|
beginner forum: for novice and developing blues harp players >
Wow- rust- loose screws
Wow- rust- loose screws
Page:
1
New but determined
19 posts
Dec 04, 2015
11:53 AM
|
I've an Sp20 -C I bought just after I started playing 6-7 weeks ago but got all enthusiastic and bought a set of 3 Manji's from RockinRon's about a week later. I'd had another Sp20 in G from years ago that I'd never learned how to play and it sat in the drawer until recently when I wanted to see what the key of G sounds like. At that time I had been setting reed gaps on my Manji's successfully and made some adjustments on the G Sp20 and it plays well.
Well about an hour ago I grabbed the SP20-C out of the drawer and played it and it just seemed to take a lot of force to play, not anything like my other harmonicas (I have 2 others in C- Manji and Crossover) and thought maybe I could improve the way it plays by adjusting the reeds.
Opening it up I immediately spotted rust under the top cover and scraped it mostly out, it's just a speck now. But it's only a little more than maybe 5 weeks old and hasn't been played hardly at all. Looking at the reedplates they were quite tarnished and I thought I'd do as I saw in a video and clean them first by removing and soaking in a little vinegar and water. But immediately I noticed that the reed plate screws weren't screwed down in the back, I could see it and hadn't even put a screwdriver to them yet. I know I haven't taken this one apart and I'm kind of obsessive about details and 90% sure I've never opened this harmonica up. They took about a turn and a half to tighten lightly.
I took it apart , soaked and rinsed like in the Hohner video and once dried I put it all back together.
Well now I know what leakage sounds like, at least I think that's what I hear, it's on the high end of the harmonica, not a lot but something I've never heard before that sounded like a little air leaking. I messed around, taking it apart again and checking careful tightening (barely tight) it's not big but discouraging enough to not buy another stock SP 20 which this morning I was considering based on my recent enjoyment of my SP20 -G. The bad one came from a local music store not Rons and who knows how long it had been in the case and maybe someone had played it before judging from the tarnish and rust.
Live and learn- kind of just sitting back at the moment and soaking this all in. Not a big deal but startling.
Aren't the covers on the Crossover stainless or do I have to worry about rust with that too? If I get another SP20 I'll most likely consider getting one from the fellow who makes custom combs and covers and spend the money to get it right. I'm thinking less about putting together a whole set and just getting a few in favorite keys- possibly C, B flat and A, I just like the way those sound except the C which is okay but it's the one to play along with the instructional CD's. But not today, just have to think about all I've been doing trying to learn this stuff...
Last Edited by New but determined on Dec 04, 2015 11:57 AM
|
SuperBee
3032 posts
Dec 05, 2015
2:00 AM
|
Does it say "progressive" on the cover?
That is clearly not a new harp. Besides that...the sp20 is the best made harp available at its price point, ime.
Many people perform with these harps in stock form.
When you adjust gaps, do you treat them as a pair?
The biggest leak on a harp is the slot above or below the reed you are activating. If the gap of either blow or draw reed is too wide, the chamber will be 'leaky'
Besides that, id suggest disassemble the harp and make sure there is no foreign matter trapped between reed plate and comb. When you insert the bolts, start with those in the middle and work out. Don't tighten all the way until you have them all threading in nicely. Then complete doing up the bolts. If you tighten beyond just where the heads grip, the tension will distort the plates. This can cause leaks, but the reed slots and improperly seated reed plates are still the biggest potential.
I've repaired at least 50 special 20s over the last 12 months and sure, some are better than others, but they all are more than acceptable. I believe a well setup sp20 is actually rather hard to beat
|
MindTheGap
829 posts
Dec 05, 2015
3:10 AM
|
SuperBee - I thought the covers, old and new models, were stainless steel, so no rust. Is that not so?
Is there a need to clean tarnished reeds? They'll only tarnish again.
I've largely stopped taking apart my harps to clean them unless something is wrong. I just give them a rinse under the cold tap when I feel like it. I could see that a perfomer who wants to be absolutely sure their reeds aren't going to jam would want to have a preventative regime though.
Last Edited by MindTheGap on Dec 05, 2015 3:12 AM
|
SuperBee
3034 posts
Dec 05, 2015
4:32 AM
|
Yeah I think they've been stainless for s while. I can't recall last time I say a rusty one...I did a bunch for a guy who'd been saving his broken harps for 15 years or so, and some of those had rust. I'm sure some of mine have rust. Just a few spots though.
Anyway, rust inside the covers..in itself no biggie. But rust and tarnish makes me think it's not a new harp. As in, it's a used harp. They'll get s little water stained straight away, but they won't rust and tarnish in 5 weeks with very little use..
Tarnish...I only clean the green stuff off...maybe it's not really tarnish but it takes on a green hue...I see a lot of it...bbq bob calls it 'build up'. It accumulates particularly on the fixed end of the reed...you know what is said about rolling stone and its potential to gather moss. I suspect this stuff shares some characteristics with moss. It's green for a start.
I'm very reluctant to use acid on brass. I use water, a brush, a (very) little dish soap, and ultrasonic bath.
Of course, I work on harps for other people, so I have to clean each one I work on at least twice. Sometimes I have to clean them twice before I can work on them, but I always have to clean them before I send them back.
Soap is pretty effective as disinfectant.
I had some harps to tune once which had been cleaned in Coke a cola. Don't do that.
I've had some harps that actually were not broken but merely gummed up with ... never mind what it was, but it's happened several times. I got a batch of 9 once, in which 3 were like that.
If you play them in the shower, maybe they get a bit of a wash in the process?
|
New but determined
28 posts
Dec 06, 2015
8:10 PM
|
My new Sp20 does say progressive on the cover plates, the rust spot was half the size of a dime- the stain that is. When I cleaned it the spot was just a pin prick and I wonder if a mfg particle got in the harp and that is what rusted. Weird that the screws in the Reed plate on the top were not all the way in but they were snug as if not fully tapped and identical the same amount sticking up.
Ironically after cleaning it up and adjusting a few reeds, the next day it played okay, not great but I'm new and don't have enough experience and so far I have to guess that if I play it a lot it will perform much better. I'm learning- I hope!
|
Post a Message
|
