Re: Fwd: [Harp-L] New to the list - fixing your Bushman Soul's Voice

["Kris Atha" <Kris.Atha@xxxxxxxxx>]

Thanks to Winslow, Alvin and others who replied off list. I'll give this a
shot.

Thanks again.

"Winslow Yerxa" <winslowyerxa@xxxxxxxxx> on Tuesday, May 23, 2006 at 3:59
PM -0600 wrote:
 Kris - 
 
 If a reed breaks off, it was already fractured. Brass is spring
 material and fairly pliable. You can break an otherwise undamaged
 reed, but it takes a fairly concerted effort and more violence than
 you might think.
 
 The reed that has gone flat may have life in it and might be tuned up
 by sanding a small amount off the surface of the reed near the tip -
 but not sanding the tip away; you don't want to shorten the reed, just
 make it thinner at a strategic point - tip to raise pitch, root to lower.
 
 A reed that has dipped slightly in pitch may be profitably re-tuned.
 However, a significant drop in pitch is another sign of a fractured
 reed that is about to break.
 
 As to replacement reeds, you can, as suggested by others, simply buy a
 new harp - of whatever model you prefer. Or you could:
 
 1) Replace the reedplate that had the broken reed if the manufacturer
 offers them - you can buy an individual blow or draw reedplate for the
 Soul's Voice:
 
 http://www.harpdepot.com/bush-dia.cfm
 
 2) Replace the dead reed with a good reed from another harp that has
 been put out of commission due to a different reed having died. The
 same key and model of harp is the best bet for finding a reed of the
 right size and pitch, though sometimes a cross-species transplant is
 possible. Reed replacement requires some skill, along with tools for
 punching out the tiny rivets in both the donor harp and the harp under
 repair, then accurately rerevieting the donor reed into the receiving
 harp. This is certainly learnable - if I can do it, anyone can - but
 may be beyond your willingness at this point.
 
 Winslow