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Dirty-South Blues Harp forum: wail on! >
Gapping question
Gapping question
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Philosofy
40 posts
Aug 20, 2008
5:34 PM
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Well, I successfully gapped my Delta Frost A harp to fix it. I now have a problem with the 7 and 8 draw on my D harp. Do I gap it the same way?
Thanks
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Patrick Barker
120 posts
Aug 20, 2008
10:00 PM
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You'll probably want to gap it similarly but possibly slightly smaller since it's a higher harp.
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"Without music, life would be a mistake" -Nietzsche
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salmon
Guest
Aug 21, 2008
8:49 AM
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Further to this regapping enquiry, can someone tell me please; If you regap a harp by bending the reed down to make the gap smaller and therefore more responsive to light blow/draws, do you also need to re-arc the reed to maintain the slight bend? I'm puzzled by this because if you bend the reed down near the rivet end surely there's a chance that part of the reed will be below the surface level of the plate, or should you bend the reed down further along the length of the reed. Any help much appreciated. Thanks.
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Preston
40 posts
Aug 21, 2008
11:17 AM
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I have done both ways you are inquiring about, and have not seen a significant difference in sound or function. However, if you check out www.overblow.com there is instructions with pictures, and apparently that guy doesnt dip his reeds lower than the plate. Also go to Youtube and check out "elkriverharmonicas". That guy has some good instructional material.
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Preston
63 posts
Oct 14, 2008
12:48 PM
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For the guys out there that care about customizing....
I would like to retract my statment that I didn't see any difference in the harp if you re-arched the reed after you bent it down to narrow the gap.
Like everything, customizing gets better with practice. I just hot rodded a Marine Band this weekend. I took a 1/4" socket and starting at the rivet end, drug the socket down the length of the reed. This dipped the entire reed down into reed plate. I then took a .002 shim and lifted the reed back up out of the plate and shoved the shim all the way back to the rivet. Well, I didn't make it all the way back because the slight bend I just made in it stopped me, but you get the idea.
Next, with the shim still under the reed, I took a carving knife, wich has a soft, round, wood handle, and ran the handle up and down the reed gently over and over. Periodically I would take the shim out and check the reed. Eventually I got it perfectly strait, and I almost didn't need to adjust the gap at all. The gap was almost perfect from the steps I had just done.
I did this to all 20 reeds, and man, what a difference. The harp was responsive, and louder than another MB I had done, where I had slightly arched the reeds.
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Kaolin
Guest
Oct 14, 2008
3:36 PM
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Preston, thank you for sharing your experience. It seems to me that what you did was to make the reeds completely flat, but usually people are saying the curve in the shape of the reeds is important for responsiveness. I set some of my reeds too flat and too close to the reed plate, under larger pressure the reed tends to choke. Did you have that problem?
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Preston
64 posts
Oct 15, 2008
7:09 AM
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Kaolin,
I have also heard curved reeds lead to better responsiveness, and that is typically what I do to mine. However I read on overblow.com that Tinus Koorn flatens his, and another customizer I talked to suggested it, so I thought I would try it. I don't necesarily see a huge difference in responsiveness, but the biggest difference I see is in volume. The particular harmonica I spoke about I had already done some gapping/arching, and I wasn't happy with it. Once I straitened the reeds flat, it seemed louder and brighter. It seemed like the arched reeds muted the sound somewhat. But who knows, maybe I arched them too much, and prof. customizers only put small arches in them.
I do have a problem with the reeds choking out if gapped to small. The best advice I can give you is that I never get it right on the first try. I take the harp apart, emboss the plates and gap the reeds, then I put it all back together again and play it for awhile. I use a notebook and make notes on how each hole reacts, blow and draw. I usually play several types of songs, but I've found that a basic boogie-woogie played relativeley fast will tell you what reeds need adjusted the most. There is a magical spot in there where the gap is close, but the reed will not choke, and it takes awhile to find it.
Then I take it apart again and make adjustments going back over my notes. This usually takes about 3 trys to get my harps the way I like them. I typically spend 2-3 hours per harp on gapping/embossing.
Last Edited by on Oct 15, 2008 7:12 AM
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