I was wondering about something. Since bending involves an interaction between the blow and draw reeds, and proper gapping is essential to a responsive harmonica, how can you tell what the harp needs? There seems to be 9 possibilities:
1. The harp is gapped perfectly 2. The blow and draw reeds are too high 3. The blow and draw reeds are too tight 4. The blow reed is good, the draw reed is high 5. The blow reed is good, the draw reed is tight 6. The draw reed is good, the blow reed is too high 7. The draw reed is good, the blow reed is too tight 8. The blow reed is too high, the draw reed is too tight 9. The blow reed is too tight, the draw reed is high.
How can you tell which reed to adjust? Any suggestions here?
I don't think of it as in possibilites but rather in a kind of method of approach.
So I start gapping all draw reeds pretty tight, as preparation for gapping the blow reeds.
Then I gap the blow reeds. I always gap them to the point where the responsiveness fails a little... and then I open them up just a whiff, so that they are gapped as close as possible without suffering in responsivenes..
While testing I try to play with my normal attack strength and with resonating mouth cavity.
Then I gap the draw reeds to the same specifications.
And then I go to adjusting the reeds for overblow overdraw and the one critical hole, which is the 3rd because of the large bend.
I've read somewhere that the 3 draw reed should be gapped a little wider becaue that facilitates the bend...
For the overblow holes the blow reed should be gapped a little closer so that it chokes easily. And with the overdraw reeds it's the draw reed that needs to be gapped closer.
While trying to adjust in this manner I keep on testing/playing the harp to check that it is all nicely responsive (when played without bend or overblow).
But then I have very little experience with gapping... maybe other people have more to say.
---------- germanharpist on YT. =;-) - Resonance is KEY!
You should always gap in pairs one hole at a time. That's the only real way to get them work properly because the draw reed affects the playability of the blow reed and vice versa.
The main things to remember are:
1. A little goes a long way 2. Patience is a virtue
GH, Your thinking on gapping for overblows/draws is correct.
The 3 hole draw and the 5 hole draw are a little trickier. The best method I have found is to use Joe Spiers fantastic set of gapping videos on YouTube as a guide.
I notice that you say you try to test with your normal attack when gapping. This could be the cause of some of the problems you may be encountering when playing your freshly gapped harps.
Joe Spiers says (and of course rightly so) that all reeds should be set so that you can play them with a soft or hard attack and get no sticking on the reed.
This means that the reed reacts immediately to how you play it. Now if all your reeds are set up in this fashion then all overblows/draws and bends should be readily available to you. If they are not then your playing technique is probably in need of some correction.
I would recommend watching Joes videos and following his advice in detail. They should in my opinion be required watching for anybody learning to work on their own harmonicas.
Thank you Joe for making this great set of videos for us all.
I learned (or actually had to forget a bunch of other stuff, and then RELEARN) everything I now know to be true about gapping from this series of videos. They are, hands down, the BEST series of videos on the subject you will ever find. Put up for FREE by Joe. I also believe that,above perhaps every other "cutomization" technique you might possibly learn out there on the internet, this is the one that, if you do it correctly, will absolutely, positively, make a dramatic differnce to the playability of your harp. Flat sanding is the next most dramatic difference. After that, meh... ---------- ------------------ The magnificent YouTube channel of the internet user known as "isaacullah"
Here's a vid of how I, personally, use Joe's gapping method. In this case, it's on a valveless chromatic. Hear for yourself the dramatic difference it makes.
one little thing, that does not get mentioned much is that you can get the gaps right, and if you tighten the reed plate too much and/ or unevenly then the slight bit of bending caused by that can throw gapping out again, and even cause tighly embossed reeds to stick.
Also, if you play a while on the harp, and then go over it one more time, the results seem more stable.
These are places where I have fallen down in the past, still learning, and I assume it is a life-long skill to improve...Joe, you make it look too darn easy :-)
I know this thread is dead and gone by now but wanted to add my $0.02: - As somewhat of a beginner I've left the proper care and feeding of my harps by the wayside. I knew enough to get them to play again but figured gapping the reeds would be too much of a PITA and only the hard core guys cared anyway. Yesterday while cleaning all the damned ice off my van windshield I squished a very ripe pear in my pocket right into my favorite harp so I figured now was the time to fix it up right. I found this thread and was amazed by how straightforward it was to gap reeds enough to really make a difference in tone and breath control. I immediately grabbed 3 other problem harps and worked on them too, and after a good cleaning and gapping they play better than out of the box. Now that I've done 4 I think the next one would be pretty quick if it didn't need a thorough de-mucking.
One tip about it though, it's been said in various forms that a little goes a loooong way, be patient, etc. and I'm here to tell you that's very true. Also, when putting back reed plates make sure you hold them really tight together while driving in the screws, I wasted the better part of an hour chasing the gapping on 5,6 on one of my harps just to find out it wasn't -quite- sealed due to the reed plates being off.
I can play so much softer now and bend so much easier while tongue blocking, it's awesome. Newbies out there who haven't done this yet, it's well worth your time, grab a cast-off harp and try it.
My brother came over to visit one day. We'd been sitting around talking for a while, and I decided it was time to get a snack. I mentioned I had fresh pairs in the fridge. He immediately jumped at the offer, "I haven't had a pair for a long time."
Anyway, back to gapping, yeah, gapping as long as you remember to be gentle, is a safe easy way to improve your harp, even for beginners. Adam's video, I think it's #16 is a great starter.
One thing I noticed today - I think I gapped them too close, because when I pulled them out today there were some choky reeds. Once they warmed up they were fine, but I think when gapping you should be a little conservative to allow for temperature to do its thang.
This is why everyone should have a couple of really nice (if not custom) harmonicas. It at least gives you an idea of how the "right" gap feels. Once you know how it should feel, it is easier to replicate.
I gap reeds in blow/draw pairs and isolate reeds to check my work. ---------- Custom Harmonicas
Yes would be nice, and when I get some cash next year I'll either splurge on a custom jobby (how to pick a key though?) or get serious about amplification (to date just been acoustic). To hear others talk of harp mods, it sounds like one of these jobs like tuning the carbs from a 4cyl motorcycle engine - once you get that "feel" you just can't shake it, and when its off, it nags you night and day.
Isolating reeds - you mean covering the opposite reed from which you're working (i.e. draw 6 when you're gapping blow 6)?
I'm going on vacation with my family and to relieve the travel stress I'll be taking my leaky crappy Hohner Bb Blues Harp, a screwdriver, and a long brass finishing nail and get to working on that til it runs like my beloved, dearly departed 76 CB750 did in my dreams. God I miss that motorcycle. Hopefully the TSA won't see those tools as threats to national security. That cursed Bb Blues Harp may be suspect however.
