[Harp-L] more than you ever wanted to know re my new Seydel 1847 (long)

[Captron100@xxxxxxx]

10 days ago I received from Rupert Oysler a  Seydel 1847 in the key of Bb.  
Fwiw, I will offer my impressions.  Let  me preface this by saying that 
although I've been playing 40 years, I'm not  familiar with a lot of the brands 
available.  The great majority of harps  I've played have been Hohner Special 20's 
and Marine Bands, followed by a few  Lee Oskars.  And, all of the following is 
imho:
General info --  This is the new Seydel 160th year anniversary harp  with the 
maple wood comb.  It is the first and only harp mfg'd with  stainless steel 
reeds, lately touted by some great players on Harp-L  as best out-of-the-box 
harp they have ever played.  The hope is  that the SS reeds will last 5 times 
longer than brass  reeds.  The price is $85 + $6 shipping.  At this time there 
are only 4  keys available - A, C, Bb, and G.  Thanks to Rupert for assuring me 
that my  harp was up to par, so I am confident that it is a good 
representation if this  new Seydel  product.    
   Tone - to me, my 1847 sounds closer to  a Hohner than, say, a Lee Oskar.  
But there is no harp who's  tone I object to.  I'm more interested in 
playability, which is  the reason I buy custom harps and tweak my own, mostly Special 
20's because they  are put together with screws instead of nails.
Tuning --  The tuning appears to be a sweet chording Just Intonation.  My 
tuner  shows most notes sharp by approximately 20 cents, except draws 6 and  10, 
which my tuner says are sharp about 30 cents.  Blows 2 & 5 is at 0  cents, as 
is 3 draw.  Most octaves play nicely in tune with no  objectionable beats, tho 
i do hear some beating between the 3 and 7 draw octave  and between the 4 and 
8  draw octave, a trait that seems common even in new  harps.  I'm not an 
expert about harp tuning -- perhaps this is even  necessary or intended as part 
of the overall tuning scheme.   Comments?
Reed plate edges -- I find no problems, as someone  recently commented, about 
sharp edged reed plates protruding at the front, a la  the MB and other wood 
combed harps.  But to me this has never been a  problem, possibly because I 
don't tilt the harp much in my mouth.  The  cover screws remove quickly, and a 
few wipes of the front edges of the  reedplates on steel wool or appropriate 
abrasive papers should take care of this  if it is a problem.  I don't use the 
boxes that harps come in, nor will I  ever use the polishing cloth that comes 
with Seydel harps. If I had a choice, my  preference would be for Seydel to cut 
costs by omitting the polishing cloth,  then use the savings to take the time 
in the manufacturing process to round  off any existing sharp reed plate  
edges.  
  The reedplates are attached to the comb with  screws, making disassembly 
easy and possible, I assume.  (I  don't want to do that to my harp if I don't 
have to.)
Covers -- The 1847 is a tiny bit more bulbous at the  mouthpiece than an MB 
and SP20 but it is hardly noticeable and not  objectionable.  Otherwise the 
1847 is much the same size as the two  Hohners.  The total length of the 1847 
falls between that of a Lee  Oskar and a Marine Band or Special 20, meaning that 
the LO is the longest of the  three.
The covers are totally open at the rear.   In a trait that they share with 
MB's, they have no center support as  do SP20's, LO's, and the other Seydel 
models that I own.  The  covers seem stronger than MB covers and are more  than 
strong enough to prevent crushing during normal  playing, imo.  Tho without a 
center support, crushing could occur, as  another reviewer pointed out.  (Don't 
sit on your harps.)  A partial fix, tho unnecessary  IMO, would be if the 
reedplate screws at the rear of the harp were  long enough to touch the inside of 
the lower cover.  This would  prevent crushing at least one of the covers, the 
lower  one.
  The very end of the covers are closed, not open  as on a MB.  They are made 
of a chrome plated ferrous metal to which a  magnet will attract.  
Unfortunately, unlike the couple of $18 Hering Blues  harps I own (nice harps, once 
gapped), the 1847's covers are not SS, nor are  they claimed to be.  Gotta cut 
costs somewhere, I  guess.  The raw edges on mine have started to rust at  the 
mouthpiece, tho i don't expect it to ever be a problem for me,  although it may 
affect the taste if a player has extremely sensitive taste  buds.  This 
happens with all harps with ferrous  covers and rusting has never really been much 
of a problem  for me.  
   Reeds and gaps -- A quick look under the covers of  the 1847 shows tight 
