Reed whistle
Kinya,
On one of my harps there is a slight but annoying airy whistling sound when I bend draw reed 2 down a whole step. It's hard to describe but it's a slight whistling or buzzing sound. I have another harp in the same key without this problem.
Could this be caused by the reed brushing against the reed plate slightly? Maybe the blow reed since it only happens on a deep bend? How do I fix it?
Thanks,
Steve
Thanks Kinya. Unfortunately it's a Marine Band with nails. I did nudge the reed around a bit blindly with a feeler and made it worse, then managed to make a bit better - the sound is almost gone now.
Don't despair. Within a couple of months, I will back in the shop with David to film the segment on Marine Band customizing and repairs. The techniques you will learn will enable you to fix this problem once and for all!
Your Harpsmith,
Kinya
Thanks Kinya I'm looking forward to it.
BTW, I really like the new Marine Bands with the white 'Hohner' logo on the back of the comb. The combs seem well sealed. For me they play as well as Crossovers or MB Deluxes but at half the price. But of course they're harder to adjust because of the darn nails. I got the tuning table from Harmonica Enstein which works great for tuning reeds without removing the plates, but adjustments like the above are still impossible. So I'm looking forward to your MB repair video!
Steve
Hello Steve,
Yeah, that's exactly what it sounds like to me ...
[1] Disassemble your reed plates from the comb
[2] Hold your reed plate up to the light and site both #2 reeds (blow and draw)
[3] With your reed wrench, align the reeds dead center in the slot
[4] If you don't have a reed wrench, use a .002" feeler gauge to push the reed away from the reed slot touch point. Check out the Harp Tech studies for a close up demonstration.
Your Harpsmith,
Kinya