New to Harp. Been lurking for a few months: really useful forum!
I've been working my way through Gussow and Gindick for a while. Mostly practicing in the car on the way to work.
In early September 2012 I bought a Special 20 on wide ranging recommendation and like it lots. Bought a few other types but I am gravitating towards the SP20
Yesterday, the 4 draw stopped working, just felt blocked. I opened it up looking for bits of pizza, as I lifted the reed it folded at the root - metal fatigue.
I pick up that this common for beginners - play lighter!
Is the harp dead? £25 over 4 months isn't too bad but I wouldn't throw my banjo away if I broke a string.
The only options I seem to have are a new set of reed plates at most of the cost of a new harp, or a new harp. What I would like is a source of new reeds and the tools to fit them. Is this asking too much? Cost effective?
I think the whole playinging lighter concept is based on opinion. I have heard different things from different players. Since your special 20 is out it may be a good time to try a differnt harp. There are a lot of different favors out there and since your new at it u might wanna try something else. I started on 20's and switched to MB's cause I like the tone better.
I service diatonic harps and charge $15 per harp - I make the harp more airtight, improve reed response and tuning as well as replace a broken reed. I know there are harp techs in the UK that do the same thing. That may be the most cost-effective way to solve the problem.
You can learn to replace reeds on your own. There is a learning curve but once you get over it, it's pretty straightforward.
If you can find a tech to teach you, I highly recommend it. I charge $275 for a 90 minute reed-replacement session and you leave with a toolkit and enough practice to be well on your way to mastering the skill on your own. I cover replacing the reed using screws as well as new rivets. If you think you will be a lifetime reed-buster, maybe paying someone for instruction and tools would be the most cost-effective method to solve the problem.
You could learn the stuff on your own for free using Youtube Videos, but factor in it will take months and can be extremely frustrating. Not to mention the difficulty in putting together a well-working toolkit and finding an inexpensive source of reeds.
Certainly, buying a new harp every time is the most expensive way to go about it. But many people still go about it that way...
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Last Edited by arzajac on Feb 27, 2013 7:20 AM
Ever since I began playing (I was in a band with John Frazer, he got me started), I saved every harmonica that stopped working right, and bought another (usually a SP20!). When I started working on harp repair, I had lots of donors for parts! Not everyone wants to fix harps, but I really like it. Certainly every player should be able to do certain things--I was at Suzuki doing the official repair thing yesterday, and Daron (the voice and face of Suzuki USA) mentioned that lots of people who call him are under the impression that they would void the warranty if they took the cover plates off! I recently exchanged emails with a fellow in Alaska, and he wanted to know if I had any tech videos--most of my YouTube stuff is harmonica related, but none of it is "how to tell if you have killed your first reed" sort of thing. I told him, "In person is better", but Skype would probably be very useful. Paying someone for instruction is usually worth the money if you care enough about the topic! Harp festivals are usually a good place to learn--I plan to be at the Suzuki booth for the La Mesa Spring Harp Fest this year, and will be showing folks how to use the reed replacement tool that we sell. It's the day before Easter . . . and San Diego is lovely this time of year!
I just got four harps back from Mr. Arzajac, my first dealing with him, and I have to tell you they play better than new and the tuning is spot on. He even opened the backs of the Special 20s at no extra charge. If shipping costs seem prohibitive, just put your "broken" harps to the side until you have enough to make it worthwhile. I'm in the process of putting together another package to send to Andrew. I have one with a blown reed, but I plan to send several more just for the improvement over the ootb harp in terms of tuning, loudness/tone and playability.
Rockin Rons has reed plated of the SP20. I usually buy a reed plate set when I break my firs reed and keep the old reed plates for doner reeds when the next one breaks. I break reeds a lot less as I have become more experienced at playing.
I am of the opinion that playing pressure has a lot to do with reed breakage. I have also done the math on reed fatigue and found that the expected life of a vibrating reed drops of sharply at pressures easily attainable by the average person. I expect there are other factor also. Many players report less breakage with more sxperience.
i'd go with him if you can't find a UK repair guy.
i too do reed adjustments like arzajac and if he is anything like me he will set all 20 reeds to make the harp better than new, as FMWoodeye claims.
that's a Special 20 i'm working on. notice the open back FMWoodeye describes. the harp looks like a Seydel Solist Pro because it has an early Hetrick maple comb.
---------- MP affordable reed replacement and repairs.
"making the world a better place, one harmonica at a time"
click user name [MP] for info- repair videos on YouTube. you can reach me via Facebook. Mark Prados
Last Edited by MP on Feb 27, 2013 11:49 AM
"I think the whole playing lighter concept is based on opinion. I have heard different things from different players. "
i totally agree. i'm a hard player but don't break reeds anymore. in fact, at practice last night i checked the tuning on my harps during a break. my Eb was not flat. it was very sharp overall. i hit that Eb hard every gig for at least three songs. one has a 6 OB where i use gale force wind. i believe that once you get your attack down, you can play very hard without breaking any reeds. ---------- MP affordable reed replacement and repairs.
"making the world a better place, one harmonica at a time"
click user name [MP] for info- repair videos on YouTube. you can reach me via Facebook. Mark Prados
I think there is great value in learning breath/force control. I also think there is great value in playing as hard as you f'n want to. It's rare that I break reeds anymore but when I want to hit certain sounds/tones I let it rip. There are certain qualities of sound/tone in pushing the hell out of the reeds that you can not achieve with soft playing. They are not for everybody. And I don't care if I break a reed and neither should anyone else. It's my harp and my money...
I am quite keen on DIY. Owning a banjo is more like owning a bicycle than a guitar.
Very useful vid.
Reed replacement looks very doable. Looks like the most cost effective route is to buy reed plates and keep them as spares as the reeds break. Just need to find a suitable deriveting tool and get some learning / practice in.
Think I'll stick with SP20s as I prefer the tone over the Promaster and Lee Oskar I have, and they are affordable.
@Bublnsqueak...."I'm quite keen on DIY"....Ha!! You must be a handy guy. When I look at Mark's video, I wonder how he can do that stuff for $10 a reed. Obviously, he's developed the skills and speed to do it fairly quickly and do it right the first time. I will wrench on a motorcycle or pound a nail, but when it comes to this kind of thing, it's money well-spent from my perspective...cheaper than new reed plates and a better result.
It's the learning that drives me, as well as the satisfaction of the 'I built that' feeling.
There are some things I can't do, (electronics frinstance) but most things are possible. I listen to some of the harp playing on this forum and secretly wonder if I'll ever get near that. I have to believe that it's possible or I would just give up.
Mark's sharing of this video is a generous and useful gift. Working on my own banjo has deepened my appreciation of the luthiers that build them (Google Romero banjo for banjo porn).
Of course the Mrs would just say that I am too tight to pay for a decent service... I couldn't possibly comment.
