Do harmonicas give any warning signs before a Reed breakage happens? Like do reeds stop sounding or anything like that?
It hasn’t happened yet, but frankly I don’t want to experience this situation.
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Typically the reed goes flat. If you notice it going flat, then I would at least open the harp and check the reed carefully, plinking it and perhaps using a magnifying glass as well.
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Can you normally hear the Reed go flat? Or do you test your harps against a tuner regularly?
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Carlos can you record what a flat reeds sound like? I’ve only had stuck reeds thus far
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I do not mean to be insulting, but if you cannot hear that a reed is going flat, then you need to work more on your pitch recognition skills. I mean, how can you recognize whether you are hitting (for example) the -3’ or -3” accurately? Are you simply assuming that you hit them correctly?
If you cannot hear that the tone is flat, then by all means use a tuner. I definitely do not have any special skills, such as perfect pitch hearing, but I can recognize when a reed is sounding flat – especially when I compare its tone in a familiar context (such as playing the reed in a scale, major or minor or whatever).
When a reed is only minimally flat, it is still a good idea to run the checks. As the saying goes: “Better safe than sorry”.
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No worries! I think it’s mostly the actual definition of it that I wasn’t totally sure on. (I thought it would make almost no sound or something like it was stuck). So now I take it it will still “sound” but the sound will just be the wrong sound, like a step lower, which would sound jarring
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Now you know. 
No problem - I think pitch recognition training is good for everyone.
I had heard that reeds can go flat really slowly, and many people can’t even tell its happening. I was more wondering if there is a catastrophic pitch change right before a breakage.
I guess I might be too worried about it - I try not to keep harps from more than a year or two before switching them out. I am not a hard player - but I play a LOT, particularly in the key of A (Lee Oscar). My LO harps seem to last a long time….until I tried session steels, which don’t seem to wear out(!?!).
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Yes - I got same experience. Reed sounds like bending. Deeper and deeper bend and breaks. I used to be too zealous to clean my harps. And reeds often breaks after cleaning reedplates in warm water. After I stopped to clean my harps inside I less experienced reed breakage. But I also practice less from that time and It’s hard to exactly judge if cleaning can cause breakage.
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I clean my harps under warm water all the time with no issues. I think as long as you have a plastic comb you won’t have any issues.
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Yeah when your reed gets flat enough, you’ll notice for sure!!!
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Yeah…I definitely noticed my go to A harp had that happen after 2 years of heavy play (45mins+ a day).
I clean 3 harps at a time submerged in an ultrasonic cleaner for about 30 seconds
this includes Hohner Crossover with bamboo comb - hasn’t been a problem (so far 
)
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I kind of want to try the Crossover. The bamboo comb and….Hohner ‘Quality’ kind of spook me though.
I took apart my Special 20 and Hohner was brutal, absolutely brutal with how deep the cuts were on each reed to tune it. Kind of shocking compared to other brands.
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I am happy with the crossover however, I would choose marine band deluxe over the crossover.
I also recently bought seydel 1847 all stainless steel and I really like the way it plays. The only thing about it is I find the crossover, special 20 and marine band deluxe all bend more consistently and easier than the stainless steel sydel
might be the player 
Best
Mike
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@cloves-fibs0f I’m with you 100% on all of that. Love MBD. I prefer brass reeds for tone and bendability.
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