KingoBad
5 posts
Jan 12, 2009
8:16 PM
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I need some help knowing if I got a bum harp, or if I just suck. I have been putting off buying an F harp for whatever reason. I can get great sound out of everything from my low Eb up to my D (previously highest harp). Now that I have purchased my F (Lee Oskar - my first) I find I have to play very softly to get a quality sound out of my high notes. After honking on my Low Eb or jamming on my A harp, it feels like a toy harp. Not much volume with a quality sound.
Am I doing something wrong? Do I need to adjust my reeds?(I get a little nervous adjusting the high reeds 8-10). Is this the nature of the F harp? Does the Lee Oskar suck in the key of F?
I appreciate any info or pointers.
Thanks.
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TylerLannan
44 posts
Jan 12, 2009
9:37 PM
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The reeds on the higher holes on an F harp are much stiffer than on lower haprs. It just takes some getting used to. Don't play to hard. The harp is designed to be a soft but percussive instrument. Just work it and play it often to break it in. You'll be wailing on high notes before you know it
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*you can only keep what you have by giving it away*
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Andrew
67 posts
Jan 12, 2009
11:54 PM
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My F harp was my best out-of-the-box harp, so I'm fond of it, but the technique is quite different (I find the notes less stable than on the lower harps, so they need a lot more control), and I haven't given it the time it deserves to get used to it.
There are a few threads around about different harp makes, and one of the things I wanted to say was that every time I think there's something wrong with my harp I find out a week's practice later that there was something wrong with me all along, and my playing is changing all the time, so I think, until one is experienced, one should stick with the same make of harp no matter how noisily someone on this forum says your make of harp is crud, otherwise there are just too many variables for a beginner to cope with!
Last Edited by on Jan 12, 2009 11:56 PM
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DaDoom
20 posts
Jan 13, 2009
12:02 AM
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Hi KingoBad
I agree with TylerLannan. Probably it's just a question of breaking in the harp. I have a Spec20 in F and I love the sound of it, it's so much fun to play the same stuff you do on lower key harps on a high one - especially the chords sound great.
On high harps I usually have problems playing the draw notes on holes 7 - 10, the rest usually works fine. So maybe loosening up a little bit the upper draw reeds might help. But be very careful, I just messed up a C harp. I didn't realize how thin the upper reeds are and instead of widening the gap I ended up forming a 90 degree angle...
I'll try to bend the reeds back eventually, but I doubt that the harp will ever sound good again.
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