piedmont blues harmonica

I haven't played or opened up any Piedmont harps, so the following is not from experience with that specific model.

That said, you can sometimes improve the performance - and the bending ability - of a leaky harp by doing one or both of two things.

First thing is to simply unscrew the covers, then loosen - but not remove - all the reedplate screws. Make sure the fronts of the reedplates are aligned tight against the front lip of the comb if it has one (or the front edge of the comb if it doesn't) and then gently re-tighten the screws from the middle of the harp out to the ends. Just re-seating the plates and getting the screws in snug can improve airtightness.

The second thing you can do is to lower the reed gaps. This is best done to both the blow and draw reeds, starting by completely removing the reedplates from the comb. With the reeds face up, gently tug each reed through its slot so that the tip emerges through the other side of the reedplate and *gently* flex the reed down through the slot. let it spring back, and plink it a few times (lift the tip of the reed and then release it allowing it to vibrate for a few seconds). Do this for each reed and it will need less air to play. (But if you over-do it the reed will become difficult to play except at very soft volumes).