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Dirty-South Blues Harp forum: wail on! >
My first custom harmonica... and boy is it CUSTOM
My first custom harmonica... and boy is it CUSTOM
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nacoran
229 posts
Oct 05, 2009
1:13 PM
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So today I decided I would teach myself how to customize a harp. To this point the most I've ever done is switch covers, unjam a reed, clean out some gunk and unbend a bend cover... today I decided to work on those pesky little reeds themselves!!!
Since money is always a concern I went out and bought myself to harmonicas- one 'control' and one to mess with. For $10 and tax I got myself two Hohner Bluesbands and got to work. My first project was opening up the back! A roaring success! Emboldened I moved on to closing those pesky gaps. I saw daylight and I wanted utter darkness!
Oops. I'd heard of the sticky reed that caused a ringing sound. As part of the process I knew I'd have to re-arch my reeds since they'd get flattened out in the process. I got a few reeds that wouldn't play, but I gently bent away until I got some sound back. I knew I might get some sticky reeds; I'd been told they'd buzz. I've got a couple reeds doing that. I've got one reed that I must have gotten gouged in the process. It's decided it wants to be in a different key. Who am I to argue? But hissing reeds? Cool for a jazz cat maybe... And some of these other noises!
I don't have my good mic hooked up right now or I'd regale you with sounds like you've never heard! I've also got a much more ambitious project planned (unless someone with more skill wants to do it first)- a compendium of reed sounds, and index, as it were of what could be wrong with your reed. Does it sound like this? (queue the appropriate broken reed) or this? (play a vacuum cleaner noise- I swear, that's what my one reed sounds like- oh, wait, that's them vacuuming upstairs. Not only would my reed index have all the sounds, it would explain what was wrong and how to fix each problem.
The upshot and good news is a couple of the reeds blow-bend better than before. I seem to have, for the moment, made regular bends more difficult and overbends are right out of the question and still no sign of the ever elusive overblow, but not entirely frustrating. When I get that mic working I'll get a recording up, unless one of you gets a restraining order first.
Harp On!
Last Edited by on Oct 05, 2009 1:31 PM
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tookatooka
594 posts
Oct 05, 2009
1:16 PM
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What! They've started making them invisible now?
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nacoran
230 posts
Oct 05, 2009
1:33 PM
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Yes, but they only stay invisible until I get to the edit button. In the future I've got to remember that hitting the return button doesn't end you title in the title bar, it posts your post!
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Gwood420
51 posts
Oct 05, 2009
1:51 PM
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"don't have my good mic hooked up right now or I'd regale you with sounds like you've never heard! I've also got a much more ambitious project planned (unless someone with more skill wants to do it first)- a compendium of reed sounds, and index, as it were of what could be wrong with your reed. Does it sound like this? (queue the appropriate broken reed) or this? (play a vacuum cleaner noise- I swear, that's what my one reed sounds like- oh, wait, that's them vacuuming upstairs. Not only would my reed index have all the sounds, it would explain what was wrong and how to fix each problem."
that would be very helpful...
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