Ask Harp Tech Expert Kinya Pollard

Hello All, to my eyes the new HOHNER Golden Melody cover plates reminds me of the '48 Tucker. Check out my photos:

https://harpsmith.com/products-%26-photos

I'm just saying ...

Your HARPSMITH, Kinya

p.s. while you are visiting my gallery, look for harmonica legend, Andy Just ;o)

I just recieved a new hohner marine band deluxe and im getting a rattling noise from the 2 draw. Maybe its the reed is not aligned up with the hole. I maybe see less space on one side of the reed than the other when holding it up to the light. How can I safly rotate the reed without a reed wrench?

Hello Kinya,

First of all let me thank you for all the instructional videos in here. I coulnd't see the whole library yet, but thanks to your videos I learnt and managed how to gap, chamfer and emboss my harp! Maybe it's not perfect at all, i'm still struggling with some things and as a beginner I'm not experienced enough to understand well if there's something missing or it's just poor tecnique... But I'm know able to play fully chromatic and i can also bend up to 1 or 2 half tone overbends on hole 4 5 6 and 7! continue reading...

Hello Harp Techs, please find my review at:

https://harpsmith.com/whats-new

Enjoy!

Your HARPSMITH, Kinya

Hi Kinya. First and foremost, love your HarpTech lessons - I'm waiting for delivery of an ultrasonic cleaner as per your recommendations before I carry on following them - great explanations and easy to follow. Thank you for that! In the meantime, I've got my hands on a Seydel Harmonica Disinfection bag and quite happy with the results. continue reading...

I've recently started the Chromatic lessons on the site and have a Seydel Chromatic Deluxe harp (a few years old).   Just recently, I noticed the 1 hole blow sound was starting to weaken.   a very gentle blow still produces the note, but anything more than the lightest air flow and the note simply disappears.   I took the harmonica apart to check for food or debris, but it seems clean and the reed moves freely within the gap.   I'm new to the idea of maintenence but happy to give it a try! continue reading...

Hi, would you mind telling me which reeds you find require replacement more often and why? And when a reed is on the way out, does it just go flat or break? Many thanks Mac

Hello Kinya! Lately, when I begin playing my Marine Band A harmonica that I've had for 14 months, the second, third, and fourth holes sound terribly sour. After I've played for less than a minute, they seem to be back in tune. Even if I warm the harmonica up first, which I most always do, this seems to happen. I've only noticed this in the last month or so. I've taken the harp apart and haven't noticed anything out of whack. Although I'm far from an expert about adjusting reeds, the gapping and clearance look okay to me. Is this an indication of weakening reeds or what? Thanks!

Hello All, the HARPSMITH store is open for business!

Why it Matters | many followers of the HARPSMITH tutorials and forum have asked me over the years if I would consider selling the customized harmonicas that I featured on this site. 

Available now is a limited supply of HARPSMITH enhanced Hohner Special 20 and Hohner Marine Band Deluxe harmonicas with Brendan Power's amazing Overblow Booster MK2 components installed, calibrated and tested.  continue reading...

Reposting this for you Kinya...

"I have a Hohner Marine Band 1896 and the draw note on hole 2 is very quiet/muted. This seems to be a harmoica issue rather than technique-based because I also have a less frequently used C harmonica where draw note on 2 is fine. I have tried using a paper clip to free the reed without success and have also tried to use my jewellers screwdriver set to disassemble but the screw heads are very difficult to turn (are they actually nails with a slot in the top?)

Could you please advise what I could do to get my harp working again?

Thanks,

Mark"