I haven't bought one for a while but I haven't heard that they've changed. It isn't just the wood combs, it's the fact that everything is nailed together, not screwed. All very endearing and old-fashioned - until you need to take it apart and reassemble! The wood combs have some very thin partition walls and are pretty delicate. The two other makes with good reputations are Tombo (possibly not available in the US?) and Suzuki. My only reason for going for the Echos is that they come in double-sided versions, and for Irish tunes I find the D/G one invaluable. Is plastic better than wood? Well, all the properly-conducted comparisons I've seen have revealed little, if any, difference in tone. And plastic is much easier to clean.