Greetings Fellow Players!
Since I first started learning harmonica this year, I’ve now accumulated 2 Special 20’s, a Kongsheng Mars, a Rocket, and a Baby Fat. 3 of those are C’s, the Rocket is A, the Baby is G.
All of them now either have issues with stuck reeds and like a fool and a DIY’er for some many years working on guitars, I figured I would Gap Reeds, Flat Sand the draw plate and basically open each up once a week for a good plink and a wash.
Well, they certainly don’t get better with my awesome skillset - I seem to make them worse.
Well, I finally received and had to import a quite expensive Rocket LowF, and frankly I don’t want to mess this one up as I have spent quite a bit on it vs. the others that were local buys.
I’ve been reading forums and such and discovered that upon purchasing and playing a harmonica for the first time, you are actually supposed to play softly in order to break in the reeds?
I’m not sure this is true, but if it is and if there is anything else I should know in order to make this one last as long as possible, I would greatly appreciate it!
I gap if necessary, as some harps have a awful setup, but mostly I just use them right out of the box, and play nice with them for the long haul.
I did this and just retired a Lee Oscar harp after 2 years of heavy play (daily at least 15-30 minutes). I wash with soap and water as needed under the sink. Sometimes a peroxide bath.
Thanks for the reply! I figured it was a sort of misconception as they are simply reeds that if you first start playing and you can’t get a blow or a draw at least, then I would assume the harmonica is defective out of the box.
I know that Hohner is a very trusted brand, but for example my first speicial 20 started choking on draws, so I simply bought another one. The first thing I noticed was that my older one had a much smoother sound and easier to bend than my new one.
Opening them both to compare the plates and reeds, the discovery of rust was quite shocking. Plinking and again comparing them I noticed my 3 draw reed on the older one when plinked gives a flat sound, rather than the “boing” of my new one. Not sure how to fix that or even how to get rid of the rust and/or corrosion on the old one.
While I do weekly rinsing and for my rocket A and my baby fat, I simply have been trying to wash after use, but now my Rocket stalls out on a 3 draw, attempting to gap I either have to suck super hard to get a sound, or not get a sound at all.
Maybe I’m gapping wrong, so I don’t even want to attempt on my New LowF as it cost as much as a Thunderbird due to importing.
I also noticed that on my older special 20, both the 1 and 2 reeds have an almost 'speed bump" at the end, is this a burr or supposed to be there?
Sorry for the long reply, I just want to be confident in caring for my instruments as my wife seemed a bit upset once she saw the shipping slip that came in the package. (I simply said "HAppy Mother’s Day, I spent money so you can hear the sultry tones of the LowF, she walked out of the room. )
I have the same set of problems. I have a new Seydel Saxony in orchestral tuning. Two reeds, 3 draw and 4 draw choke. At least I have the option of sending them in for warranty tuning. The dealer suggested that I take it apart and clean it. I’m reluctant since the Saxony is quite expensive. I did take the covers off and it looks pristine. The Saxony has silver reed plats and stainless reeds so it is supposed to be corrosion resistant.
I’m sending it in for checkup on Monday 5/12/25. I’ll report on what they find.
I use them out of the box and never touch the inside unless I have a big problem. I wash them after I use them in running water under the tap or slosh them around in warm saopy water. That way they can dry before I use them again. Messing with them unnecessarily will make them unuseable.
I agree with toogdog. I play them out of the box, no adjustments, no tweaking, but I don’t over blow. I rinse after playing (with a clean mouth). I have 5 Suzuki Bluesmasters and 9 Hohner Special 20’s. No problems. I keep them clean.
I also just play them out of the box. But I periodically use a small ultrasonic cleaner with distilled water a drop of dish soap and a couple caps full of vinegar. It really seems to help keep them playing well, also the vinegar helps with fighting of rust.