Ask Harp Tech Expert Kinya Pollard

I have noticed that some of my harps have an odd tin taste/feeling when I place my tongue on them. Like when you were a kid and placed your tongue on a 9volt battery.

Do you know how to get rid of it?

Dear mr. Pollard, recently I bought some manji harmonicas which I like, but I found it impossible to bend them tongue-blocked. I managed to tb-bend on my old marine-band harmonica's which are less airtight. I opened up my old marine-band in g and found out that the gaps were pretty wide. I set up a manji in g with wider gapping and suddenly I could bend the reeds on this. Is it common that it's easier to do this when you have wider gaps? What do you think about gapping in general?Joost Jansen 

Hi!!! :)

It is possible to build homemade winsavers for chromatic harmonica?
if it is possible what can i use for that?

thanks

Best Regards

Marko

Hi Kinya,

I've just picked up a near new Gold CX12 from eBay at a great price. It arrived tonight and I've noticed that on some of the reed slots the previous owner has elevated the windsavers using a thin piece of string. I'm not sure whether this has any purpose and assume it's safe to remove them? They appear to be only on holes 3, 5, 7 and 9 on the top reedplate and holes 6 and 8 on the bottom. I've tried to see if there's any difference in playing as a result and it appears that I can bend the holes 3 and 7 down a semitone. Is this a common customising technique do you know? continue reading...

Hi Kinya,

I've just picked up a near new Gold CX12 from eBay at a great price. It arrived tonight and I've noticed that on some of the reed slots the previous owner has elevated the windsavers using a thin piece of string. I'm not sure whether this has any purpose and assume it's safe to remove them? They appear to be only on holes 3, 5, 7 and 9 on the top reedplate and holes 6 and 8 on the bottom. I've tried to see if there's any difference in playing as a result and it appears that I can bend the holes 3 and 7 down a semitone. Is this a common customising technique do you know? continue reading...

Hello Stomp Pedal fans,
Lately I have been "sitting in" with a local favorite band called Shark Sandwich (aka Daddy-O), which performs regularly at San Jose's Fairmont Hotel. Set up and volume are issues I didn't want to wrestle with, so I decided to play through the PA. Of course it sounded crappy. continue reading...

Hello Everyone,
A couple of days ago I had Andy Just in my shop. In preparation for his month long European tour I decided to address his Suzuki Manji "sticking" reed issues. The reed slot tolerances of the Manji are extraordinary, making any Harp-Tech weep with envy. The downside for players; however, if you allow condensation and saliva to coagulate, you can expect your reeds to stick. continue reading...

Hello fellow Harp Techs

Readers and students know by now that I cobbled together much of my harp-tech tools and materials from Micro-Mark - the Small Tool Specialists.

www.micromark.com is holding their huge sale (save up to 60%). Do hesitate, now is the time to stock up!

"Play the notes people want to hear" (c) 2008

Kinya
The Harpsmith

ok i know i read somewere about you having pauls actual amp but could you tell me what kind he used and the mic and any effects if any i think he used an sm58 i think thanks

Hi!!!

I bought recently a hohner blues harp,
and i like it very much :)

It has the same comb and reed plates of the marine band ?

thanks,
Best Regards

Marko