Re: Soaking and such

["RICHARD A. MURPHY 996-8630" <U14663@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

> Hey guys,
>
> There is a lot of junk written and you have to use your own brain to
> determine what will work.  I usually don't get into taking positions on
> harp issues since I figure everyone is entitled to their opinions, but when
> we are talking about fact, I've just got to jump in.
>
> First, soaking harps does nothing to the reeds.  The reeds are made of
> brass.  They are mounted to brass reed plates with steel rivets and no amount
> of water,beer, etc will cause them to "loosen"  (Unless you count the complete
> destruction of the rivet by rusting and then the reed would fall out or
> just wouldn't play.

I always thought that the soaking, in addition to swelling the wood of a
Marine band to plug the leaks, wets the reeds.  What I thought that did
was to add a very small amount to their mass and that that somehow made
them easier to blow; i.e. get a sound with less air being pulled
across/past the reed.  The read would be slightly thicker, due to the
thin layer of water.
Note: I'm note saying the brass gets thicker, but that the overall
thickness of the reed plus water film is thicker than the reed alone and
that that increased mass in some way helps.
Maybe someone who has done some work on harp reeds (tuning, etc.) can
comment on what the effect is when one adds to the mass of the reed or
maybe, as I guess might more be the case, what happens when one subtracts
from the mass of the reed.  I guess another possibility, along the line
of plugging holes, might be that the liquid fills in the gap between the
reed and the reed plate, and again one might need less air to get the
reed vibrating.  Maybe someone can comment on these possibilities, since,
contrary to what Dick Anderson says, I find that wetting (not soaking) a
Golden Melody (Plastic) makes it easier to play and the tone a bit
mellower.
> The action taking place when a harp is soaked is that any air leaks will be
> filled by the swelling wood comb on the Marine Band and other wood comb harps.
> This makes them play almost like a nice plastic or aluminum comb harp ;-).
> (my preference is showing) I've wanted to try a very thin coat of RTV
> Silicone rubber to seal up a Marine Band and see if the response would
> improve, but it would be a little messy and I just haven't done it.
>
> If you soak a plastic harp, you will plug some of the very small
> air leaks with the water, but it will soon be blown out.  Also, because
> your breath has lots of water vapor, the inside of a harp is usually damp
> anyway. (Unless you play all draw notes)  So soaking a plastic harp
> will make no difference in the sound or its response.
>
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|Richard A. Murphy          u14663@xxxxxxxxxxxx                   |
|University of Illinois     U14663@xxxxxxxxxxxxx                  |
|  at Chicago                                                     |
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