Reed buzzes on sustained 2 draw whole step bend
G'day Kinya,
I'm servicing a D special 20. the only thing i can find which needs attention is that the 2 draw will develop a buzz on a sustained 2 semitone bend. its ok at first and then the buzz creeps in after a second or so. 1 semitone is no problem. if i back off the breath force i can actually sustain just the buzz and have none of the reed note.
ive encountered a similiar issue before on the 3 draw of a suzuki bluesmaster (D), but there i found if i focused on technique i could stave it off. not so with this one, and i checked all my other D Hohner harps...i'm confident its not simply my technique slipping after 20 years.
i'm guessing its a twist in the reed. i'm reluctant to apply tape or nail varnish, wax. if it was my own harp i probably would go there but i don't think its suitable for this customer. i'm wondering if my best bet might simply be to replace the reed.
i'd appreciate any insight you may be able to offer.
Thanks and regards,
Dave in sunny Tasmania
thank you Kinya. I'll consider those points when I look at it again today.
australian English vs US English: i think you and I did ok via Skype, but I have a friend who is now a US citizen and worked for a time in Chicago and later in Alabama as a police dispatcher. He told me he had to relearn enunciation of a number of words, especially numbers, as the cops could not understand his 'Aussie' version of their codes.
Let us know how it goes Mate.
Your Harpsmith, Kinya
hi Kinya, reed appears well-centred. gives similiar problem played off the comb, but inclined to stop sounding rather suddenly. i tried same exercise with other reeds and found similiar tendency for squealing.
applied wax to corners and squeal went away. however, i don't believe this is a good solution for this particular customer.
i reshaped the reed but lowered the 'zero point' as close to the fixed end as i could. now the reed has decent dynamic range, plays with good response and the squeal is gone. i do have some fears for its longevity though as i have subjected it to a lot of reshaping.
Cross that bridge when/if it happens Mate.
You did good.
Your Harpsmith, Kinya
Hello Dave in Sunny Tasmania
If the harmonica is stock:
If the harmonica has had the reed plate slots sized (embossed):
It would be totally safe to practice pushing a little dollop of wax at the intersections of the reed rivet pad and reed plate slot.
Your Harpsmith from Sunny Silicon Valley (Bay Area, USA), Kinya
p.s. On my iPhone, I switched Siri from US English to Australian English. Most of the time she did not understand what the heck I was going on about ;o) I had to switch back to US English ...