Re: [Harp-L] reeds

[Mike Fugazzi <mikefugazzi@xxxxxxxxx>]

Wow, thank you so much for the high praise!  I do have a personal line at 
where I stop saying too much about customizing, but I think everyone should 
be able to feel comfortable gapping, arcing (to an extent), and tuning. 
 You should be able to flat sand and make a harp more airtight too.  These 
are all cheap and relatively easy (with practice) things to do.

Usually, I try to only share material that isn't originally my thinking if 
it is out there for public consumption freely.  I would highly recommend 
every harp player buying Rupert Oysler's DVD and Richard Sleigh's book.   

There is a ton of great info out there...a lot of great professional 
customizer/harp builder stuff too.  The keys to me, though, are putting 
together your "method" from available modifications, having clear 
expectations of what you are able to do or offer, and a boat load of 
practice.  I guess, for me, I am confident enough in my understanding and 
abilities to not feel overly intimidated by other builders, and I too, love 
to learn. 

On Thursday, September 27, 2012 10:58:02 AM UTC-5, Michelle LeFree wrote:
>
> Mike Fugazzi writes: 
>
> > I don't know if it is splitting hairs or not...and I don't know the 
> level 
> > of stress relative to reed shape or other modification - like making the 
> > harp more airtight - as I haven't measured them myself. 
> > 
> > Being that I personally don't blow many reeds, and I work towards making 
> > that harder for others to do on my customs, I guess my focus is more on 
> > response with the reed.  Technically, unless it is a sympathetic reed, 
> the 
> > reed has to have some level of arc to even sound.  If you look at a reed 
> > offset on a really high end custom, you'll see that there is a balance 
> of 
> > where the gap actually starts vs how the reed closes. 
> > 
> > If you take a toothpick, for example, and push the reed into the slot 
> near 
> > the tip, middle, and rivet, a very responsive reed will tend to close 
> > (enter the gap) at essentially the same time.  If you look at the 
> profile 
> > from the side, you'd also see that the gap starts well before the reed 
> tip, 
> > but generally isn't large enough for a wealth of light to pass through. 
> > 
> > This is all very hard to express via text and even harder with the 
> crappy 
> > video gear I have at home, lol.  Going back to the OP, if you are making 
> > sure the top of the reeds aren't entering the slot when at rest, 
> ensuring 
> > your gaps aren't too wide or tight, and your reeds are relatively flat, 
> you 
> > shouldn't have too many issues. 
> > 
> > A final comment to this post...When I gap a reed, I generally have my 
> > forefinger and thumb supporting the back 1/2 to 2/3 of the reed by 
> applying 
> > gentile pressure to keep the the back half of the reed from changing its 
> > gap.  I am doing a horrible job articulating this, but once you have the 
> > position of the reed set near the rivet pad, you want that to stay 
> stable 
> > and adjust the reed shape and offset from the front half of the reed. 
> > 
> > I*think*  we are explaining a similar thing.  That's where writing this 
> > stuff down is difficult.  I don't think there is a universal 
> understanding 
> > of some of the tier two vocabulary we use.  We talk about reed curves 
> and 
> > arcs, but don't have a constant reference of what is an arc, how much 
> that 
> > arc should or shouldn't be, etc. 
> > 
> > So I suppose the Idiot's Guide to Gapping least we need to know is you 
> want 
> > the reed entering the slot fairly simultaneously at all points, which 
> would 
> > require a relatively flat reed whose off set (gap) begins gradually from 
> > the reed pad and not abruptly from the reed tip. 
> > 
> > The issue with an abrupt curve, IME, is you lose response...I don't 
> think 
> > anyone is suggesting you do that, and AFAIK, any online or video 
> resources 
> > I've seen haven't show people in the know doing that, but I can see 
> where 
> > some explanations may confuse that. 
>
> Mike, you are are at once too self-deprecating and extraordinarily 
> generous with your knowledge and experience. 
>
> I have never been able to figure out whether pro harmonica customizers 
> have long been understandingly glib about revealing closely-held secrets 
> of the trade or just unable to articulate them. In this post, quoted in 
> its entirety out of respect, you have answered that question at least 
> for one well-known and highly respected pro. 
>
> Contrary to your insistence throughout that you "are doing a terrible 
> job of articulating this," IMO, this is one of the finest posts on this 
> subject I have seen in my decade of scrutinizing Harp-l for any post 
> that hinted toward this "holy grail" of reed customization. In fact, I 
> would go so far as to say that this kind of post and those discussing 
> the actual playing of our instrument are what I was hoping to find when 
> I first joined "the L." Unfortunately, these "golden kernel" posts are 
> few and far between herein. 
>
> I for one want to personally express my gratitude for offering such an 
> information-packed, "open-kimono" post in which you revealed hard-earned 
> details of your trade explained in terms most any harper can understand. 
>
> This, to me is one rare gem of an Hall of Fame Harp-L post! 
>
> Michelle 
>
> PS: For those interested in a similarly action-packed thread on the 
> general subject of how reeds bend (and fail), I highly recommend this 
> one on the Dirty-South Blues Harp forum: 
>
>
> http://www.modernbluesharmonica.com/board/board_topic/5560960/3113771.htm?page=1 
>
>
>