Re: [Harp-L] making my own "melody maker" - question

["John Kerkhoven" <solo_danswer@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Thanks G, for the encouraging response.

The melody maker mod was successful.

It turns out that raising the 3 blow reed a tone was the easiest part.
Raising the 5 and 9 draws a half step was more tricky because there's less
metal to work with. But it works. And I really like the sound.

For those who haven't tried a Melody Maker tuning, I recommend checking it
out.

John




> Hi John,
>   Go for it.  A couple of semitones is usually no problem with blow hole 3
> reed.
> Melody Maker(tm) is a practical tuning to do yourself.  For low reeds of
> most harps its more work to replace them than to retune the existing reeds
> a few semitones.
>
>   When replacing reeds, use reeds that are the same dimensions, in many
> cases you can find reeds of the same dimension that are higher or lower in
> pitch to the reed you are replacing.  Sometimes because of the rivet hole
> location, they may not seat center, in which case you need to enlarge the
> REED's rivet hole (not the reedplate's), to allow some adjustment as you
> progressively tighten the rivet.
>
>   Its a bit more work but you can use longer reeds for replacement, as
long
> as they are the same width.  Then you can carefully trim the reed to
proper
> length using an equalling file, supporting the reed with feeler stock or
> similar, but it can be time consuming, and you need to keep checking
> regularly as you bring it down to size.
>
> Cheers,
> -- G.
>