Rgsccr
24 posts
Jun 09, 2012
12:37 PM
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Hi all - I have a couple of Suzuki Manjis, a C and a D, I really like their tone, and have gotten used to the slightly smaller holes. From the beginning (a couple of months), the C has been pretty easy to play. I think the bends on the low end aren't particularly hard to get. The D, however, has always seemed harder to play, stiffer, with the low end bends being pretty tough. Last night I asked a friend who is a pro to play it a little bit. He agreed that it was stiff and the low end bends were a bit tough (that is, after sounding like Little Walter). His comment was, compared to SP20s, the draw reeds from 2-4 seemed slower to react which is kind the way I feel about it. Like I said, the C has never felt this way. So, after that long-winded build-up, any suggestions about something easy I can do to make it better (for me). Please keep in mind that, other than taking off cover plates to clean them and installing new reed plates on a couple of LOs, I know next to nothing about tuning and fixing harps. Just sayin'.... Thanks. Rich
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nacoran
5818 posts
Jun 09, 2012
1:00 PM
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Rgsccr, have you tried gapping? That's usually the first step. Adam has a good video on gapping. (It's even easier than he makes it look because he's using a Marine Band, which is more of a pain to take apart than a harp with screws.)
https://sites.google.com/site/veloroam/home/gussow-index
It's video 16.
Tuning wouldn't really do anything. You could try more advanced techniques, but you get diminishing returns and are more likely to screw up the first few harps you play around with. It's almost always gapping. :)
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Nate
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Rgsccr
25 posts
Jun 09, 2012
1:12 PM
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Thanks - I'll take a look at it.
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tookatooka
2966 posts
Jun 09, 2012
1:58 PM
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Sounds like gapping would fix this.
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Rgsccr
26 posts
Jun 09, 2012
2:29 PM
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Great video - thanks for the heads-up! I gave the gapping a try on my Manji (after playing around with an old harp a bit), and I think it worked, at least a little. The two and three hole draws seems a little less tight. I may have to do a little more gapping, but it did seem to help free things up.
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ElkRiverHarmonicas
1136 posts
Jun 09, 2012
6:57 PM
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Sounds like too much compression. Try opening the gaps, especially the blow reeds.
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David
Elk River Harmonicas
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Rgsccr
27 posts
Jun 09, 2012
7:38 PM
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David, are you saying that, in addition to gapping procedure Adam Gussow shows in the video - moving the draw reed up with a piece of paper - I should gap the blow reed on that same hole? If so, can this be done by pushing the blow reed in, say, with a toothpick? Thanks, Rich
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