Ghosts in the machine
Hello Harp Techs, how many of you have encountered this event:
After sizing (aka: burnishing, embossing) the reed plate slots for increased compression/playability, you then secure the finished reed plates back onto the comb, only to discover (wasn’t there before) annoying “clicking” noises on blow reeds #1 and #2?
The reason for this outcome was most likely caused by over-tightening the reed plate screws surrounding reed slots #1 and #2. The effect is that the reed plate will bow inward, and further decrease the space between the edge of the reed plate slot and the vibrating (swinging in/out) reed.
To Remedy:
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Loosen-a-tad, one screw (at a time) and check to see if that cleared the problem … then another. Caution, loosening the screws too much will allow precious air compression to escape.
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Vigorously draw bend on the clicking reed. This will essentially throttle the blow reed and knock the burr off the edge of the reed plate slot. In fact, that is exactly what just occured to me and my Rocket.
Your Harpsmith, Kinya
