Brand New Harps...imperfect

Hello Steve,

I feel your pain Brother ...

To build on Joe’s point, most devices we use throughout our daily lives can be configurable. For example, my new Toshiba laptop with Windows 7 probably could be programmed to automatically tune my harmonicas (hmm, cool idea). The car I drive has seats that can be configured into a zillion different positions, then stored into memory. On and on the list continues to grow, customizing our products to conform to the way we live.

Harmonica product lines are manufactured and marketed with three types of players in mind: Beginner, Intermediate and Advanced Players. Many components across the product lines are interchangeable, such as, combs and cover plates.

Q: So what makes the perfect harmonica for “you” that will match your skill level today?

A: The harmonica that has the reed sets adjusted specifically to you.

All the harmonicas that you had purchased – Suzuki to customized James Gordon – have the “potential” of becoming your favorite harmonica. If so, how long will this blissful situation last? You see, as your playing matures your relationship to the instrument will change. For example, players who use a Lip Blocking embouchure require more volume of air due to the greater reed offsets (gaps between the free end of the reeds and reed plate). On the other hand; with the Tongue Blocking embouchure, due to its “efficient” channeling of air through the instrument, closer reed tolerances are made possible. This will increase the responsiveness and tone of the harmonica.

What does all this mean? Simply put, if you don’t match your playing style to the reed settings, disappointing results will be inevitable.

You could experience “stalled” and potentially damage the reeds. In fact, years ago when I was servicing David Barrett’s “first” semi-customized Hohner Special 20 harmonica I was shocked with what I found under the hood. Blow and draw reeds 2 thru 4 were standing erect, like little … uh … little tin soldiers. You see back in the days when David only played stock SP20, he had to compensate his air volume to match the high reed gapping. So when he exerted the same amount of volume through his low gapped SP20, he blew the reeds out!

You may also notice that the reeds are out of tune … really? Let’s dig deeper. Are you checking the reed pitch against a chromatic tuner? If so, when you vibrate the reed with your breath, are you Lip Blocking or Tongue Blocking – there is a SIGNIFICANT difference between the two embouchures. Maybe you are checking your tuning by playing octaves, for example, blowing 3 and 6 consecutively. This will enable you to hear “beats” (oscillation caused by one or two of the reeds that are flat or sharp to the desired pitch).

You rhetorically asked if you had to be a mechanic to enjoy playing a trouble free harmonic. Well no, but it could help. The late great Norton Buffalo, current favorites; Jason Ricci, Carlos Del Junco, and Howard Levy to name a few, are very competent harmonica mechanics. They are able to “fine tune” the customized harmonicas they play. On the other hand, David Barrett has Joe Filisko do all his builds and repairs. Suzuki and myself build and service Andy Just’s harmonicas.

My recommendations for you and other readers would be to:
1. Learn the fundamental mechanics of harmonica maintenance
2. Locate and spend time with a competent (and patient) Harp-Tech that will identify the important aspects of your playing style and “tailor” your harmonica (yes, all keys) specifically to you
3. Stay connected to David Barrett and endeavor to improve your playing techniques

"Play the notes people want to hear" (c) 2008

Kinya Pollard
The Harpsmith

To make the distinction between "mass produced" and "customized" harmonicas, ALL well built customized harmonicas are tested by a skilled player before it ships to the customer. Large manufactures (i.e. Hohner) of mass produced harmonicas, on the other hand, have time limitations that preclude individual human testing.

This is where we find the occasional "ghost in the machine".

I'm willing to bet smaller manufactures (Seydel and Bends) with fewer high tech production equipment available, perform many of the processes by hand -- and actually play the harmonica before packaging them.

Oh one more thing about tuning, all harmonica manufactures tune the reeds with a vacuum table (some use accordion bellows, others use vacuum pumps). Individual reed plates are clamped into a jig, and then valves regulate air to activate the desired reed. Some use a "reference reed plate" (perfectly tuned by a master tuner) which is activated at the same time. When the tuner hears a beat - indicating a deviation in the new reed, they file the reed sharp or flat, until the beat disappears. Other tuners use chromatic tuners. Using these tuning tables is not an exact science, it's more an acquired skill -- again explaining the deviations you may have experienced.

Customizers rely on their mouth, embouchure, breathing, tongue/lip blocking, etc. Even then, the slightest change in air volume may distort our tuning efforts. This is why I insist the client come to my workshop for the final tuning (yeah you AJ ;o).

So, my advice would be to sample various production harmonicas (more affordable than customized harmonicas) and identify those that consistently play well out of the box and agrees with your playing style.

Kinya
Kinya

Based on my own experiences with OTB harps; Marine Bands, Special 20’s, Golden Melodies, Seydel’s and Suzuki, it is fairly common to adjust a reed or two or several, just the nature of the beast. It has already been said that OTB harps are mass produced and the quality control varies as well.

I had Joe Spiers set up 3 Marine Band’s for me in 2008 and they are still going strong today after many gigs. The customization of a harp(s) by an "expert" is personal preference and yes, it’s pricey. I have taken the time to gap and fooled around trying to get the reeds squared away on OTB harps, sometimes it works other times the harp goes in the trash. Again, it’s the nature of the beast with OTB harps.
Just my .02

Dave

Hey Joe, thanks for getting the lube, oil & filter done so quickly. BTW, the chro is much better now than when it left Calif. needless to say. Thanks again!

Dave