stewbone59
6 posts
Dec 15, 2009
8:29 AM
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I've got a brand new Golden Melody key of G that I love, but there is this rattle or kind of a dinging noise on the 1 hole draw. I have never heard this on any harp that I've ever played. What is this and can it be fixed.
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tookatooka
872 posts
Dec 15, 2009
8:40 AM
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Sounds like the reed is hitting the coverplate. Don't know how you can cure that apart from drawing a little softer. Lee Oskar's overcame this by making draw side coverplates deeper on the lower key harps.
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blogward
46 posts
Dec 15, 2009
8:45 AM
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The 1 draw on a G harp is a long reed. Take off the cover and check the gap between the end of the reed and the reedplate. Make sure by GENTLY pushing the reed in the middle with a bodkin or similar that it lies close to the plate - too close and it won't sound.
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GermanHarpist
808 posts
Dec 15, 2009
9:40 AM
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I'm with tooka. Not quite sure if regapping has too much influence on the amplitude of the reed... drawing less strong on that hole will definitely help.
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germanharpist on YT. =;-)
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mickil
714 posts
Dec 15, 2009
12:12 PM
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I think I read somewhere that this is not uncommon on the lower GMs. I suppose it's not uncommom on a lot of the older designs; notice how Seydel's lineup has such a big clearance designed into their cover plates. Anyway, I had the same problem with a MB DLX in A. A gentle regap did fix the problem.
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YouTube SlimHarpMick a.k.a. HarmonicaMick
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barbequebob
224 posts
Dec 15, 2009
1:43 PM
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It's more likely to happen if you're really hitting that 1 draw really hard. From the key of A and lower, it's very common.
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Sincerely,
Barbeque Bob Maglinte
Boston, MA
http://www.barbequebob.com
CD available at http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/bbmaglinte
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toddlgreene
251 posts
Dec 15, 2009
1:46 PM
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I took a ball-peen hammer and a little wood block to a cover plate over a long reed on an A harp on a LO and gently put an indentation over the reed...not pretty, but it worked.
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~Todd L. Greene, Devout Pedestrian
"listen to what you like for inspiration, but find your own voice"
crescentcityharmonicaclub@gmail.com
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RyanMortos
519 posts
Dec 15, 2009
6:01 PM
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I know a professional harmonica player in Philadelphia and asked him about this once. He told me just play softer which definitely works.
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~Ryan
"I play the harmonica. The only way I can play is if I get my car going really fast, and stick it out the window." - Stephen Wright
Pennsylvania - H.A.R.P. (Harmonica Association 'Round Philly)
Contact:
My youtube account
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toddlgreene
252 posts
Dec 15, 2009
6:49 PM
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@ Ryan, yeah, that works if it's being pushed to the limits thru hard play...but I've had it rattle during easy play, no bends or anything. Time to modify the cover plate!
Oh, and I'm a Stephen Wright fan, so I'll continue:
"I put a new engine in my car, but I didn't take the old one out. Now it goes 400 miles an hour. The harmonica sounds amazing."
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~Todd L. Greene, Devout Pedestrian
"listen to what you like for inspiration, but find your own voice"
crescentcityharmonicaclub@gmail.com
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nacoran
540 posts
Dec 15, 2009
9:35 PM
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I have one or two cheap harps that do this, not low keys. I think if the reed isn't lined up in the slot well or if you have a bur that the reed is almost clearing but not quite it might do it too. If fixing that doesn't fix it I'd suggest toddle's method, but make sure you make a video. It will either make you famous as a harp innovator or as a fully functioning performance artist in the field of harmonica destruction.
Then there are the crazy ideas: Does anyone know if any of the Golden Melody clones have wider covers? Has anyone ever bent a new cover out of sheet metal using an old one as a mold?
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DaDoom
146 posts
Dec 15, 2009
11:39 PM
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That's the typical GM problem. Even my GM in D does that. So you don't even need a low one to have that problem.
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stewbone59
7 posts
Dec 16, 2009
2:53 AM
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Thanks for the feed back, I've found that the reed is actually hitting the cover plate, even when drawing softer. I think I may have to use Todds method. A hammer can usually fix just about anything.
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toddlgreene
254 posts
Dec 16, 2009
8:39 AM
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Stewbone-Do check your gapping and consider your technique first BEFORE taking a hammer to your harp, unless it's expendable and/or you have some angst to vent!
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~Todd L. Greene, Devout Pedestrian
"listen to what you like for inspiration, but find your own voice"
crescentcityharmonicaclub@gmail.com
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barbequebob
227 posts
Dec 16, 2009
1:17 PM
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You may also be gripping the harmonica so hard that you may be unkowingly crushing the covers downward.
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Sincerely,
Barbeque Bob Maglinte
Boston, MA
http://www.barbequebob.com
CD available at http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/bbmaglinte
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Shredder
73 posts
Dec 16, 2009
1:51 PM
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I play G/M's almost exclusivly and have never had a reed hit the cover plt. The only rattle I have ever gotten was the reed striking the reed plate when I knocked it over doing mod's one time. I realligned it with a feeler gauge and the problem went away. I agree with BBQ, the cover may be crushed a little allowing the reed to hit the top.I also concure that drawing to hard on the lower toned harps will cause the reed to swing to far, so play softer on the lower harps.
Mike
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barbequebob
230 posts
Dec 16, 2009
1:57 PM
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The only stock harp I've ever come across where the cover plate was setup from the factory with a little "bump" (for a lack of a better word or descrption) to compensate for a 1 draw that would hit the cover plate is on the Seydel 1847 from Low Eb and lower because lower pitched reeds are more likely to rattle against the cover plate than on a harp pitched from C and higer. If you have a 1 draw on a harp tuned from key oc C and up, you are definitely playing too hard because those reeds never rattle against the covers under a normal or even extremely soft breath.
The crushing of the covers starts to happen gradually over time. The literature packed in with the Suzuki Manji (the literature few players ever read but just throw in the trash) actaully tells players to avoid gripping the harmonica too hard or they risk severly crushing the cover plates.
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Sincerely,
Barbeque Bob Maglinte
Boston, MA
http://www.barbequebob.com
CD available at http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/bbmaglinte
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