Too flat to retune?
Hi Kinya
I have a Sirius chromatic whose 3-blow G suddenly went very flat yesterday. It was off about 40c in the morning, then descended to F# where it has stayed. My question is: is there any point in trying to retune it, or should I just get the reed replaced? Is a semitone too much? FWIW, the F# sounds very nice, not at all dead.
Thank you
Daniel
Hi. Thanks for your long and detailled reply! There's just one thing I find a little confusing in the last paragraph. You're saying that, if the reed doesn't go down in pitch after all those steps, I should retune it, but, if it does, I should replace the reed plate. Can't I just replace the faulty reed if it's not retunable? I wouldn't do it myself, but I can take it into a shop and have the reed replaced.
Take care
Harmonica reeds are spring metal that fatigues over time--especially those in the scale we play frequently (like G ;o)
A hairline fracture (crack) will usually occur just below the rivet pad--where the reed bends over the hard right angle edge of the reed plate slot. When the reed drops in pitch rapidly, the crack has already occurred. This will result in the reed vibrating slower than it was built for--the pitch will drop (flatten, e.g. your G dropping down to F#).
"Plinking" the reed allows us to test the integrity of the reed. If the pitch does not drop any further, after plinking, then there should be sufficient metal thickness for the reed to be re-tuned.
It has been my observation, that when a reed drops in pitch as rapidly as you had experienced, plinking the naughty reed will usually result in the reed breaking off (just below the rivet pad).
Andy Just and I toured the Suzuki Musical Instrument factory a few years ago, and observed first hand how masterfully the harmonicas were built (especially the Chromatic Harmonicas!) While most of the harmonica manufacturing world continues to use rivets to install reeds to the reed plates (read: Hohner, Tombo/Lee Oskar) Suzuki pioneered the "spot welding" method of attaching reeds to the reed plates--enabling the factory to produce extremely high quality, close tolerance reed plates.
The downside, however, is servicing reed replacements for Suzuki harmonicas require special tools and knowledge. For this reason, obtaining new replacement reeds (in the USA) is difficult. Instead, replacing the entire reed plate is how Suzuki set up the system.
I have been dealing with Darren Stinton of Suzuki USA: dstinton@suzukicorp.com / 800-854-1594 ext 44411
Your Harpsmith, Kinya
Thanks again Kinya;
I live in France -- there's a very good shop specialized in harmonicas in Paris, where I'm sure that, if I bring my harmonica in and ask for them to replace the reed, they'll say they can. Whether they do it right is another matter. So thanks for explaining the setup to me. I'll try to ascertain whether they actually send it along to Suzuki technicians or try to do the job themselves. The problem with changing the reedplate is that, as far as I know, you can't just buy one plate. The only online shop that sells them that I've found in Europe is in Denmark, and only sells a whole set, which seems like overkill for just one blown reed, and very expensive to boot. And I'm reluctant to retune myself (assuming the reed isn't shot) since I've never done it before. Oh well, life's hard sometimes.
Just to keep you posted: I removed the reedplate and plinked it a few times (I figured, why plink it from the outside, if I'll have to remove the plate anyway to retune it?). No change in pitch whatsoever, and no visible crack in the reed. So I tried retuning, had several goes at it with my Lee Oskar scraping tool, and the pitch didn't move a cent! Can a reed simply be dead (although, as I said, it sounds nice and vibrant)?
Thanks for all your help.
Yikes! Silly question, but I have to double check ... this is your 3 blow (button out), and not 2 draw (button in)?
With the reed plates already exposed, please send us a close up of the reed. I want to see your tuning handywork.
Your Harpsmith, Kinya
It's the 3 blow, button out.
I'm wondering whether to sent it to a professional, rather than continue messing around with such a great and expensive harp. But if I decide to continue retuning, I'll gladly send you a picture.
Thanks
Keep in touch with us.
Your Harpsmith, Kinya
Hi Daniel, It's good to hear from you.
With the cover plates removed:
Either the reed snaps off, or the pitch will continue to drop in pitch. If this happens, you will have to replace the top reed plate. If it does not happen, then procede with normal tuning technique to return it to G @ 0cents (calibrate chromatic tuner to 442hz)
Let us know your findings.
Your Harpsmith, Kinya