RE: [Harp-L] breaking in marine bands

[Tinus <tinus@xxxxxxx>]

> regiment others use to break in or loosen up new marine 
> bands? Hopefully this 
> will start a little dialogue on the subject. 

I don't play marine bands as such but I do do something to new harps.
Although some highly respected harmonica technicians and players insist
that breaking in is not something that is really very usefull (unless it
is to get the player accustomed to a new harp with different reed setup)
I still have a little ritual I go through with a new set of reedplates:

I hook up the harmonica to my vacuum cleaner and then cover it with a
blanket.
The noise is horriffic and I can't stay in the room with it. After 30
minutes I turn the harmonica around so both the blow and draw reeds get
a good workout.

I feel that doing this loosens up the reeds nicely (I wax the rivetends
first, so they sometimes need a bit of loosening).
Sometimes a reed that isn't well centered in the slot (or has some other
weakness) breaks off during this process, so I'll have to put a new one
in.

Tinus
http://www.tenhole.com
http://www.overblow.com