Reed Profile
Hi Kinya,
I have followed your articles on repair, modification and tuning and I am a big fan.
I have enjoyed some success myself at adjusting reed profile and gap on my harps to get the responsiveness I prefer. However, I know there is much more I could be doing with the profile and I would appreciate being pointed in the right direction.
Could you provide some advice on some of the finer points of reed profile to help me take responsiveness and bending ease to the next level?
Thanks,
Al
At last master - and now I have the pebble, what should I do with it?? ;-)
You are such a tease Kinya!!!
Thanks for the reply, Kinya. I have had the opportunity to do a little bit quality "over the shoulder" work and as a result have been working with the hint that you mentioned.
I guess I am chasing that elusive balance between responsiveness and volume on the 2 and 3 draw. I know I can do better, but haven't discovered the best profile for me yet.
Will you be hosting any workshops at SPAH?
Al
Another way to look at the profile of the reed is to get the reed to swing like a door. Also the free end of the reed should never enter the slot first. However I do like Kinya's explanation.
Richard sleigh states it similarly - that as much of the reed as possible should enter the slot at the same time.
Also, in resting position, no part of the reed should dip into the slot, i.e, below the surface of the reedplate.
You could spend literally years chasing the perfect profile......I have! It's something we as customizers (hopefully) never stop perfecting, as we seek to push the boundaries of reed performance. But expanding those boundaries is honestly more of a necessity for improving overblows, overdraws, and even bending those notes up, than it is for *normal* blues playing.
If you're already working with the technique Kinya, Jon and Winslow have mentioned, even doing it without intense detail, you should be able to make one play very well and enjoyably for the traditional blues style by focusing more effort on fine tuning the offsets (gaps).......and even have a solid 6 overblow to boot.
When diagnosing the balance between blow and draw reeds, I find it helpful to isolate one from the other. (For example, when gapping the 3 blow, hold the 3 draw closed with your thumb as you breath into the chamber. Or when gapping the 10 draw, block the 10 blow as you inhale).
Pressurize the chamber, with a short breaths ranging from very soft to as aggressive as you would play on stage. You don't want a "pfffft" of air rushing out before the reed sings on a soft attack, and you don't want it to choke if you hit it harder.
But perhaps more important to playability is how the reed "feels" after that initial burst, when it's in oscillation. After the initial start cycle, a reed doesn't swing open and closed like a door, it flexes along it's length quite differently. A nice playing harmonica has a certain feel during oscillation that I'm finding hard to describe. I guess I'd say it is "efficient". Our ideal target gap yields a reed that "feels really good" during a long tone, doesn't choke when you hit it at stage pressure, and sings with the slightest amount of air (balanced response too, so that the chords play lovely under the lead lines as you employ TB techniques). When there's a problem with one of those things that can't be corrected by gapping, then go back in there and scrutinize the profile of that reed again.
Joe Spiers
This is such good stuff!!! Thank you all.
Thanx Master Joe,
Brilliant!
For me, a perfectly set up harmonica represents the formation of a symbiotic relationship between the player and the instrument (not like Peter Parker or Tony Stark). It's almost like there is no harmonica, just breath and music.
Regarding SPAH, I will not be attending this year, but I believe Richard Sleigh will be setting up in the help room. As for the 2hole and 3hole, be mindful of your technique. Remember David Barrett's mantra, "the tongue is all things good and evil" for harmonica players.
Kinya
Thanks very much for your insights Joe. I definitely will try isolating the reeds next time. I particularly like the way you phrased the ideal gap in the last paragraph. Thats what I am striving for and your description is very helpful.
Al Taylor
Thanks, Kinya. I am disappointed that I will not have the opportunity to meet you at SPAH... maybe next time.
Al Taylor
Yikes Al!
You don't fool around. I've been asked two recurring questions over the years; "what is the meaning of life", and "what is the optimum reed profile". The latter is far more difficult to answer ;o)
It was probably my time spent with Master Gunter Bayer in Germany that crystallized my technique for reed profiling. Suffice to say, this is the "secret sauce" that must be tasted to appreciate. In other words, you have to look over the shoulder of a master harp-tech to understand and learn the technique. Ugh!
In the meantime, I will tell give your this hint -- endeavor to have the reed swing in and out of the slot evenly.
“Play the notes people want to hear” © 2008
Kinya Pollard
The Harpsmith