Re: [Harp-L] problem: lowest draw reed clicks

[Pat Missin <pat@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Oliver Schoenborn wrote:
> 
>Hi folks, I have a low F Special 20 that I bought new a couple months
>ago. I noticed right when I first tried it that the lowest draw reed
>makes a clicking sound when I draw, and the sound goes away if I take
>the cover off, so I figure the reed is so bouncy it touches the cover.

Spot on. This is a common problem with low key harps.

>This is odd 'cause you'd think the Hohner engineers would be smart
>enough to make the cover higher for the lower key harmonicas. 

Lee Oskar do just that - harps in the key of A and below have a deeper
lower cover to give extra clearance to the lowest draw reeds.

>What's
>even weirder is that recently I noticed the same now happens with my G
>and C (I don't have A or B yet), but they definitely didn't use to do
>it. 

I bet they did, but now you're attention is draw towards it. Either
that or you are starting to play them harder. That said, it's not
usually too common with a C harp.

>So I'm wondering if there's a way of raising the cover (short of
>carving a wooden piece for it) for the low F, and if this signals the
>end of the lifetime for the G and C. Thanks,

You could raise the end of the cover, but then you would have to
reshape it to avoid cutting your lips on the edge of it (that's easy
to do if you happen to have a vice with 4" jaws). Alternatively, you
could simply put hammer dent in the cover where the reed hits it. A
neater solution is to place a valve over the blow reed slot, which
reduces the travel of the draw reed. It also messes up how the reeds
interact, preventing you from bending the draw note in the usual way.
An even easier solution is just to learn to play with less force.

Finally, if none of the above appeal to you, invest a few bucks in
some Turbolids:

http://www.turboharp.com/TurboLid.html

Good luck.

 -- Pat.