Hey! Don’t throw that expensive harmonica away! I’ve been playing harmonica for decades, and you can bet I’ve trashed a small fortune’s worth. When Hohner came out with their XB-40 model, I bought one and knew I’d found my “harp soul mate.” It’s the loudest harmonica I’ve ever played, has the fattest, richest sound, you can bend notes blowing and drawing, and the blow holes are a fair distance apart, making playing one note at a time a breeze. When mine quit working I mourned the fact that Hohner quit making them. WHYY??? I don’t know. They just didn’t catch on for everybody I guess, because they are a slightly different breed. To replace it, I bought a Suzuki Valved harp. Good harp that’s similar to the Hohner, but falls far short in my opinion of the volume and tone. When I started having problems with that, I started surfing the web to see if there were any harmonica repairmen out there… and that’s how I found Burke. I found him to be a straight shooter, honest, and an amazing technician. He was up front with me at the start saying he was backlogged, but I didn’t care. I appreciated the forthrightness. I sent him my Hohner, and recently got it back. I had tried to unstick the reeds myself after watching a youtube video, and I had totally screwed it up, including bending one of the reeds up to about a 90 degree angle. Burke asked me if had a mustache, and when I confirmed I’d had one since my early 20s… he said that was my main problem. I use a holder so I can play guitar at the same time, and I wondered where all those hairs went that I’d ripped out of my mustache while playing over the years. They went right into the harmonica, clogging up those delicate reeds. Bent reeds, full of hair, grime, and dirt…. he fixed it all, including straightening that bent reed, tuned it, and I’m not kidding when I say this thing is just like it’s brand new. If you’ve got a cheap harmonica that’s gone bad, chunk it. But if you’ve got a fav they don’t make anymore or costs a good deal of money, call Burke. He’s pleasant to talk to, honest, reasonable on his prices, and at the top of his game technically. I commend him in the highest possible terms. Oh…. and if you’ve got a mustache, shave it off. It’ll save you some pain (literally from ripping out hairs) and money. Happy tootin’ to ya!

Jeff Ogle