Silicone
Hi Kinya.
Reviewing harp-l forum archives I read that Joe Filisko an others (Chris Michalek) put silicone between the reeds and the comb.
Is this a normal operation? It is worthy?
I have worked on repairing many of Chris's harps since his passing (R.I.P.) and he was a very good friend of mine. He tended to put bees' wax or chapstick on the reedplates and/or comb to create a more airtight seal when matting the two together. It is evident he was good at flat sanding the reedplates and his combs, so this wasn't totally necessary, but he also liked the minty smell the harps then shipped with.
He also used some sort of silicone in similar fashion. This was a big mistake! Over time, it collects grime and clogs the reeds. Don't do it! I have never seen a Filisko-guild harp with any sort of noticeable silicon.
The wax (generally Burt's Bees' Wax) tends to be less of a problem, but if you play in a humid area or are suspect to high temperatures, it can create problems as well. I would say the majority of the harps I serviced from him last year (at least a dozen) were sent to me for reed repair. In actuality, I only replaced 2-3 reeds. The rest just needed to be cleaned and tuned.
His work sans silicone is very impressive. The silicone harps are usually a mess. They play well, but the techniques used to achieve that were things I am not a fan of.
I should note that Kinya has shared MANY great articles on flat sanding and ensuring a smooth finish. In doing so, you don't really need to fill in rough spots with things like wax. Honestly, I think Chris's CNC skills were such that the combs he cut weren't the quality you can find now from dedicated comb makers.
Hello Again,
I believe it was Mr. Dick Gardner, formerly of the Harmonicats who passed the silicone technique on to the Filisko guild a long time ago.
Your Harpsmith,
Kinya
Hi Sergio,
In short--no. Silicone is extremely messy and unnecessary with the techniques we have perfected since the 90s. Many of those techniques will be covered in the upcoming Harp Tech Studies: Marine Band 101A
Your Harpsmith,
Kinya