There's loads of vids on Youtube and no doubt many threads on this forum too about setting the gap on individual reeds on harps. I've yet to see one though that actually gives a definitive measurement. Is it really a "suck it and see" thing? Is there a maximum or minimum reed gap? I have never removed the cover plates on my harp until today. It plays ok, and I'm not going to interfere with it, but curiousity led me to taking a look. I've got a set of Promasters, and a set of Hohner MS Blues Harps. I had a look inside one of my Hohner MS Blues Harps. All the reeds look fairly low to the plate, with hardly any gap. I can get the draw bends ok, and the harp plays ok. Vids I've seen show the reeds being lifted 10 thou of an inch or so. Does this make the blow and draw easier? Also, on my harp, there is no gap along the sides of the reed. Some vids have made reference to centralising the reed in the slot, but mine don't look like there is any room for adjustment. Are all harps just like mine when they are new? Do the reeds wear away in use? I just want to get some knowledge of how my harp is built and how it works, in the hope it will help me to play it.
No. But prolonged use and bending a note may eventually cause the reed to fail due to fatigue.
"Some vids have made reference to centralising the reed in the slot, but mine don't look like there is any room for adjustment. Are all harps just like mine when they are new?"
The reed to slot gap along its length is really quite small but some players still feel this is still too wide and attempt to decrease that gap by embossing the slot to make it more airtight.
Last Edited by on Jan 12, 2011 12:34 PM
There is no "ideal" gap. It all depends on your style of play. If you hit your harps hard you would need wider gaps than if you want to set up your harps for overbending.
The best resource I know of in terms of instructional videos are these by Joe Spiers:
