MindTheGap
1068 posts
Jan 30, 2016
5:26 AM
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For those who play both diatonic and chromatic, what reed-lifetime to you expect to get from one vs the other?
Edit: BTW not, NOT a question about physics or metallurgy - purely practical! Subplot: If I get serious about chromatic can I expect to have to do lots of time-consuming or expensive maintenance? Replacing diatonics or reedplates I quite cheap, chromatics aren't.
Last Edited by MindTheGap on Jan 30, 2016 6:07 AM
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WinslowYerxa
1054 posts
Jan 30, 2016
7:27 AM
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It depends on how hard you play. I have diatonics that are 40 years old and never busted a reed; same for some of my chromatics. Others I blasted away in loud acoustic environments where amps weren't appropriate (like bIg fiddle groups) and busted (and replaced) multiple reeds.
Some of this is the luck of the draw - some reeds just fail earlier. And some of it is how far you push them past Their ability to dissipate the energy you give them. As always, your technique is a huge factor in reed longevity.
By the way, I don't believe that bending - if done properly - is a factor.
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Winslow
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Last Edited by WinslowYerxa on Jan 30, 2016 7:28 AM
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dougharps
1136 posts
Jan 30, 2016
7:37 AM
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It comes down to how often you play, how hard you play, if you play single notes too hard or play octaves and chords which gets more volume with less reed stress.
I have been a fairly hard player on diatonic and chromatic (doing better these days) and for me the chromatic reeds lasted longer. Part of that is that you don't usually bend them the same way as a diatonic.
I have tuned up some chromatic reeds going flat on a number of occasions over the decades, and have had some reeds fail. Because of my approach and the positions I choose it was usually the 5 or 9 blow reed. This was a while ago, when I played them much more often and played too hard.
Hering reeds don't hold up as well as Hohner (probably not as well as Seydel or Suzuki, either, but I don't have direct knowledge of that). I don't know about Eastop or Swan chromatics or diatonics, either. Suzuki offers a 1 year warranty, I believe. Ask Gnarly...
The advantage for Herings in the past was low cost for a chromatic, easy note bending for inflection, and cheap replacement comb & plate assemblies that only cost about twice that of a diatonic. This is not true in the US anymore. Since combos were less available I have replaced a couple chromatic reeds myself from old Hering "combos" with missing reeds that I saved. I stocked up on replacement Hering combos in a number of keys a couple years ago when there was a clearance sale at SPAH.
If you don't want to do it yourself, there are several techs who can replace single reeds on chromatics, fix combs, replace windsavers, etc. These days I seldom lose a reed on any harps, but if I do it is usually a diatonic, most often a D.
If you have good breath control any chromatic should last a long time. Windsaver issues are more likely to show up earlier than reed failure. A chromatic can last a long time, depending on how you use it.
EDIT: Winslow's post wasn't up when I started writing. He is right about loud environments (also poor monitoring) making it more likely that we play too hard.
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Doug S..
Last Edited by dougharps on Jan 30, 2016 7:41 AM
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MindTheGap
1070 posts
Jan 30, 2016
8:55 AM
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Thanks. I thought it might be 'it depends', perfectly reasonable answer. I don't play hard, but I intend to make use of bending, so time will tell.
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Gnarly
1631 posts
Jan 30, 2016
8:57 AM
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I replace reeds on diatonics much more frequently than chromatics--
But they do break! The owners who do use the one year warranty are guys that play all the time.
And I do out of warranty repairs on chroms privately, Suzuki and Hohner (and Hering too!).
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chromaticblues
1744 posts
Jan 30, 2016
9:04 AM
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@mindthegap
bending is the one thing that will kill fast on the chrom because it takes time to get good at it and if your playing a leaky chrom (like many are) you'll tend to suck harder to get that bend and bye bye reed! For the longest time I could not make a Chrom last longer than 6 months. It was all my fault. I was afraid to open up a chrom and figure out how to make them more air tight.
Don't be in a big hurry to learn how to bend. Get good at it first then gently get into bending!
Chroms are expensive and chrom repairs too!
HooDoo Harps.com
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barbequebob
3131 posts
Jan 30, 2016
9:08 AM
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Winslow and dougsharps gave you the most spot on answers. There are some other things than can contribute to a shortened life span when it comes to chromatic harp reeds. One is if the reed plates are thicker or double thick, and you have a tendency to use too much breath force, especially in the note bending process.
My favorite mouthpieces for any of the chromatics ever made are the ones used in Hering chromatics and the now discontinued CBH series because they're both raised mouthpieces, which I find so much more comfortable to play and make note bending almost effortless that makes even using the tiniest bit of extra breath force totally unnecessary.
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Sincerely,
Barbeque Bob Maglinte
Boston, MA
http://www.barbequebob.com
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Piro39
89 posts
Jan 30, 2016
10:00 AM
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The previous posts have covered reed life. The valves are what will give you the most problems. They get a little deformed and will rattle especially if the harmonica is cold. You must learn to replace your own valves and I suggest you learn how to make and install them yourself otherwise this could cost you a lot over time for repairs. You can find some of this info on slidemeister. This could be another thread to explore what other members have done. I half valve the outside reed plates by removing every other valve starting with number 1. Your chromatic needs to be fairly airtight to do this and it lowers the possibility of bad valves. I use a cement called 527 by Beacon to attach valves which you can get at Michaels other players use a variety of other things. I've used this cement for years with no problems.
Another big problem one can encounter is a sticking slide. Saliva acts like glue and the slide needs to be cleaned. I found that as I got older it got worse that is why I love my CX-12 chromatics. It is very easy to remove and clean the slide on this model. Unfortunatly Hohner doesn't make a CX-12 56 or 64 which they should. Suzuki makes great chromatics which I also love. Swann's top of the line chromatics with a round mouthpiece are surprisingly good and much less expensive.
Last Edited by Piro39 on Jan 30, 2016 10:02 AM
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dougharps
1137 posts
Jan 30, 2016
12:10 PM
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Piro39 mentions valves, which I mentioned as windsavers above, and he also mentioned the slide sticking. He is absolutely correct. Problems with those would likely show up before reed failures. Fixing or replacing problem valves from time to time and cleaning mouthpiece assemblies are routine tasks, especially cleaning sticky slides.
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Doug S.
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A440
510 posts
Jan 30, 2016
12:14 PM
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@Gnarly - Is it rare for an SCX to break under warranty?
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MindTheGap
1071 posts
Jan 30, 2016
12:58 PM
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Thanks all. I'm happier about the idea of fixing windsavers and maintaining the slide than I am about replacing reeds.
chromaticblues - It's too late - I'm already bending notes :) And this is one of the key features of the sound I like. I find that I need to reduce breath force to keep the note in play through the bend, so maybe that will protect things. Probably wishful thinking. We'll see!
I've had a look at slidemeister, but you can't search for info unless you are a member, and it's got a rather unnerving membership policy.
Last Edited by MindTheGap on Jan 30, 2016 1:01 PM
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robbert
391 posts
Jan 30, 2016
1:16 PM
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@ MindTheGap...I encourage you to join slidemeister. The membership policy is not really all that daunting. Lots of good chrome information there!
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FilipJers
19 posts
Jan 30, 2016
2:05 PM
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I wore out Hering reeds after two year per harmonica, when I played them a lot many years ago. Since I started using Suzuki harmonicas in 2011, I have never had a problem with reed failure. I´ve needed to swap some valves, but that's normal.
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chromaticblues
1745 posts
Jan 30, 2016
5:47 PM
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Hering harps have very thin reeds that do make it easy to bend, but at the price of not lasting.
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