JohnRed
2 posts
Oct 18, 2015
9:29 AM
|
Hey guys.
I currently own 3 Marine Bands: an A, a Bb and a C.
The A harp was my first "for real harp" and I've been playing it for around a year and a half.
The other 2 harps are relatively new, and I play them less as the A is my favourite.
The problem is that the last few days the 2 draw of the A has become more leaky. I gapped it and I have made it respond pretty well, but when I compare the 2 draw with the other 2 harps the difference is really noticeable.
I thought maybe this is just natural as the A harp is much older that the other 2, which are relatively new in time and use if compared with the older one? Maybe the A harp reeds have lost their firmness?
I would aprecciate your thoughts on this as this harp is really close to me and I wouldn't like to buy a new one in A
Last Edited by JohnRed on Oct 18, 2015 9:32 AM
|
Pistolcat
879 posts
Oct 18, 2015
10:02 AM
|
What key are your other harps? Harps usually don't get leakier with age, rather less. Check that your reed plates are properly fastened (not too tight thus warping). My guess would be that your other harps are higher keys and therefore less leaky. Am I right? Maybe a C and a D (trying out my internet mind reading)?
Edit: Now I see your keys. I'd say your harp is fine. When a harp dies it's the tuning that goes and then the reed breaks.
----------
Pistolkatt - Pistolkatts youtube
Last Edited by Pistolcat on Oct 18, 2015 10:05 AM
|
jbone
2060 posts
Oct 18, 2015
11:19 AM
|
John it's hard to say for sure, but if you are a fairly new player, perhaps you have drawn that note HARD one too many times. If you look at a reed plate you see how small a reed is. It's attached at one end and the vibration of passing air makes the note. But if you cram too much air across that reed it will stress out. These cracks are too small to see with the naked eye.
Couple or 3 options: Get a new harp and play with a bit of restraint ( I took many years to arrive at this), find someone who will replace a reed for you (If you really love that harp), and learn to replace reeds yourself. You may already know all tis, in that case no harm intended.
I buy fresh reed plates for my Manjis as they get tired. Very rarely I get a custom MB and then it's a question of having it spruced up when a reed goes out. It's inevitable for me, I WILL lose a reed here and there. We play street acoustic and I have a tendency to try and match my vocal volume with my harp volume. Not such a great idea considering my big mouth!
Others here may have different answers. My experience is not the same and someone else's and it can be very subjective. Hope I said something you can use, and by the way welcome to a great little joint here. Stick around!
----------
http://www.reverbnation.com/jawboneandjolene
https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100000386839482
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qbTwvU-EN1Q
|
arzajac
1697 posts
Oct 18, 2015
2:51 PM
|
How open is the 2 blow? Can you tighten it up? That would make the 2 draw better.
Did the drop in response happen all of a sudden? Are the 1234 blow and draw chords in tune to your ears?
----------
Custom overblow harps. Harmonica Combs and Tools.
|
Barley Nectar
933 posts
Oct 18, 2015
6:01 PM
|
I'm betting that, now that you have more keys, you have discovered that the A takes more wind. I carried a C maj for 20 yrs. When I got a bunch of other keys, I realized this. Good thing. You are learning. Of course, it could be the harp too...BN
|
JohnRed
3 posts
Oct 18, 2015
6:26 PM
|
-Pistolcat: played every note with "Pano Tuner" to my side (Android APP I strongly recommend) and my harp seems to be in tune, so I guess it still has a long way to go.
-Jbone: I always practice at home so I keep it down when I'm not alone, which is most of the time. So I don't consider that drawing too hard is the problem. On top of that, I have been playing for a year and a half already, maybe a tad more, so I wouldn't blame my techinque in THIS particular case. Appreciate the welcoming!
Arzajac: the chords sound fine; the tuner agrees. Just opened my harp, and I gapped the 2 blow as tight as possible. The 2 draw response improved quite a bit, almost as it used to respond. I had left a bigger gap on the blow because it was unresponsive, but I tightened it up a bit and both reeds are almost perfectly.
Barley Nectar: on second tought, what you say makes a lot of sense Barley. But as the difference between the Bb and the A is quite noticeable, I thought maybe it wasn't so much on the key but on the harp. I was used to just playing the A, and when I started playing higher keys, I may have got used to drawing with different force or to a different response from the harp.
Still, I gapped a bit as Arjazac said, and it's responding better. So I think that solves the problem!
Thank you all for your responses!
Last Edited by JohnRed on Oct 18, 2015 6:28 PM
|
MP
3320 posts
Oct 19, 2015
7:29 PM
|
Hi Red, I agree w/ most of the posts above. Especially noticing the difference in air and pitch. I'll bet your harp is just fine.
The two draw on A is a fairly strong reed.
It normally takes years to wear out the 2 draw, but when it does wear out you will notice the sickness, perhaps even the death throws of your poor hard working friend whom only gave you joy. Overtones go missing, along w/ the bright crisp tone when it was young. Volume is next and terminal. I've stopped playing my wonderful pre-war MBs in order to preserve their volume. I won't speak of her demise for it is far too painful. I will say a player should own 2 or 3 of each key and keep them in rotation. I even keep unplayed harps to compare w/ my gig or carry harps because one good test of an A harp is to compare it w/ the same make,& model of a new A harp. Of course the same is true for all the keys. Also, you'll start to notice that not all harps are created equal. Have a good day, Mark
----------
I'm out of the Biz for a while till I get over my burnout. You can try HarveyHarp or arzajac, or just look the page nacoran put together under Forum Search.
