Blog posts

(Video number two!)

This is the second instalment of answers from the Facebook Q&A responses form two weeks ago. I am grouping these questions by topic, not chronological order. Some questions relate to one another and make for a nice stream of ideas when answered together.

Extensive videos covering these and other topics are found on my USB videos:
Andrew's videos on USB

Two weeks ago, I asked you via Facebook for your questions for a Q&A session. I got so many wonderful questions, thanks! I can't answer them all at once so here is the first instalment. I am grouping these questions by topic, not chronological order. Some questions relate to one another and make for a nice stream of ideas when answered together.

Extensive videos covering these and other topics are found on my USB videos:
Andrew's videos on USB

This is an older video and it's become a little hard to find on my website as I have added content over time.

It's nonetheless a very important video. Here is an easy, low-tech way to "uncover" the secrets of advanced reed work and embossing.

Reed Work
In the second half of the video, I demonstrate some reed work techniques. When it comes to reed curvature, there is a lot of confusion about what a well-shaped reed should look like.

It must be straight as it passes through the slot but that doesn't mean it needs to be straight at rest. A harmonica reed will usually be curved at rest so that as it flexes it becomes straight at the very moment it passes through the slot.

The reed is dynamic; its shape changes as it swings. That's why The Grip is so important. It allows you to see the reed's shape at the very moment it passes through the slot.

From 2015:
"Shape your reeds, do embossing and troubleshoot weird sounds by getting a good look at what your reeds are doing. Use this method to perform some delicate tasks without the need for a light table or a microscope. All you need are your eyes and a bright piece of paper.

I've mentioned this method before as part of at least two other youtube videos. I thought I should make a video to focus on this particular technique as it is applied to reed work, reed alignment and embossing."

To have success at customizing the diatonic harmonica you need to be able to rebuild the instrument from the ground up. If you are comfortable with this idea, you will be able to handle any problem that is thrown at you.

I reference this video where Joe Filisko talks about the Hohner Affiliated Customizer program (SPAH 2018):

Just about everything you do to a harp affects the tuning so it stands to reason the last thing you should do is fix the tuning. But how do you make adjustments to the tuning without messing up the shape of the reeds or undoing other hard-earned adjustments?

Here is an idea to support the base of the blow reeds while you lower the pitch with a quality file. You can support the reed using a piece of toothpick or 18 gauge copper wire. Use anything else you think might work.

We usually support a reed to lower the pitch using a plinker/support tool. We can't advance the support tool to the very base of the reed because there is no room and we would bend the reed out of shape if we force too much.

On the outside of the reed plate you can place something to support the reed and it can go all the way down to the base. Here's a small piece of toothpick:

Here's a piece of 18 gauge copper wire bent in the shape of a hockey stick (It actually has two bends in it to suit different reed lengths as well as to make it easier to pick up with my fingers):

It's just a matter of filing the base of the reed from the inside of the channel with a good quality file:

"Nothing sounds as good as the Marine Band."

This is taken from Facebook Live (with permission) during SPAH 2018. Joe Filisko is joined by Richard Sleigh and Joe Spiers to discuss the Hohner Affiliated Customizer Program. There was some audio interference which caused a very loud and unpleasant sound in a few spots. I did my best to fix the audio in this edit.

More information about the HAC program is here.

Also check out the Summer 2018 Hohner Easy Reeding magazine

Here's a before-and-after look at a reed plate that has undergone customization.

I spend hours rebuilding and enhancing every aspect of a harmonica as I customize it.

I obtain all parts directly from the Hohner factory in Germany. I don't buy pre-assembled harmonicas because the first thing I would do is take them apart. In fact, I even take apart the parts! A custom harmonica is an instrument that has been rebuilt from the ground up.

Here's a photo of freshly-cut Dark combs™ that have not been cleaned up yet. You can see the layers of paper fibres.

Many other types of solid-surface materials used to make combs can brighten up the tone of your instrument too much. I think one of the reasons my combs offer a darker, more natural tone is because of the network of paper fibres within the material.

These combs have all the benefits of a flat, unsealed Pearwood comb with none of the drawbacks.

Here is the side view of an off-cut piece that I snapped in half by hand - I had to use all my weight to break it in half!)

Here is the side view of a Hohner Marine Band Pearwood comb that I snapped in half by hand for comparison:

My Dark combs™ are made from an earth-friendly composite of 100 per cent recycled paper, resin produced from naturally occurring raw materials and selected natural pigments.

What happens when you overblow a hole with the SAME TONE on the blow and draw reeds? (Question by Zvika Dror Sparrow) This refers to an altered tuning where the notes of a Standard Richter harmonica are changed to open up new possibilities.

