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Dirty-South Blues Harp forum: wail on! >
Gaping a Chromatic?
Gaping a Chromatic?
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rogonzab
669 posts
Mar 17, 2015
3:35 PM
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Hi,
I own a cheap Swan1248 chrom. Is not the best chrom, but I like it a lot.
I want to try to improve it. I work on my own diatonics, and they end up way better than stock, so I know a little about the subject.
So, my question is this:
The rules of gaping diatonic harps, aply to chromatic harps? (straight reeds, tight gaps, and so on)
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Sorry for any misspell, english is not my first language.
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WinslowYerxa
818 posts
Mar 17, 2015
4:14 PM
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Gapping chromatics is similar but also different.
What makes it different is that air flows differently through a chromatic.
Valving shuts off airflow from the blow reed when you draw and from the draw reed when you blow. So the reeds are much more sensitive to attack and flow volume because one reed can't absorb the excess directed at the other. So you may find you need to gap a bit higher.
Chromatics have more potential leaks than diatonics due to larger mating surfaces between reedplate and comb, and because of the layers of mouthpiece and slide (anywhere between 2 and 4 layers). I've seen Swan chromatics with daylight gaps between the mouthpiece and the comb because the comb was warped - the comb front would need to be sanded flat.
So you may not find that gapping delivers the benefits you're hoping for if you've got leakiness problems elsewhere on the harp.
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Winslow
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Last Edited by WinslowYerxa on Mar 17, 2015 4:16 PM
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rogonzab
670 posts
Mar 17, 2015
4:26 PM
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Thxs Winslow!
I am a soft breather, so I prefer tight gaps. I will gap acording to your suggestion.
My Swan has a plastic comb. This is my first chrom, so I dont have a reference, but the factory gaps where huge (considering my diatonic gap prefrerences) that is why I thought that gaping it would make it better.
I will let you know what I end up whit.
Thxs!!!
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Sorry for any misspell, english is not my first language.
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GMaj7
642 posts
Mar 17, 2015
6:12 PM
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Winslow nailed it.
I don't think any time you spend gapping will be well spent or noticeable.
Start at the mouthpiece and make sure it is seated flush against the comb. There should be no daylight. Sometimes you have to slightly arc the mouthpiece a little so it fits flush in the center as you adjust the screws on the side.
Afterward, you inspect all the wind savers on the exterior. If any are curved or not flat, they need to be replaced.
Then you move to the interior wind savers and fix those.
After that, you make sure the comb is flat between the chambers.
After all of that, you can gap but don't expect that step to have much effect on your playing unless you are Will Galison, in which case you wouldn't be on this forum, I presume.
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Greg Jones
16:23 Custom Harmonicas
greg@1623customharmonicas.com
1623customharmonicas.com
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