5 hole g blues harp
Hi Kinya,
1) my 5 blow reed in the G blues harp while adjusting it simply stayed up refused to play and actually broke at the rivet end.
I bought a new one. A few months later the 5 draw went flat. Luckily I had the first harp and switched the draw reed. 3 weeks later the 5 draw went flat. Oh brother. This time I happened to see a big river G harp on sale so I bought it specifically as a donor harp. ( I don't like the big river much).and again replaced the draw reed after bringing the gaps down to where it will play to my liking. It seems to me this is a common failure and I'm curious if maintenance of some degree will help this common anomaly on the G harp. And why that one and not my other harps?
2) zero point. I experimented with setting the zero point on my new Lee Oskar low F but I'm really not clear what I'm accomplishing by doing that. It did seem to be ever so slightly different reed to reed and I'm not all that confident I set them perfectly but I made the first attempt. So as far as playability is concerned what would I be looking for while playing a harp that would indicate a condition that warrants making that adjustment? I ask as often on any given harp I seem to find the high end rather tight and hard to play at times. Perhaps that's an indication assuming my embouchure is good?
John
And so it also just happened to my A harp marine band Deluxe 5 hole draw where it now sounds the same as the 5 hole blow.
This was after a night of bandstand playing where I know I was struggling to play to the volume of the band.
Perhaps I can get that picture now.
John
Hi John
Regarding posting photos to this site, I found it infinitely easier to first create the document (with photos) with google docs, then copy your content and paste it on to this bluesharmonica.com site.
I hate to say it John, but it's looking more and more like the mechanic--not the tool ;o(
BTW: do you TB the 5 draw?
Your Harpsmith, Kinya
Yes I do tongue block the 5 hole and all others too now.
I recently started tongue switching more for the 1 hole but mostly puckered that hole so far. 7 and above I've just lately discovered how to blow bend so that's a new technique for me that I have extreme difficulty TB for them so I pucker up there more often now.
The 5 draw however is such an excellent note that I'm on it frequently. I do feel 'the mechanic' is asking a lot from the little reed sometimes and I do bend it. But it doesn't really want to go very far so easily Lol. As a carpenter I would just get a bigger hammer. Let the tool do the work. Since I struggled with volume at the club I need to get a handle on where the equipment should be set so as not to cause these kinds of big hammer little hammer struggles.
So I am into either , repair the reed, a new reed plate , or replace the Harp. (again, sigh!!)
A harp player at the club has become very confident in his Harp Tech abilities. He has offered to repair the reed so that is actually the route I'm going to take both for economics and as a learning experience as he will do it with me.
John
Hi John,
It appears the time you spend on the bandstand are mostly jam sessions and not your own band?
For me, when I guest with the local bands, I always bring my Doc Brown's Flux Capacitor (see posting). This provides me with an easy to carry, quick to set up rig with an optional onboard "in ear monitor". Blocking out stage volume and being able to hear yourself is a wonderful thing. This will prevent you from overplaying on that darn 5 draw.
Having said that; acquiring the tools, and mastering the skill set required for replacing reeds is waaaay more economical!
Your Harpsmith, Kinya
Hi John
As an overall percentage of customer reed replacements, the HARPSMITH replaces the 5 draw reed more than any other (next would be the 4 hole).
The reason being--on a Richter diatonic harmonica--there are no bendable notes on the 5 draw (the scale degree of separation between the blow and draw reed is only one half step). Players have a tendancy to try to conjure up a bent note where none are available. This results in weaking the 5 hole reeds.
Proper reed (and reed plate) set up is a priority for overall playability, and slightly less impactful for reed longevity.
To troubleshoot your dilema, we need to isolate the true cause of the breakdown. "Is it the tool (i.e.harmonica), or is it the mechanic (i.e. player)"?
Your Harpsmith, Kinya