Re: Quality control

[Pat Missin <pat@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Steve Shaw wrote:

>I like the robustness and longevity of LOs - but to be honest, I'd rather
>pay a bit more if it means better quality control. Anyone not into
>reed-tweaking would have had a real issue with this set of plates!

Wow! I find this really surprising as quality control on Lee Okars is
usually substantially better than on almost any other brand of harp. 

I've been keeping tabs on the tuning of all the new harps I work on
and the average deviation of LOs from 12TET based at A=443 (counting
both full harps and replacement reedplates) works out to be a little
over 1%. That's extremely impressive and with the possible exception
of Hering (although I've not worked on many Herings over the last
couple of years), no other brand even comes close to matching that
consistency of tuning. I've also found gapping to be similarly
consistent.

It could be that you've got a rogue pair of reedplates there (it
sounds as though they could have been damaged after leaving the
factory) and I strongly suggest you contact the company and bring it
to their attention. I know from personal experience that Lee takes
these things very seriously. Their customer support is one of the main
reasons that LO is my preferred brand of harp.

 -- Pat.