geordiebluesman
50 posts
Jul 04, 2008
12:44 PM
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I need some advise about my MB Deluxe,i blocked it with spit and it was sticking real bad so i striped and cleaned it[sorry Oldwailer but even the gin wouldn't sort out my sticky juices!].When i put it back together it still wasn,t right so i stripped it out again and tried to gap the reeds so they all had the same gap.I thought i had them OK but now the 2,3&4 blow holes either won't play at all or they're real slow to respond,i'm really fed up coz this harp is only a few weeks old and it played amazing out the box,should i increase or decrease the gaps to get that responsivness back? any advise guys?
Last Edited by on Jul 04, 2008 12:45 PM
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oldwailer
104 posts
Jul 04, 2008
2:00 PM
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Oh, I see--you thought I said to clean the *Harp* with gin! ;)
I know it sounds horrible--but I was actually quite serious about drinking lots of water and rinsing the mouth frequently--this keeps the juices from getting so sticky. I wear dentures and use glue for them--so I have a huge problem with sticky juices! Unfortunately--it seems to require plain water--drinking the gin or gin & tonic is for later. I might have gotten carried away with the drinking thing--but that is what I meant.
Now--it sounds to me like you need to close up the gaps a little on the offending reeds. Maybe somebody with more expertize could jump in and tell me if I'm wrong--all the reeds are not to be gapped the same--the little reeds are gapped closer than the big ones.
This gets to be a big subject, because everybody likes something a little different to suit their own style--but it seems to work for me. A slow response mostly seems to be too much gap though--in my experience.
The main thing is to remain calm and work on it carefully--you can still rescue that favorite harp and have it playing better than ever--but you have to be careful and deliberate--if a closer gap doesn't work--try a little bigger one.
I've only got a few months of experience with this stuff myself--but I've only managed to really wreck two harps--and that was major overhauls on the combs--not just a gapping.
Good luck with it! And thanks for the comments on my humble YT efforts!
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eharp
54 posts
Jul 04, 2008
2:48 PM
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stop everything! i am sure help is on the way. no sense ruining the harp cause you are frustrated. let the good folks here help you with advice.
i almost made the same mistake today. cleaned the harp real well yesterday. went to play it and 1 blow was sounding horrible. i tapped. i rinsed (sort of) still no improvement. i was getting ready to start poking in there with a toothpick. (sure. that would fix everything!)
instead, i waited till i got home. took the thing apart and removed a hair. i know i would have screwed the harp working mad and with a toothpick.
good luck.
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Patrick Barker
80 posts
Jul 04, 2008
3:06 PM
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If you use water to clean harps usually the reads stick until they dry, unless you blow the reeds until the water is blown out and the reed suddenly starts playing again. For normal and responsive gapping (I think I saw this on one of Seydel's tips of the week) the size of the gap between the reed and the reedplate should be about the same as the thickness of the reed itself. If you use overblows the gap should be smaller.
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oldwailer
108 posts
Jul 05, 2008
10:17 PM
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Hey Patrick--
thanks for the rule of thumb about gap size--I gotta go try that--I never know just which way to set them for sure.
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Preston
25 posts
Jul 06, 2008
8:13 AM
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I've found that too tight a gap will cause a reed to respond slowly. I gap my harps very tight so hopefully they respond very quick. However, I notice that sometimes I will have the tip too far down into the plate. Not far enough to completely stop it, but just far enough it takes extra force to get it to vibrate. I have been gapping, arcing, and embossing for a couple of months now, and the best thing I can tell you is that is takes SEVERAL attempts to get everything just right, and I'm just talking about ONE reed. Until you get good at it, plan on spending countless hours getting one harp to play great from top to bottom.
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geordiebluesman
51 posts
Jul 06, 2008
3:12 PM
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Cheers for the advise chaps,you'll be glad to know that i operated on the patient today and Mr Hohner is much better
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johntrem
13 posts
Jul 06, 2008
3:39 PM
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Okay Geordie, tell us, what exactly did you do to your MB Deluxe to bring it back to life and are you pleased with the results? I've a couple of harps that I'm very fond of but they need some work on the 2 and 3 draw.
Johnny
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harpmonkey
67 posts
Jul 06, 2008
10:16 PM
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Phew...
At least is isn't now "Miss" Hohner!
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geordiebluesman
52 posts
Jul 07, 2008
12:33 AM
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Well guys i took into account all your postings and also surfed a bit and found some great advise on the Mel Bay website which explains in detail the physics of harp reeds in action and how gapping and curling affects them, then i arsed about blindly for an hour plus and got lucky!
Last Edited by on Jul 07, 2008 12:34 AM
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