zipperhead16
17 posts
Jan 27, 2011
4:08 AM
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I picked up a nice old Bb MB on ebay the other day.Had never been apart, all nails were there and tight. I cleaned it up, decruded it and sealed the comb with Butchers block oil. The gaps looked good and even so I put it back together with the nails in the original holes.
It played nice but the 2-3 holes are hard to sound. You gotta draw from your toes to get it to work. I've set the gap open and close but it still doesn't work any better. Never had a Bb before. Is this like the 2 on a c where mouth position makes the difference or is it just an ebay harp? Can somebody help a nube out?
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arzajac
448 posts
Jan 27, 2011
4:30 AM
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Hello Zipperhead.
Do the reeds on those holes sound okay when you plink them? Look at the reeds from the side and push the reed in its middle - does it go through the slot straight? It's okay if the tip is a little up but if anything else isn't straight, that can cause you trouble.
Also, did you flatten the comb? While the harp is assembled, hold it up to the light and look through the holes - can you see light coming through the back of the harp?
How many nail holes are there on the bottom reed plate? How many are in between the slots? (This will tell the era of the harp. Some Harps from the 80s are just crap and there is a limit to how good it will get. Not that you can't make it playable, it just may not be worth it.)
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Last Edited by on Jan 27, 2011 4:32 AM
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zipperhead16
18 posts
Jan 27, 2011
9:46 AM
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arzajac
7 nails, flat sanded and sealed. I set the nails with a small punch so their tight. Thr reeds sound good plunking(plinking?) Wasn't sure if it's me or the Bb has an issue like the 2 draw in a C harp. If it's junk I'm out a whole $5.00. No biggie.
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arzajac
449 posts
Jan 27, 2011
12:15 PM
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The nails can be tight, but it can still leak if the surface is not perfectly flat. Try this: Put your fingers on both the draw and blow slots and try to draw some air. If you get air through, you have a leaky comb and you need to flat sand it better before doing anything else. If you get good suction, then that's not your problem.
Seven nails? So there are three in between the slots? That's a good harp to work on. Harps with only two nails in between slots are the absolute worst and will demonstrate the symptoms you describe at the best of times.
So I would look at the shape of the reeds. Look at them from the side and make sure they are flat when they go through the slot.
Find an anti-theft sticker (like this):
Carefully cut it open and take out the thin shims of metal inside. The thinnest one is a good thickness to gauge reed tolerances. Slide it up to the end of the slot. If it slides easily to the tip, then the reed is too high. You would need to push the reed down and then reshape the reed so that it's tight when you slide the shim up. The reed still needs to be perfectly straight when it goes through the slot, so doing this is not so simple.
So I would work on those basic things before trying something else, like embossing. You really need to cover those bases before embossing would be of any help here.
Yes, you need to take the reedplates off again. You can put a small bit of a toothpick into each hole so that the nail will be tight again when you reassemble the harp.
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Last Edited by on Jan 27, 2011 12:16 PM
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HarpNinja
1045 posts
Jan 27, 2011
1:16 PM
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Some good advice posted already, but if you can't get your hands on a shim, even something like a Post-It note can server the purpose...just compare how far it slides with a better playing reed.
If the gapping on both the draw and plates is good, the profile is ok, and nothing looks bad, it could be a cracked reed.
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Mike
Quicksilver Custom Harmonicas
Updated 1/23/11
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Hollistonharper
212 posts
Jan 27, 2011
1:45 PM
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Arzajac and harpninja are great sources of advice but you might check to see if the reed is out of alignment. A Barbeque Bob trick is to tap the reed rivet with an and awl and a hammer, other posters have suggested manually moving the reed at the rivet end using your fingers. I've had success using these techniques on MB 2 draw reeds that plinked ok but were really hard to draw on.
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zipperhead16
20 posts
Jan 28, 2011
3:57 AM
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The 3 draw fixed easy. It would sound but die out when you bent it. I messed with the 3 blow and it worked. The 2 draw/blow was weak and leaky.Since I bought them to tinker with I resanded and put screws in. Plays better than new. I think half my problem is embrochure coming from special 20's to MB's. But I'm new to this and still learning with all your help. Thanks.
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