.
Last Edited by MP on Oct 19, 2015 7:43 PM
|
blogward
166 posts
Oct 21, 2015
3:48 PM
|
'D' Marine Band is the first harp I ever blew a reed on too.
|
kudzurunner
5714 posts
Oct 21, 2015
5:31 PM
|
My own take is somewhat different than the good contributions above. I think you should throw that harp out the window, or stomp on it, and get a brand new harp of the same make and model.
In doing so, you'll learn one of the most important lessons that a blues harmonica player can, and needs to, learn: every harp is replaceable, even--and especially--the best harp you've ever had.
Better to start now than drag this out. It's just a hunk of metal and pearwood. Nothing special. It's just an instrument, and a modest instrument at that. It's not a Stradivarius.
What's special is what it has taught you about harmonica playing in the year and a half that it's been yours. Nothing can take that away. You're allowing natural processes to eat away at that. Don't.
Last Edited by kudzurunner on Oct 21, 2015 5:32 PM
|
2chops
427 posts
Oct 21, 2015
6:05 PM
|
Sage advice from kudzu. Zen and the art of harmonica maintenance.
----------
I'm workin on it. I'm workin on it.
|
MP
3323 posts
Oct 22, 2015
2:10 PM
|
But kudzu, the harp is not broken.
----------
I'm out of the Biz for a while till I get over my burnout. You can try HarveyHarp or arzajac, or just look the page nacoran put together under Forum Search.
.
|
1847
2833 posts
Oct 22, 2015
2:51 PM
|
marine bands are replaceable
seydels on the other hand......
you just take out the plate that has the bad note
and put a new one in.
no need to replace both plates.. voila
save the old plate until you have a box full send it off
to gmaj7 or..... buy the reed replacement tool from richard
and have at it.
the beauty of it is, you only need 12 harps
gone are the days of having hundreds of broken harps just taking up space. this is the 21 century after all.
|
walterharp
1687 posts
Oct 22, 2015
2:56 PM
|
did you notice this at the bottom of Adam's web page?
ADAM GUSSOW is an official endorser for HOHNER HARMONICAS
the more they sell. the better he looks! :-)
|
1847
2834 posts
Oct 22, 2015
5:56 PM
|
perhaps the day will come when hohner decides to officailly endorse mr gussow.
give him a big fat contract.
|
Slimharp
405 posts
Oct 23, 2015
12:59 PM
|
John, you have lots of good advice here. If you have gapped it, let it rest for at least 24 hrs. and re-gap it. If no results do what Andrew said, check the 2 blow and see if you can close it some. The two reeds work in sympathy to each other. You could have a reed that has lost it's tensile strength and gone past it's yield point. If that's the case replace the reed or throw the harp in the dead harp box and buy a new one.
|
kudzurunner
5719 posts
Oct 24, 2015
4:10 PM
|
Not to hijack the thread, 1847, but I have a contract with Hohner. I signed a piece of paper. I get stuff from them in exchange for a few basic obligations, none of which are terribly burdensome. They also pay me for an ad on this website's homepage, and they've been very supportive of the Satan & Adam doc.
|
jawbone
602 posts
Oct 25, 2015
7:54 AM
|
I dissagree with Adam about stomping on it!!!
Do what I did - build a small shadow box, display your first harp, the harp you used the first time you played with Curley Bridges, your Grandfathers harmonica and the first (2) $20 bills you made for playing -
but other than that I agree with Adam, move on to a new harp!!
----------
If it ain't got harp - it ain't really blues!!!!
|
JohnRed
4 posts
Oct 26, 2015
9:07 AM
|
MP: I think that the "bright crisp tone" is exactly what has gone missing in this harp, as gapping has made it's "playability" really good by now. I think you are spot on there. I'll take note of your advice; don't have every key yet anyways, so that's in priority, then having "rotation harps".
Kudzurunner: Adam, I see your point and I think you're right: harps are replaceable and I will have many of them throughout my life, so not getting too close to them is mandatory. Anyways, I won't even consider throwing it away, I'll just play it until I get a new one and treasure it as a memory and a part of my learning process.
1847: reed replacement is an option, not really good at it though haha, never have replaced one. I won't throw it away, that's for sure.
Slimharp: I have gapped it a few times, letting it rest, and it's playing pretty good. I think that the problem was not a leaky harp really (though it needed gapping) but a harp that, as MP said, has lost it's crisp tone and volume.
jawbone: indeed, I'm gonna trasure it. Will play it until I can buy a new one.
Thank you all for your advices!
|
MP
3324 posts
Oct 27, 2015
6:15 PM
|
@ JohnRed, Glad to hear it. I collect and recycle broken harps and there IS a market. I have gig harps that I've replaced three or four reeds someone else broke. I fix them, fully customize, and play them. I have Bbs and Ebs that are fantastic playing harps and wil be for years to come. I save almost every part of a harmonica. I wind up tossing only ugly cover plates and warped plastic combs. Throwing away a harp - w/ all due respect to Adam is wasteful to not only me, but Lee Oskar whom is just as important as Filisko and the rest. Even my favorite tool is cut from a Lee Oskar reed plate. It is a cross between a Rupert Oysler and a Richard Sleigh tool.
----------
I'm out of the Biz for a while till I get over my burnout. You can try HarveyHarp or arzajac, or just look the page nacoran put together under Forum Search.
.
|
