Squeaks and Dave Mathews Band?

[Dick Anderson <anderson@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Hello All,  I just wanted to throw in my experiences with overblowing
(holes 1-6 on a Richter tuned 10 hole) and overdrawing, (holes 7-10).
Icepick, I think the squeaks you are getting with the Lee Oskar on your 3
draw bend is the same kind of squeak I get when trying to overblow a Lee
Oskar harp on hole 6.  It is a very metallic raspy sound that is not appealing.  
It sounds like your offset of your 3 draw reed may be causing the problem.
Here's why I think so:

Normal harp sounds are sounded by the closing reed, (the reed that would be
forced into the reed plate by the flow if air.)  Bends and
Overblows/Overdraws are sounded by the opening reed ( the reed that would
be forced away from the reed plate by the flow if air.)  (For the purists,
you can also bend a single closing reed such as found on a Chromatic harp, 
or valved Suzuki,but I digress.)

So, the draw bends and blow bends are sounded by the opposite reed.  For
example, the 3 draw bend is sounded by the blow reed and the 9 blow bend is
sounded by the draw reed.  You can see this by removing the covers and
stopping the opposite reed with your finger after you have bent the note.
There will be only a little difference in the sound.

The Overblows (Holes 1-6) and Overdraws (Holes 7-10) are also sounded by
the opposite reed.  So a 6 overblow is sounded by the 6 draw reed and the 7
overdraw is sounded by the 7 blow reed.  

On Lee Oskar harps, I have found that the squeak on 4,5 or 6 overblow is caused
by the blow reed.  Cover the blow reed and the squeak goes away.  The overblow
then sounds nicely.  This shows that the draw reed is responsible for the 
intendended tone of an overblow and the blow reed is responsible for the squeak.

So, the squeak comes from the closing reed going into a higher mode of
oscillation.  In your case, the 3 draw reed would be the closing reed for
the 3 draw bend and although it is not responsible for the sound of the
draw bend fully bent, it is probably the reason for the squeak.  

Try the 3 draw bend and then put your finger on the 3 draw reed. (the closing
reed on the outside of the reed plate.)  I'll bet the squeak goes away.
Then I would adjust the offset of that reed to be closer to the reed plate.
In general, squeaks on overblows result from too much reed offset while
slow starting or muting of the regular note results from too little offset.
Get it just right and you can turn some heads of those who think our
instrument is just a toy!!

And now for something completely different:
I heard a tune on a Boulder Colo. station the other day and I swear it was
John Popper.  Same riffs and style, but the lead singer wasn't John and the
band was announced as the Dave Mathews Band.  Anybody heard of them?  And
who's playin' harp?
nufsaid....    dick....

Dick Anderson  CCMO New Product Engineering    Telnet                 229-3110
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