Harpengr
44 posts
Jun 20, 2013
6:23 PM
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I just got a new Golden Melody Db. After some gap adjustment I am able to bend the 2 and 3 pretty well but the 3 seems like the half step bend isn't there and the whole step bend is very narrow. Is this my technique or would further adjustment help?
Thank,
Greg
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arzajac
1085 posts
Jun 20, 2013
7:05 PM
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Without being able to put your harp in my mouth and play it, I can't say for sure. But it's likely your technique.
That being said, you can't really gap a harp effectively unless you know how to bend. You sorta need to "gap to effect" and optimize the bends by fine tuning the gap on both reeds in the channel. So you may have really put the gaps out of whack without knowing it. It's really hard to tell in this situation.
This response is of no use to you, of course... Lol! I may have just as well said "Maybe!"
But the harp is a little bit like the chicken and the egg. You need to know how to play to be able to tell if you have a bad harp. So, "is it me or is it the harp?"
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Last Edited by arzajac on Jun 20, 2013 7:08 PM
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florida-trader
322 posts
Jun 21, 2013
8:49 AM
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Harpengr. To follow up on what Andrew said, let me ask a question. Can you achieve the desired bends on one of your other harps (assuming you have some)? If the answer is yes, then that would suggest it is the harp. If you can't get the bends on your other harps either, well that would indicate that it is your technique.
A Db harp is one of the easier harps to bend the 1, 2 and 3 draws. If we were talking about a G harp, it would be a little different story because the lower harps are harder to bend so set-up and gapping become even more important.
So give us some more information to work with and I think you will get a lot of helpful information from the guys on the forum.
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Tom Halchak
www.BlueMoonHarmonicas.com
Last Edited by florida-trader on Jun 21, 2013 8:49 AM
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harpwrench
659 posts
Jun 21, 2013
1:35 PM
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You might try playing 1-4 holes as chords, with light breath. From dead still, blow and draw separately (not going directly from one to the other). See if either or both 3-hole reeds come in late. If so then adjust gaps. Done properly they shouldn't come in sooner either, but some guys like to set them tighter for easier bending. So you can try that if there's deeper issues that might be harder to deal with, keeping in mind that too-tight gapping causes other problems if you play harder or wet.
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Custom Harmonicas
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Harpengr
45 posts
Jun 26, 2013
4:39 PM
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Maybe I should tell the whole story. When I got the new Db I couldn't get it to bend the 2 or 3
without a lot of effort. I worked on the 2 and 3 and got them to bend but couldn't get the 3 half
step.
I can bend pretty well thanks to some tips from Todd Parrott and Jimi Lee at HCH 2012 and 4 of Joe's
custom harps. (Love em, Joe!)
After reading Joe's last answer, I tried the 1-4 blow and draw. The three came in first! I went
in and tightened 1-4 and tried to get the response even between holes all the way up. Much better.
Thanks guys. I'm going to try to adjust some of my other harps that I think could work better.
Greg
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Littoral
924 posts
Jun 26, 2013
6:44 PM
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Crazy, simple question gets a great response from these guys.
Countless hours of pro experience for free.
karma at least...
The light breath on chords for the 3 hole. Very helpful.
Last Edited by Littoral on Jun 26, 2013 6:45 PM
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