shadoe42
158 posts
May 07, 2012
2:14 PM
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So recently I picked up a set of the 5 Marine Bands in a case. had not had much time to play them yet but this weekend I managed to grab the wrong case and the only key of A I had with me was the Marine Band I had never played. Luckily we don't use it with the band except when messing around. At one point we were sitting around just jamming a bit in E so I grabbed the A.
But when I drew the first chord there was a god awful reed rattle that just did not sound right. A raspy buzzing noise.
Reed out of alignment? or gapped to close? Just me not normally playing MB maybe drawing to hard on it? Although drawing lighter didn't clear it up.
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The Musical Blades
My Electronic Music World
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nacoran
5643 posts
May 07, 2012
4:28 PM
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Is it a buzz or a rattle? 'A' is just low enough for cover rattle maybe. Take it apart and see! (If you haven't taken a MB apart watch Adam's video on how to do it. Darn nails.)
I don't think it would be gapping, but it could be alignment or rattling hitting the cover, both of which are pretty repairable. When I was teaching a drummer to play harp he got a buzzy reed on a Hering. I talked him through the repair over the phone and it was the first time he'd ever seen the insides of a harp. That was an alignment issue, but Herings have screws.
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Nate
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arzajac
796 posts
May 07, 2012
4:52 PM
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A MB should play just like any other harp. This harmonica probably has a defect. As Nate mentioned, it could be a misalignment. It would also be debris - like a thin hair from a pet or something. It can also be a burr caused by whomever tuned it at the factory.
Which hole is it? Draw or blow? Is the buzz there all the time or does it go away with hard or very soft breath?
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Last Edited by on May 07, 2012 4:52 PM
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shadoe42
159 posts
May 07, 2012
7:28 PM
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I will experiment more with it tomorrow and see. The toddler is in bed or I would do it now. And I want to say it was either the 3 or 4 draw. Honestly I drew on the chord.. its a buzz.. the 3 draw does not sound at all no matter how hard I draw. the 4 draw takes a lot of power to get it sound as does the 5 draw.
seems to be a combination of things. On closer experimenting to see which hole is the problem it does seem like it might have some debris in it but that doesn't seem to be the only problem.
The Buzz is on 1 draw and to a lesser extent the 2 draw.
sigh - guess I will have to take the thing apart.. maybe I should convert it to screws while I am at it.
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The Musical Blades
My Electronic Music World
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barbequebob
1891 posts
May 08, 2012
8:27 AM
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Which reed is rattling specifically. If it's 1 draw, that's typical of someone playing with too much breath force, and this will happen on harps from A and lower. It also sounds like from playing too hard, you are now playing with an extremely wet mouth and so you now have a problem of dried on saliva and dead skin and many players who tend to play too hard often have a big problem with the moisture.
There may also be a burr on the reed edges, which these days doesn't happen very often, and usually what I do is get a tiny shim or even something as simple as a double edged razoe blade and have the reed rest on it while isolating the other reeds and then get a needle nose/jeweler's file, specifically on that has a knife shape to it and gently file the edges around the reed.
Sometimes it could be an alignment issue, but playing with too much force increases breath moisture problems and tends to make things a lot worse by trying to force things to happen.
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Boston, MA
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HarpNinja
2401 posts
May 08, 2012
9:30 AM
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I've bought well over 100 harps in the last 6-12 months without ever having any issues OOTB. I mean absolutely zero. The only time I ever had any issue was several years ago with the occasional Hohner squealing on deep bends...so I think I am close to 0-200 in the bad harp department over the last couple years.
It is totally weird that this is an issue on multiple holes assuming it cam straight from the factory in that condition.
How comfortable are you taking it apart? It could be anything from debris, to gapping, to fit on the comb...I'd personally take off the covers and at least examine the draw plates. This would include holding the harp to the light to look for gaps against the comb, plinking the reeds to see if it gets stuck or sounds dead, and then deburring.
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Mike
VHT Special 6 Mods
Quicksilver Custom Harmonicas - When it needs to come from the soul...
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Destin
21 posts
May 08, 2012
9:49 AM
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I have the sames problem on a Bb I just got, 1 draw
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HarpNinja
2402 posts
May 08, 2012
10:00 AM
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If you draw too hard on lower keys, you can for sure get them to hit the coverplates. Sometimes, if you accidently squeeze the covers too hard, that can create the problem as well. Ensuring that the draw reed isn't gapped too wide will help. Sometimes, simply applying pressure to the back cover to pull it away from the comb can help.
It really shouldn't be an issue until you get lower than G.
I tend to get newer production MB's - generally the ones with sealed combs. I guess I shouldn't say too much about MB's that were made more than a couple years ago.
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Mike
VHT Special 6 Mods
Quicksilver Custom Harmonicas - When it needs to come from the soul...
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shadoe42
160 posts
May 08, 2012
2:15 PM
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the problem with the 1 draw happens no matter what breath force I use..soon as the reed begins to vibrate it begins to buzz.
THis is the first set of MBs I have owned. All my other harps have screws and not nails. So to answer your question i am not comfortable at all with taking it apart. But looks like I am about to get comfortable. The 3 draw doesn;t sound at all. I suspect something is stuck in the reeds there.
Its not from squeezing the harp. I have a pretty light grip for holding them.
But right now the 1 and 2 draw buzz no matter what the breath pressure. the 3 Draw doesn;t sound at all, the 4 and 5 draws are quite weak. I will check out Adam's video on disassembling MBs.
Might change it over to screws will I am at it. and long as that goes well will probably do the other four.
Hard to be moisture from my playing it as this was literally the first time I picked up this harp and it happened on the first draw chord.
No idea when these were actually made. At least it will be practice taking then apart.
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The Musical Blades
My Electronic Music World
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