tolerances and handsome reed profiles -- low at the  base, with flat, not 
curved reeds.  The first 4 holes' gaps seem to be a  bit high for me, which makes 
the harp play less responsively than the harps that  I am used to.  The reeds 
seem to be of the same width but just a tiny bit  shorter than the Hohner 
handmade series (SP20, MB) reeds, which might enable  reed to be replaced with a 
Hohner brass reed with only a slight modification in  length.  This is just 
speculation -- Rupert would probably  know.
My 1847 seems to be set up to be played very hard  without any notes choking 
(not playing), yet it is still possible to play some  overblows.  I was 
recently surprised to see in his instructional video that  Adam Gussow typically 
*increases* the gaps on his new harps!  So no doubt  other players would find the 
gapping of my 1847 perfect as is.   Despite my 1847 being a bit airy on the 
low end, in general the  playing response is very nice and even throughout the 
entire range of the  harp.
Overblowing -- it OB's on the important holes 4, 5 and 6  although not quite 
as easily as I like or am used to.  I could  get used to the 5 and 6 OB's if I 
had to, but  the 4 hole OB doesn't work to my satisfaction -- I won't be  
able to use the 4 OB in a gig situation the way it is.  An inspection of  the 
gaps reveals that my problem may be that the 4 hole blow might be a tad  high.  
Additionally, I am not able to get the hole 1 OB (the missing note  necessary 
to play the full chromatic scale on the low octave).  Nor am I  able to get 
either of the two OD's necessary to play a high octave chromatic  scale -- the 7 
and 9 hole OD.   
I should point out  that although I don't consider myself an expert in the OB 
or OD department,  I can do them much easier on one harp especially that I 
tweaked  myself.  I can also do them on a Seydel Black Blues Fav. which  has 
been customized by Rupert.  These are the most responsive  harps I own.  And with 
them I can play all 3 full chromatic  scales.  To look at it another way, 
Rupert's customized  harp is less airy, more responsive, plays the OB/OD's  
better, and in general is a better playing harp than my new 1847 at a cost  of only 
a few more bucks than the 1847.  But it doesn't have SS  reeds.
Comb -- The wood comb is sealed and has no perceptible  taste.  The spacing 
between the reeds is slightly further apart than the SP  20's, MB's, and LO's 
that I am used to, therefore the length total spread  between holes 1 thru 10 
is about 4mm longer.  My experience and logic tell  me that larger hole spacing 
will make a harp play slightly slower, though the  difference in this case 
will no doubt be all but imperceptible.  The ends  of the wood tines between the 
holes are rounded off for sensitive tongued  tongue blockers. That never 
mattered to me, but this 1847 does have a nice  feel on the tongue.  I am still 
not convinced that for me a wooden comb is  the best choice.  I like the way 
reedplates in plastic combs are  recessed for an airtight seal, and what with the 
effects of the  sun and heat on wood down here in south Florida, I dread the 
possible problems  of drying and shrinking in the future.  It gets hot as an 
oven down  here, so I do not leave cherished wooden combed harps (or my dog) in 
the  car.
Later, I will probably re-gap  the lower end of my  1847, starting on the 4 
hole blow.  I'd like to ask our harp techs who  own 1847's, like Tim Moyer and 
Rupert, who is a Seydel rep as well as a  great customizer, three questions if 
they would like to  share:   1. How and what do they do to tweak their own  
1847's?   2. Are there any special problems when working with the SS  reeds? -- 
I'm wondering if those of us who are compulsive about playability  might be 
better off with brass reeds which are easier to work  with.   3. I know a 
phillips head screwdriver works, but what is  the proper driver(s) for removing the 
cover plate screws of  Seydel 1847  harps?
In summation, my 1847 is a very nice harp.   Whether it is the best stock 
harp manufactured today, I am not qualified to say  - my familiarity to new stock 
harps is too limited.  Value is a subjective  question, and in some part 
determined by longevity and by  whether players are willing to put in the time to  
tweak their own harps for optimum playability.  If the 1847 lasts  five times 
as long as other harps, the 1847 may be a good choice because it  plays above 
average right out of the box.  But no stock harp can  totally eliminate the 
benefits of customization -- our individual  playing styles are just too 
different. 
Ron - FL Keys 





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