Replacing harmonicas
After reading the "safety instructions" that came with a new harmonica, as well as David's advice about possible over-stressing of reeds (due to blowing/drawing too hard), I am wondering how often some of you have had to replace a reed plate or entire harmonica? I realize that there would be a lot of factors which would affect this, such as how often one plays and for how long, the previously mentioned blowing too hard and other such things. So, I'm just wondering about some of your own experiences.
I am blowing into my "A" Special 20 for almost a year now. Daily.
So far so good.
A perennial complaint that comes up on harmonica forums is from players who complain their harps are breaking all the time and they can't find a brand or model that will last more than a few gigs.
When you hear that kind complaint, you know you're hearing from someone who blows too hard, and sometimes you can't tell whether they're complaining or bragging - they seem kind of proud of it.
I break reeds occasionally, but not a huge amount. Sometimes reeds just fail, even without being played hard - impurities in the metal, some invisible error? Who knows. Other times I know it's because I was blasting hard to be heard in an acoustically challenging environment.
Playing loudly isn't the only culprit, though. Trying to bend too far, or stressing the reeds - espacially the high pitched ones - by restricting the free flow of air in your mouth to create pressure or suction when you're not bending - can contribute to reed failure.
Thanks for the input everyone. Sets my mind at ease quite a bit.
That would be a hard number to put. So much goes into it like how often and how hard you play.
Harp is kind of an add-on for me -- I spend most of my time on guitar. I'm also not playing full time any longer, just a few guest appearances with a couple of bands out of Asheville and one local a few times a month, and I spend some time here and there in the studio with a few bands, but it's mostly on guitar, picking up the harp for a couple of backing tracks or a quick solo here and there. So I've never had to replace a harp reed plate in the last ten years due to wear (dropping and stepping on them is another thing). I also learned from David early on not to go too crazy on the instrument. You really don't need a lot of pressure to play these. Taking care of them and keeping them clean helps.
The only plates I've had to replace were ones that were obviously defective at the start. I had an early-release Crossover that had some plate problems, and a Seydel that was WAY too tight, but it was a key that I rarely play and never replaced it. The only Special 20 I had to replace was one that Rod Piazza signed for me at a show in Annapolis a few years back.
If you're exclusively playing harp and spending a lot of the sets playing, your mileage may differ. But with some care and some proper technique, I would think these things will last a good amount of playing time.