The sound of silence

I have just received my new Lee Oskar F harp. Checking it straight out of the box, holes 9 and 10, both draw and blow have no sound! I have tried blowing and drawing slowly and softly and I can just about hear the notes. If I blow or draw normally I hear nothing. Has anyone any ideas for a solution?

Regards,
Pete

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Hi Peter @petermurtagh61

My guess, without seeing, hearing or playing the harp, is that the reeds for those “silent” holes need just a bit more gap. When the gap is too small, a normal or slightly stronger than normal draw or blow causes the reed to “choke” and not vibrate.

Is this a low F or the higher “normal” F harp? I ask because I find that the higher the harp’s key, the more trouble it is to play up at the high end (holes 9 & 10).

Regards,
– Slim :sunglasses:

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Cheers Slim, it’s the normal F harp. To widen the reed, is it just a case of removing the cover and adjusting the gap?

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Hi Peter @petermurtagh61

Yes, that’s it. Just increase the gap in barely visible increments and test it by blowing or drawing that hole after each change. No need to put the covers back on until your test results are working well.

For blow reeds (top side of the comb with recessed reeds) you can press the reed down with a toothpick.

For the draw reeds (bottom side of comb) I use a 0.25 or 0.3 mm shim (or “feeler” gauge) to lift the reed (others use razor blades or special reed adjustment tools; some also insert the toothpick into the hole and push the reed up, but I find that somewhat difficult).

YouTube has videos showing methods to do this (I believe Brandon Power has one or also the Hohner company has one). Here on the forum I think that Dai @Dai posted a link to one as well.

Regards,
– Slim :sunglasses:

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@petermurtagh61 Checkout this video it might help.

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Hi Dai, thanks for your help! I’ll give it a go and let you know.

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Cheers Slim, I’ll let you know how I get on!

Pete

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