reed replacement for Hering chromatic
I have changed reed plates many times in Lee Oskar diatonics, but have never tackled a chromatic. Any tips for replacing them in an F Hering chromatic? The harp plays ok , but it has a very noticeable "rattle" at very low volume. This is the case all the way up the harp on blows and draws. I am assuming it is the reed plates, but could it be something else? I am just not that familiar with chromatics and the fact that it is not isolated to a certain hole makes me wonder about it being the reed plates.
I suspect this may simply be windsaver noise. However, windsavers vary individually and you say it's consistent.
I'm not sure why you think a reedplate would "rattle". If the reedplates were not fastened down fully, the harp would simply be leaky. If the reeds were misaligned in their slots, again, this would be very unusual for all the reeds to be in such a condition, so you'd hear some variation from reed to reed, and the result would probably not be anything you could call a rattle - some reeds would sound dull, others would refuse to sound. Some might make extransous noises or simply squeal.
it might be helpful to hear a recorded example of what you're talking about.
Winslow, thanks for the info. I did some research - the chromatic is a new animal for me. The "rattle" was something that I would hear sometimes when a particular reed might be very fatigued in a diatonic, or perhaps have some other issue, but it didn't make sense to me that I would hear this in many holes. I see the issue is probably the windsavers. I took the cover plates off the special 48 and noticed that not all the reeds had windsavers next to them ( missing on the high end of the plates). Is it possible that Rod Piazza (Rod gave me these to me) removed some for a particular reason, or is more likely that they just came off. It appears that maintenace could be a full time job if one plays the chromatic very much.
I followed your advice on the sticking slide - took things apart and cleaned with toothpaste - and it works great now.
Lack of valves on the high holes is perfectly normal; most chromatics do not have them. Which holes specifically do and don't have valves varies from manufacturer to manufacturer, but in general the top three holes don't have them. The rationale is that because the reed slots are short, and because that end of the harmonica is close to both the cover and the mouthpiece screws, little air will be lost.
On some of my chromatics, I add windsavers on the high holes, and not on others. Some harmonica combs (such as current Hohner 16-holers) are designed so that you *can't* add valves on the high holes. As a substitute, they've designed additional internal chamber walls intended to substitute for valves. They get in the way of valves and will cause valves to rattle and buzz.
Thanx Winslow.
Terrific insights into valving chromatic harmonicas. Good luck Bob.
Regards, Kinya
Thanx Winslow.
Terrific insights into valving chromatic harmonicas. Good luck Bob.
Regards, Kinya
I suspect this may simply be windsaver noise. However, windsavers vary individually and you say it's consistent.
I'm not sure why you think a reedplate would "rattle". If the reedplates were not fastened down fully, the harp would simply be leaky. If the reeds were misaligned in their slots, again, this would be very unusual for all the reeds to be in such a condition, so you'd hear some variation from reed to reed, and the result would probably not be anything you could call a rattle - some reeds would sound dull, others would refuse to sound. Some might make extransous noises or simply squeal.
it might be helpful to hear a recorded example of what you're talking about.