somebody at SPAH 2014 gave me reed wrench.....I have G harp marine band with blocked 3blow.....I can see light in that 3 reed.....can somebody help me realign that 3 hole
Hi, Tons of videos on you tube--U may have a small burr When u see light are u 'pusing reed into the slot' or is it just sitting in normal position--many times I have sticky reed it looks fine till I push into the slot with back light
anyway order some metal shims or get some by[opening up one of white anti theft tags--usually has 2-3 in there] then cut or round the end so u can shove into reed slot--- run it back n forth-to 'help align' but mostly eliminate burrs check with andrew zajac and check his website
soe people can wrap the reed in thin alum foil and push into slot--I didn't have luck with Fastest way for me was 1 1] after deburr --simply move reed to side and back again by sight [w/backlight] usually takes 2-3 times for me---but must eliminate burrs Hopefully u won't obsess like me and get a microscope--u see all kinds of debree in the slot with that
Seydel sells a feeler gauge (I think it may be available through Rockin' Ron). Anyway, use the thinnest blade of the gauge and VERY GENTLY slide it in between one side of the reed and reed plate and then the other and VERY GENTLY move it back and forth 2 or 3 times along the length of the reed. This should deburr but will definitely align the reed in the slot.
I think it's a very reasonable answer, given the OP. It's a very open-ended question. Aligning a reed is quite straightforward in a sense, but there may be complications. "Doc, I don't feel good. Can you help me feel better?" Maybe, but you're gonna have to give me a bit more to work with.
I use a small slip of paper (more or less what Adam used on his video on gapping). Grab a receipt or other similar piece of paper. Take the harp apart far enough to get access to the reed (just the covers for a top reed, but you'll have to take it all apart for a bottom reed).
Slide the piece of paper under the reed all the way down the length, sort of fold the paper over and very gently pull the reed (start with less force than you think you'll need) towards being centered. You don't want to pull too much towards the free end because it's too easy to pull it too far.
That assumes, of course, that the rivet is in the right place. If the rivet is off center it's more complicated. I haven't run into that in my own harps so I won't offer any advice on it.
That should be all you need to do though. I talked a guy through it who'd only been playing for a month who'd never opened a harp up before, so on the scale of harp repairs, 1 to 10 it's about a 1.5 as long as the rivet isn't involved.
With the limited information given, this sounds to me like the "Law of the Instrument" (do look it up). Though I might paraphrase: "if all you have is a reed wrench..."
