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Dirty-South Blues Harp forum: wail on! >
waxing reed plates?
waxing reed plates?
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Dean Taylor
27 posts
Jul 31, 2012
1:53 PM
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hello players and techs--
Several players and techs advocate for the use of wax on the reed rivet to dampen what they refer to as "torsional vibrations in the choked reeds."
One of them is Tinus Koorn--at overblow.com
Have any of you tried this modification?
Best,
Dean
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Todd Parrott
993 posts
Jul 31, 2012
3:34 PM
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Yes, but it is not necessary to apply it to the actual rivet. You can also use clear nail polish. The place to apply it is in the corners at the rivet end where the reed first enters the slot.
You can think of it like this also... look at the back of your hand, and pretend your fingers are the reeds. You would apply the wax or polish in between the webbing of your fingers.
Joe Spiers clarified this in thread awhile back, and posted a picture of how little wax was needed and where to apply it. (Not sure if the picture is still there or not.)
When I do this, I use magnification and something like a toothpick or something similar to ensure that I don't use too much. If you use too much or get any on the reed it can change the pitch of the reed, so you have to be careful. Also, if you use wax, make sure you don't leave the harp in a hot car or it can melt and you'll have a mess.
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Dean Taylor
29 posts
Aug 01, 2012
9:44 AM
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thank you, Todd!
The idea of adding a (TINY) bit of clear nail polish makes sense.
The idea seems to be that the nail polish would then 'stiffen' up the reed to whatever degree--i.e., stiffen it up to prevent that twisting action ("torsioning") that causes squealing.
My question, then, is: would that 'stiffening' not also affect the pitch, as the reed flexibility has been...'adjusted', modified, etc., again, by degrees?
Best,
Dean
ps: having just re-read Tinus' article (link above) clarified a few things: the wax actually touches the reed a bit. That would do the trick, then, Also, he notes that this method has the added benefit of closing off the gap at the very beginning of the reed (tricky to emboss way back there).
It would seem, then--in retrospect--that this method is a more benign approach to the problem of torsioning, in that the reed does not have a hard substance (i.e., the dry nail polish) affixed to it. But, I leave that conclusion to you pros...
Best,
Dean
Last Edited by on Aug 01, 2012 9:58 AM
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arzajac
834 posts
Aug 01, 2012
10:13 AM
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Hi Dean.
As I understand the idea of waxing/nail polish at the base of the reedplate, the substance doesn't touch the reed per se. It adds height to the slot at the base, basically.
It's about airflow. Not bumper cars.
And yes, that change in airflow does affect timbre. It may even add sustain. What is shown on overblow dot com is completely different than that and drastically dampens the note. They cover the whole reed pad. You can also look at the Turboharp site - they sell a tape you can stick to the underside of the reed to dampen torsional vibrations, too. I've used blu-tak there and it can work. But you still have a foreign substance on your reed...
Adding wax or nail polish (the non-overblow.com way) just helps you sound the note without squeals. What the world class customisers do to deal with squeals makes the note sound so good you wet your pants. And that typically does not involve wax or nail polish, I am told.
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Last Edited by on Aug 01, 2012 10:17 AM
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