gene
161 posts
Apr 06, 2009
7:40 PM
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...and last.
I bought Rupert Oyslers DVD, and tried some of the stuff. Scooped the tips, embossed the reed slots, did some gapping. The harp is now in the trash. Reeds were WAY out of pitch, some just buzzed. I tried readjusting a couple of times, but no luck.
If I had slipped with a tool and caused damage, it would not be so discouraging. I'd just need to be more careful. The problem is that I have no idea what I did wrong, so how could I correct it.
I'm fine with out-of-the-box harps. Who needs overblows, anyway.
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Chevus
46 posts
Apr 06, 2009
7:43 PM
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I'd love to learn to tweak my own harps, but I can't afford to trash them in the process...Kudos for the effort!
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Tuckster
155 posts
Apr 06, 2009
8:05 PM
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You shouldn't have trashed it. You can experiment with it,now that it's no good. Did you remove the burrs? Try sliding something thin along the reed slot. Keep plinking!
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gene
162 posts
Apr 06, 2009
8:19 PM
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I untrashed it. It's back in a drawer, now, because it did occur to me that I might have embossed too much or might have burrs. I'll mess with it some more wnen I get a round tuit.
It's not a great harp (Just a Huang Star Performer), but it's my first. That makes it worth trying to save.
If I have any luck, I'll get a Suzuki Fabulous to work on...
NOT!!! :D
Last Edited by on Apr 06, 2009 8:22 PM
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jonsparrow
58 posts
Apr 06, 2009
11:27 PM
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you just gotta be real gentle with it. first harp i tried it on totally fucked it up. watched some more videos on youtube, tried again an got one a little better then it was but nothing great. just be easy.
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gene
163 posts
Apr 07, 2009
12:12 AM
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Since my last post, I did manage to get the thing to play again, but a couple of reeds still sound messed up. I do notice, though, that the reeds are more responsive. (I guess that's the right word...They make sound at the first hint of air movement.)
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harmonicanick
229 posts
Apr 07, 2009
12:37 AM
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did the same thing myself to a Suzuki but managed to sortn of rescue it.
Now I am gonna pay someone to tweak for me!
As my wife put it 'watch out he's got the tools out'!
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DaDoom
69 posts
Apr 07, 2009
12:43 AM
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Nice one gene (I mean the rescue...not the first part).
Harp tweaking takes a lot of patience as far as I can judge. I guess the results also depend on what harp you start with. So far I got the best results with a Golden Melody. It overblows perfectly and you can sustain the notes as long as you want to.
I also opened up the back of the coverplates on a SP20 but the thing about "better sound projection" sounds like a myth to me. The harp was loud before and is loud now - if there's a difference it must be very small.
Does anyone know where I could get cool replacement combs for a decent price (preferably in Europe)? That's the next thing I want to try.
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RyanMortos
131 posts
Apr 07, 2009
7:28 AM
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Dont worry, thats my experience as well. Now I have an experimental golden melody that Im sure a pro could restore. As of yet the things Ive tried havent seemed to have positive effect. Ill probably pull it apart and redo the whole process someday.
Good luck learning the tweaks!
----------
~Ryan
PA
Ryan's Tube - Containing [0] uploads and counting...
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jonsparrow
60 posts
Apr 07, 2009
10:59 AM
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opening up the back makes a big differnce on MB harps. i did it to my A harp an now its just as loud as my sp20 A harp.
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snakes
165 posts
Apr 07, 2009
11:22 AM
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Well good for you for trying. Personally I do plan to open up some harps someday, but I am the sort that needs to cork my fork at dinner to keep from blinding myself so my expectations are minimal.
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DaDoom
75 posts
Apr 08, 2009
1:47 AM
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@snakes
Hihi in that case wear some protection glasses when attempting to do it. It's quite easy to do on a Marine Band as all you have to do is fold the edge of the coverplates a bit.
For my SP20 I used a thingy called Dremel. Hmm can I post pictures here? I could show you how it looks like if I could.
Last Edited by on Apr 08, 2009 1:47 AM
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snakes
175 posts
Apr 09, 2009
12:01 PM
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I think Olswailer can tell you how to post pictures.
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oldwailer
672 posts
Apr 09, 2009
4:15 PM
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It's rocket science. . .
1) Put the picture somewhere online--I just use my own sites and can't tell you any other way to do this.
2) post the message here as usual, then use this code to point to the picture:
[img border="0" src="http://www.your sitename.com/name of picture with extension" width="307" height="476"[ ]/p]
Now--change the square brackets above to greater than (<) and lesser than (>) symbols.
You can mess with the witdth & height numbers if you want--I usually find this size to work about right.
The pic will appear after you post--if the code is correct. . .
Last Edited by on Apr 09, 2009 4:19 PM
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