Harp cleaning has changed the ability to bend 3 draw
Hi Kinya,
I have just cleaned my 'G' harp in an ultrasonic bath with some water and specialist detergent. After reassembly, the 3 draw bend is difficult to sound every time. It takes a lot more air to get it to sound at all.
Holes 1 - 4 and 6 bends are fine and the 3 draw and 3 blow are also OK. I'm sure I've not forgotten how to bend on just the one hole. Any idea what the issue might be?
Thanks,
Mark.
Thanks Kinya,
I'll try those things and report back. Meanwhile, I've bought a replacement harp until I've fixed the faulty one.
Mark.
Good move Mark.
Remember to always keep your old harmonicas. You'll be able to harvest the good reeds for future repairs.
Before I became a Hohner Dealer (w/access to factory reeds), I would purchase (ebay) used Hohner Special 20 and Marine Band harmonicas. Many times the harmonica would be almost new with 1 faulty reed. This meant I was able to harvest 19 good reeds! Eventually I purchased Vitamin/Pill Boxes/Cassettes and organized my cache of reeds by harmonica keys and the corresponding reeds. This expedited my reed repair work flow.
For example; for the C Harmonica Cassette
- BLOW: 1
- NOTE: C
- DRAW: 1
- NOTE: D
- BLOW: 2
- NOTE: E
- DRAW: 2
- NOTE: G
- etc, etc
Your HARPSMITH, Kinya
Hello Mark, how's your Harp-Tech repairs coming along?
Your HARSMITH, Kinya
Hi Kinya,
Thanks for checking in. I went through your recommended steps of stripping down the harp and examining the blow and draw reeds for debris. I also pinged those reeds and they sounded fine. All that's left is to check/adjust the reed gapping and I am about to watch your 'Optimum Reed Gapping' video.
I must confess that repairing the faulty harp has not been a priority as I purchased a Lee Oskar replacement which works fine.
I'll post when I've fixed the harp or alternatively, can't go any further with the repair.
Mark.
Thanx for the update Mark
Your HARPSMITH, Kinya
Hi Kinya,
5 months after first posting about the 3 draw bend on my Hohner G harp, I think I have fixed it. Meantimes, I have purchased an Easttop toolkit and also received a Seydel toolkit as a birthday gift!
The 3 draw reed zero point was fine but the gap at the free end was less than 0.003". After considerable work, I got the gap to be about 0.006" and after reassembly, I can dip the 3 draw and get a reasonable-sounding whole step bend on the same reed. It's not as perfect as I would like but maybe that's because my bending is still a work in progress. At least the 3 draw reed doesn't 'choke' as it did before.
I'm a bit surprised that a small adjustment can be so effective. I think the whole experience has given me the confidence to work on reeds again.
Just one question: if it is so easy to accidentally close the gap to <0.003" on a reed, what stops it reverting back to this gapping when adjusted back to 0.006"?
Thanks for your help...your 'Optimum Reed Gapping' video was really useful.
Mark.
Hey Mark, good work!
I learned many important lessons from my Yoda--Rick Epping, but two things stand out:
(1) On a microscopic level, lattices will define the integrity of the reed. Simply put, the reeds develop "work hardening" over time and this surface tension changes as the instrument is played. This will impact reed profiles (gapping) and tuning.
Over the years, I have tuned thousands of reeds and found many harmonicas that come back for service will drift towards the sharper end of the tuning spectrum by 3 to 5 cents. Of course the exception will be those from my heavy duty Second Position Players who would destroy their 4/5 BLOW and DRAW reeds!
(2) A terrific playing harmonica is made up of many things done right.
Your HARPSMITH, Kinya
Thanks for your response Kinya.
Whoa...reed lattices, that sounds like mystical stuff. If I had the time and inclination, I would explore that more but at the moment I'm just happy that I've fixed a reed problem.
Mark.
ah so
Your HARPSMITH, Kinya
Hello Mark, no worries.
On occasion, ultrasonic cleansing dislodges coagulated saliva and debris--which has a tendancy to settle between the reed and reed plate slot, rendering the harmonica unplayable.
Next Steps:
https://youtu.be/eI3aS_5HD34
Let us know how things went
Your HARPSMITH, Kinya