In this setting, if the reeds are not set up for overbends, you will get lots of squealing or as Winslow Yerxa puts it: "noises of unhappy protest."

If the reeds are properly set up, though, you can pop out an overbend.

This is slightly different than a conventional (two-reed) draw or blow bend where you need more than a semitone difference between the pitches of both reeds to "leave enough room" for a bend. For example, that's why there is no real draw bend on the 5 hole of a standard Richter diatonic.

Here's a harp that has some reed work which suppresses the ability of the reeds to squeal. This is hole five:

I applied some BluTak to the draw reed to temporarily drop the pitch to the same frequency as the blow reed. You hear both the blow and draw notes (same pitch but slightly different timbre) and the overblow.

I did the same thing (same harp) with the five six.

It didn't occur to me at the time to attempt and overdraw but I am assuming that if my overdraw technique on holes 5 and 6 were as good as my overblow technique, the note would have popped out just the same.

So, what happens when you overblow a hole with the SAME TONE on the blow and draw reeds?

Answer: The reed can overbend, albeit it's not as easy as when there is more room between the notes. It's a pretty crappy overbend. I would not ever sell a harp set up like this and claim it plays overblows well.

But.... science....

I'm now providing two types of screws for reed replacement in my reed replacement kit. I also include washers to make those reeds that just won't stand still behave.

All pieces are stainless steel and will never corrode. The Phillips head screw is 5mm long and easy to pick up with your fingers. You need to snip it off once it's in place. The flat head screw is much shorter and doesn't need to be trimmed - just set and forget. To make it easier to handle, you can dip the tip of your screwdriver in some Vaseline to make it stick!

An assortment of 75 pieces is included with the RRK. You can get more pieces here:

Extra Reed Replacement Screws

I have been excited to try Michelle LeFree's new 3D-printed Reed Replacer System (RRS) for over a week - It's been sitting at the post office waiting for me.

It's excellent.

The functional part of the system uses a groove whereas other systems use a hole to accept the rivet head. The difference is irrelevant to the end result. The advantage of the RRS is that it makes the job easy, offering a stable platform where everything is lined up. You don't feel like you need an extra set of hands to accomplish the task.

Here is a quick video:

To order one:

mlefree@silverwingleather.com

What makes a diatonic harmonica great?

Is it how loud it is? Is it Tone? How about how responsive it is?

Is it how fun it is to play? (and what does that even mean?)

Everyone has different criteria. Is there a way to measure how great a harp is without being biased?

I think so. I call it "The Assessment".

This test will not always produce the same numbers from person-to-person but the trend will be reproducible - the things that make a harp better will tend to make the numbers higher from person-to-person. When you can't rely on absolute numbers, trends are the next best way to go!

The Test:
Pick a standard riff from your repertoire. Make sure it uses bends in both holes 2 and 3 - these are the important holes to get set up right. If you use splits and chords often, pick a riff that includes them, too. As time goes by and you incorporate new styles of playing, your standard test riff should change too and reflect your style of playing.

- STEP 1: Play the riff at regular volume. Play it as many times as you need so that you can assign an score to the harp from 1 to 10 for tone and response.
1 is the worst harp ever and 10 is the best harp ever.
As a reference, most stock harps are a 5 at regular volume.

- STEP 2: Play it at the lowest possible volume. Play it as many times as you need so that you can assign an overall score to the harp for tone and response.
1 is the worst harp ever and 10 is the best harp ever.
As a reference, most stock harps are a 3 at low volume. **If you can't play this harp it at much lower volume than regular volume, the score is zero.

Add the two scores and divide by two.

Example:
Regular volume = 6
Quiet volume = 3

Total = 9/2 = a score of 4.5

Most performance-quality harps (not made in China) can be upgraded by one or two points with only a few minute's work.

Reproducibility: Everyone has different needs and tastes but the things you (or the factory) can do to make a harp get a higher score will mean that another person will tend to score the harp higher too. Players like a harp that responds well and sounds good.

The job of a harmonica reed is to turn breath into sound. Everyone likes a good return on the investment. We don't want to waste our breath and work too hard to achieve volume. For example, a reed with more mass or a thicker reed plate will create more volume but it also may require more work to play. It may play loud, but it may not be as responsive as another reed. It's more desirable for a reed to respond with ease and still produce lots of volume.

Also, a harp that is out-of-tune will always sounds bad, no matter now loud it can play.

Hohner is back to adding identifiers to their reed plates:

"We laser batch numbers on our reed plates, the number has no significant meaning."

i.A. Ciro Lenti
- Service Manager -
Hohner, Trossingen, Germany

In the past few years they had stopped using any identifier. Prior to that (Around 1998-2014) they stamped the date onto the plates like this:

I hope this clears things up!