I was wondering if should open my Lee Oskar harmonica (2 months old) and try to do some reed gapping.
Am I being silly or is it a good idea?
Ciao
Stefano
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Unless you are having problems, there is not much point in doing anything. Especially if you have never done it before on a cheap harp, because your lack of experience could result in the harp now really having problems.
If you are still a beginner, I would suggest waiting until your skill level advances: beginners often imagine their problems are because of the harp needing adjustment, when actually it is their playing skills are what need to be improved.
If you do watch the video on U Tube that HARPSMITH has put on U Tube for this issue before doing anything. If your harp is not playing well check the reed plates to make sure they are flat before doing anything. I lightly rub my plates on 1,500 wet and dry sand paper. Reeds always up and lightly rotating the plates in both directions will show any part of the plate that is not correct. It will look darker than the portion of the plate that makes contact. It will be darker. Very lightly do this and I suggest you place your finger tips on the middle rivet and each end. If you have significant problems with the plates send the harp to HARPSMITH. When you get it back it will play as well as the harp can. He does everything very well.
I send all new harps to him as he has the knowledge and I dislike working on harps but enjoy one that plays well.
Look at the videos on you tube they will teach you a lot. Reed gapping is not difficult you just have to know what you are doing. I’ve seen videos of Jason Ricci just sticking a tool in without opening the harp up and gapping reeds. I wouldn’t recommend this. More often than not your closing the gaps on the reeds to make them more airtight. Do watch a load of videos get a good idea of what you’re doing before you try it.
That’s the video I was watching when I got the idea.
Ciao
Stefano
I use this tool to adjust my reeds as in the video.
look in the video info for his site where he sells it, if you’re interested.
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What is your opinion: is the tool worth the price?
I think so. Used it on many harps, works well on steel reeds not used it on brass reeds so can’t say on that score.
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I bought a set of replacement reedplates for my LO C harp and they came really messed up - one 3 reed was cocked sideways, and the other 3 reed was BENT just where the soldered weight-end stopped - 45 degree. I am not kidding. Instead of calling up the dealer and asking how they could have missed blatant screw-ups, I decided to “fix” them. I got it done and they work well. Other than an issue like that I wouldn’t mess with a LO. I’’ve done that and…the LOs do NOT seem to follow the typical gaps suggested by Harpsmith - at least not for my (mis)playing style. Out of the box for LO works good for me. When I try to match Harpsmith’s recommendations I spend a lot of time trying to get them back to where they started out. Probably (and I mean very likely) it’s more me than anything else. I’ve not used any other decent harp harp so I’m likely used to them.
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It’s all experience. I have to redo my Konsheng harp not quite right yet. getting there.
It may be an idea to get a new set of reed plates and play around with the old ones.
Ciao
Stefano
Good idea Kongsheng sell reed plates cheap.
Lee Oskar’s reed plates are a bit more expensive (€22.90) here, but still worth the try.
A new Lee Oskar is €42
Ciao
Stefano
When I played on stage several times per month, I always gapped my reeds before performing. Not the back, pinned end gap, of the reed, but the free front end. When every solo matters, I did not want reeds cutting out or unresponsive in the middle of a solo.
Also, I started gapping both ends of the reed recently and found my harps to work much better if you follow online tutorials. I primarily used the tutorials from Dave Barrett’s website.
I had harps gapped by a professional. 6 harps. $20 each plus shipping. The harps I gapped myself definitely played better than everyone of the professional gapped harps. The harps were sent to be fully looked at, with reeds replaced if necessary, but the gapping was not as good as mine IMHO. Obviously, for $20 bucks he can’t take all day, but I would have expected much better response than what I received.
My point: definitely gap your own harps frequently, as soon as you noticed a lack of responsiveness. You’ll need feeler gauges to do it right. I bought some other specialty tools, but haven’t used then yet. But you must be CAREFUL. I creased the 5 draw reed on a Hohner Crossover. My thumbnail pressed against the reed while I was trying to set the riveted end gap. Ruined the harp. BUT simple gapping of the loose end should be done, and you should learn how to do it. Most pros hire someone to work their harps, but the average person should learn this skill as soon as possible. Nothing better than a harp that plays with even a soft breath.
Good Luck.
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I have been talking to and following Richard Sleigh’s instructions and practicing changing the reed shape to get better response. Lowering the reed near the rivet has helped a lot. It takes time but getting the whole reed to enter the slot at the same time is beneficial.
Bummer on the 5 reed on your Crossover, that is my personal favorite harp, along with my Koch Chromatic.
I’ve been looking again at a number of sources for gapping reeds. I’ve read RS suggestions as well. After I broke my crossover A harp, I lost interest in complete reed gapping. Weak.
I just removed the covers on one of the 6 harps I paid to have setup. These harps were old SP20s from ~2000 to 2010. Thought I’d see if they could be setup to work. Replace bad reeds etc. Anyway, on a C harp, the 2 and 3 draw reeds were not centered in the slot, so bending took a lot of force. Took me a long time, maybe an hour or two, to get them adequately centered. Still do not understand why that was so difficult to achieve. Probably old eyes. I bought the dBomb tool kit a couple years ago, and used that wrench to center reeds.
The crossover story is even worse that stated above. I had just spent time to sand both sides of the comb. As you probably know, lots of manufacturing defects on crossover bamboo combs, which results in a leaky harp and an unpleasant playing experience.
I need to learn the entire reed gapping process on both ends (without destroying my harps).
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@HoneyBoy If you don’t mind sharing, who did you have setup the older harps that came back misaligned?
No, I won’t say who did the work. Not one of the more recognized names, however.
I will say, 3 of the harps (A, G, and Bb) were satisfactory and could be played with a light breath. I practiced LW solos with them, so I’m confident those were done as good as $20 buys you.
The C harp had the draw 2 and 3 out of alignment. The upper end was fine, but as I eventually learned, the lower reeds were difficult because they weren’t aligned properly in the reed slot. They would bend with enough force, but not cleanly.
Then there were 2 Bb harps that were not adequately responsive IMHO. I worked one of those, even though its gaps looked nearly identical to the second Bb. I still haven’t determined what is up with those 2 harps, but I’m not 100% satisfied with their $20 responsiveness.
Again, these were old harps, probably bought from Kevin’s Harps or one of the Mom-and-Pop shops around before the 2008 financial shenanigans, so, who knows, could have been inferior Special 20 harps to start with.
Did you contact them and tell them the issue? Or did you figure for the $20, it wasn’t worth the trouble since, you had probably lost faith in their workmanship? I just ask because I am about to open a harmonica shop and would want any customer with an issue to let me know.
Thanks,
Fool me once…
The guy is a nice guy it seems, but if I pay you to set up harps, and you tell me it’s $20, and I then receive 6 harps and only 3 work well, and one of them has reeds that aren’t centered, I won’t be fooled twice.
Didn’t want to send harps back for $20 shipping round trip. Didn’t want another conflict in my life–at the time I was dealing with a $6000 custom amp that was a month late. It was almost 2 years late when I received it this past January.
I’ve been off booze for nearly 2 years, so I’ve mellowed down a bit, but 2 years ago I would have ripped his head off with a scathing email, so I never said a word to him.
Might send him my Crossover to replace the reed I creased. We’ll see.