[Harp-L] Fatigue and Reed Life: An Objective Test?

["Brendan Power" <bren@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

The recent posts on reed materials, profiles, surface finish etc has
been interesting, with some fascinating contributions by knowledgeable
people such as Vern Smith. 
 
One thing that several are asserting is that stainless steel reeds (as
recently introduced by Seydel) have greater longevity than brass reeds.
Others report reed breakages with SS reeds that were repaired at the
Seydel factory. It's hard to know whether they really do last longer or
not or not.
 
It seems there is a lot of anecdotal evidence (but an equal amount of
factual uncertainty) about the reed longevity of different harmonica
brands that reminds me of another Great Harmonica Debate: the one over
comb materials. That one was put to a couple of pretty decisive
blindfold tests a few years ago.
 
If reedplate thickness could be eliminated as a factor, I wonder if an
objective test could be devised for reed life? The reeds that break on
diatonics depend on peoples' different playing styles, but there are
certain well-known ones that commonly fail before others: 5 draw and 7
blow (just a semitone above their respective opposite reeds, which don't
respond well to bending pressure), and 4 draw, which is bent a lot in
cross harp. 
 
Maybe a test could concentrate on just a couple of these reeds, mounted
on reedplates of the same thickness. To allow the test to be completed
in a short enough time, they would have to be subjected to some quite
brutal bending pressure.
 
Getting a single player to do all the tests would be a bit tricky, as
there would be tiny variations in his/her embouchure and breath pressure
over time that would invalidate the results. You could use several
testers and get an average, which would be quite a good way to get
convincing results under real conditions. Or maybe a mechanical bending
machine could be devised which subjected reeds to consistent heavy
repeated bending.
 
However it were done, it would be very interesting to get the results of
such a test. If the reeds of a certain brand came out a lot better or
worse, the factors that contribute to their superior longevity (or lack
of it) could be analysed more easily, and some of the confusion that
surrounds this topic would be dispelled.
 
Maybe SPAH or one of the other big festivals (Asia Pacific?) could
sponsor such a test? It would certainly get a lot of interest from
players around the world. Obviously all the participating manufacturers
(assuming they play the game!) would have to be absolutely satisfied
that the conditions were equal for all brands. 
 
It's complicated, but not impossible. Any thoughts on the best way to go
about it?

Brendan
WEB: http://www.brendan-power.com <http://www.brendan-power.com/>