if they are dropped. They are polished on the face to a smooth luster that feels luxurious and easy to move around on.
• The reed plates are Hohner Marine Band Deluxe (the crossover is the same reed / slot combination) All edges smoothed off and corners rounded off for comfort.
• All screw construction.
• State of the art reed and slot work to give you dependable control over bends, vibrato, and tone from barely audible to super loud.

Here are your options:

The R. Sleigh Marine Band Deluxe

A free-breathing, easy bending harmonica set up for traditional blues, country, and folk music styles. This harp will cut the room with a lot less effort than an out of the box harmonica. The reeds and slots are carefully re-shaped to give you clear, natural sounding bent notes that “play like butter”. You can control these bent notes even at very low volume. The tuning is standard 19 limit just intonation for smooth chords with melody notes that sound in tune for fiddle tunes, etc. $157 per harp.

The R. Sleigh Marine Band Deluxe with Overblows on 4, 5, and 6

This harp is built for precise controlled bending all over plus over-blows in holes 4, 5, & 6. This combination of embossing and reed shaping is the most popular harmonica conversion I make. The tuning is standard 19 limit just intonation for smooth chords with melody notes that sound in tune for fiddle tunes, etc. $197 per harp.

Additional options available for the R. Sleigh Marine Band Deluxe harmonica:

• Thunderbird Cover plates for extra low end clearance on draw reeds – add $10.00
• Full overblow harmonicas and other special requests, wood combs, low tuned Thunderbird reed plates (below the standard G harmonica) double thick reed plates… please call or email me with particulars and I will make you a quote.

R. Sleigh Special 20 harmonicas

A free-breathing, easy bending harmonica set up for traditional blues, country, and folk music styles. This harp will cut the room with a lot less effort than an out of the box harmonica. The reeds and slots are carefully re-shaped to give you clear, natural sounding bent notes that “play like butter”. You can control these bent notes even at very low volume. The tuning is standard 19 limit just intonation for smooth chords with melody notes that sound in tune for fiddle tunes, etc. $132 per harp.

R. Sleigh Special 20 harmonicas with overblows on 4,5,& 6

This harp is built for precise controlled bending all over plus over-blows in holes 4, 5, & 6. This combination of embossing and reed shaping is the most popular harmonica conversion I make. The tuning is standard 19 limit just intonation for smooth chords with melody notes that sound in tune for fiddle tunes, etc. $172 per harp.

Here is how to order these upgrades:

Please go to the store at hotrodharmonicas.com to order your upgrades

My estimate for shipping is 6 – 8 weeks from the time I get the order. This will vary depending on current work load.

Shipping: Will depend on method and destination. I will contact you with details. Typical USA shipping prices are USPS priority mail for up to 8 harmonicas at $10 International shipping depends on method, your location and the amount of risk you will assume. The only way to be sure is to contact me so we can determine rates. 

Contact Info for Richard Sleigh:

Click here to email R. Sleigh

or snail mail:

PO Box 23, Boalsburg PA, 16827

or phone: (814) 762-3485

Facebook is dicey, best to use the above methods – thanks!

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Here is one of my secret weapons for my upgrades:

I use a series of tools and processes to center and adjust reeds BEFORE I start slot reconstruction. This makes embossing consistent.  If a reed is slightly diagonal in the slot, it cannot respond as well as a reed that is centered.

Most customizers just work around the reed as best they can, and over-emboss to close up the wide areas.

Here is a video of the before and after on one reed plate:

The rest of the process involves a combination of burnishing slots, shaping reeds, waxing reeds as necessary, tuning, re-tuning, and final adjustments. I have basic formulas that I follow, but no two reed plates are the same, so I end up doing whatever is necessary to bring reed plates up to my standards.

Harpe Diem!

Thanks!