I got two harps and played them. Each had a small leak that seemed impossible to get rid of. I placed the plates on a very flat surface and placed a light behind them. Most were slightly bent and I very lightly rubbed them in a circular motion. Reeds up. to see if the plates were correct. I could see where a portion of each plate did not show any sign of contact. I have the straightening claws and got them closer. Rubbed again clockwise and counter clockwise with no significant pressure. I only want to see if part of the plates are not showing any contact. After getting them correct, no light showing from behind I put the cover plates on and it made a significant difference.
The right side of the harps is so much easier to play with little air. I doubt there are many factory made plates, out of the box, that were not custom made that are right.
This is one of the first things that most harp customizers do: sanding the draw plate to make it flat. The blow plate you can skip because the side without the reeds does not contact the comb anyway. With a harp made like the Hohner Marine Band, Seydel 1847, Suzuki Manji and others with that so-called “sandwich” construction, you should also sand both sides of the comb to be sure that it seals as well as possible with the reed plates. There are various YouTube videos demonstrating how to do this.
An alternate approach used by some customizers is to use a sort of gasket that is inserted between the reed plates and the comb and can seal air leaks.
Simply because a comb might be made from ABS, brass or any other metal does not automatically mean that its surfaces are flat and it is only the reed plates that are responsible for air leaks.
You nailed it. Biggest problem is finding a flush surface. I disliked my Marine band until a plastic comb and the reed plates were corrected. can bowed out of the box.
Great tips, Scott4! Straightening the plates really makes a difference. I’ve had similar issues with leaks and found that even small adjustments can improve playability. Thanks for sharing your process!
Hi Scott, I started customizing my own harps thanke to so tip @Slim gave me I discovered exactly the same thing, and some very bent reed plates too, I did the same thing using the Wife’s make up table ( much to he chagrin it make an excellent harmonica customisation table) so I slowly bent the plates back to flat sanded them flat and returned and gapped replaced them in the harp, they now play better than ever. I’ve got lots of old harps to practice on.
Hi Slim, any idea where they get those gaskets or how they make them or the material they use, it’s an idea I’ve been playing with but every time I Google it I find how to valve etc but nothing on gaskets thanks
I would like to know those answers as well !! The answers seem to be “trade secrets”, so to say. You might wish to contact Brendan Power since he sells gaskets that also have valves (for half-valving a diatonic) that you can cut off if they are not what you want, thereby leaving just the gasket to seal the draw plate. The nice thing about this is that no glue is needed.
This is going to sound mental but I made some this morning using masking tape, works great, it took me ages and a lot of effing and jeffing but I did it and two harps now sound deeper and richer, but yes, I think buying them would probably be the way to go as this was painstakingly difficult, and I’ve got a pain in my neck now. I had two customizing projects this morning that took less time than expected removing the windsavers from my power bender ( they kept buzzing) and from a Chromatic which wouldn’t play at all on 8 draw blow and even with the slide it was pretty terrible I took the windsavers out re-gapped and now it’s great. So left with a bit of time on my hands and some old yet playable harps I had a go at it. I’m quite pleased with the results. But I wouldn’t recommend it to everyone it’s a bit fiddly and a complete nightmare, plus it may not last
I have heard of the gaskets but nothing good. If you get the plates flat, which you have and the reeds set the only other thing I would check is to make sure the face plates are straight unless you have a wooden comb. I got rid of mine and have no regrets.
I have had to adjust the end of two face plates as they were not bent at right angles. How about setting them on your wife’s table to make they are correct. You can also put both plates together and look between them to see if there is any adjustment needed. If no light gets through them when you hold the two face plates together they should be fine provided the ends are bent at right angles. Once you get the above done there is not much else that can cause an air leak and the harps should play very well. The thing I fight is lip grab as I slide the harp when playing and the humidity here is typically extremely low. I have noticed harps do not like cool temperature or high humidity . They are less responsive, especially the high notes. I run a hair drier over them and make sure they are clean. It makes a big difference in how responsive they are, especially the high end. bends are easier as well.
Your are lucky the have a wife that will share her table. We have a large storage room under the house and I suggested my wife use it for her art studio, which she did. She even let me paint it for her but only 9 gallons of paint were needed, much of which is still on several shirts. I am beginning to think she got the better end of this one. Hope this helps.
Yes I know how to do all of that thanks @Scott4, I’m just an avid experimenter searching for the holy Grail, it’s just fun. Even when I’m effing and Jeffing. My wife is an artist too we live in a tiny flat, bloody canvases everywhere. She is very good though she looks ves doing fantasy mythological type stuff, cutesy ghosts, and she does stuff for people like sea views and beach pictures. But the fantasy stuff is where she shines
