Re: [Harp-L] Customized Reeds

["Vern Smith" <jevern@xxxxxxx>]

For many harmonicas you can find replacement tools, 
reedplates and individual reeds at www.harponline.de
You mention that Hohner sells individual reeds.

I have made reeds but have failed to do so for a reasonable 
price.

If you must buy complete  chromatic plates or sets of Seydel 
reeds, it helps to know that all of the reeds in a hole are 
the same length.  That means that there are four reeds in 
every chromatic set that will fit in the slot of the bad 
reed.  After I use the exact match, I use the reed a 
half-tone higher than the failed reed.  This doubles the 
number of useable reeds on a pair of chromatic plates or in 
a set.  When cannibalizing an old chromatic, a  "black key" 
reed from the bottom plate will likely have had much less 
use than the exact "white key" match.

Vern


----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Robert Coble" <robertpcoble@xxxxxxxxxxx>
To: "Harp-L" <harp-l@xxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Thursday, June 04, 2009 8:00 AM
Subject: [Harp-L] Customized Reeds



I have often seen requests on this list and other harp 
related lists)asking about sources for individual reeds, 
rather than for replacementreedplates (which are available 
from the major manufacturers).
In your opinion, is there a sufficient potential market to 
make it worthwhile (as in, possible to recoup at least the 
investment) trying to set up a small business which 
specializes in selling reeds? I keep hoping someone (other 
than ME!) will attempt this, but so far, no one has tried 
it. I know that some people have made their own reed-making 
machinery, so that is possible (although not commercially 
viable in extremely small quantities).
There are two potential sources of reeds: the major 
manufacturers and customized reeds. I know Hohner will sell 
reeds at a reasonable price (about $2.50 each?). Seydel will 
sell a complete set of reeds for specific models but the 
price is only somewhat reduced from the price of a set of 
reedplates. To the best of my knowledge (which is limited at 
best), no other manufacturer will sell individual reeds. I 
am unaware of any source(s) for customized reeds.
There are also possibly different reed types: stock reeds 
from amajor manufacturer, reed "blanks" (which would be 
rough approximations in terms of length/width/thickness and 
requirework by the customer, and customized reeds which 
would be tunedand set up for the customer before shipping. 
These last two options could also include a variety of reed 
materials such as reed brass, stainless steel, phosphor 
bronze, etc. This option could require having the machinery 
to make the reeds as well as the facilities to 
customizethem. (And I haven't forgotten how much TIME goes 
into that process.)
I've done reed replacement for some time on my own harps 
(and alsofor some members of my harmonica club). I can 
substitute reeds thatare identical, or modify reeds that are 
not close to fit as needed and itworks. However, it is much 
more time consuming than having theproper size reed to use 
as a replacement. It's frustrating to have aharp set up the 
way I want to play it, and then blow out a reed--having no 
readily available source for a replacement reed except 
toscavenge from an old harp. (If one is NOT available, I 
have to eitherbuy a set of reedplates or buy another 
harp--and then redo all my work on all the reeds.) I 
actually have just a few more harps than two complete sets, 
one Seydel and the other Lee Oskar. Needless to say, the 
reeds between Seydel and Lee Oskar are not one-for-one 
replacements.
I do realize that there is an enormous number of reeds that 
would have to be stocked, even for one manufacturer. 
However, I think (based onmy own playing experience, but I 
have no way to confirm this) that not every reed in every 
model of harp has the same failure rate, i.e. thereeds that 
most often fail are a small subset of the total reeds. 
Thereeds for every possible model also would not necessarily 
have to be kept on hand; just having replacement reeds for 
the most often blownout reeds for a few models for every 
major manufacturer at areasonable cost with a quick 
turnaround would seem like somethingthat would be desirable 
(BUT possibly NOT supported financially) by the harp 
community. The overall inventory of every model could be 
built slowly over time. Customers would include 
(potentially) customizers as well as average Crazy Bobs 
(like me) who replace their own reeds or would like to 
experiment with various tunings and reed profiles 
andmaterials without having to buy complete harps or sets of 
harps.
Another option would be to sell a complete 
customer-specified customset of reeds at a reduced price 
(compared to the cost of the individual reeds).
What would you consider to be a "reasonable" price for:(1) 
Reed "blanks" (just length/width/thickness with no work done 
on it).(2) Reeds from a manufacturer.(3) Customized reeds 
made of a designated material.(4) A customized (made to 
order) set of reeds in your choice of material.
As an example, I'd like to get individual Seydel stainless 
steel reeds toexperiment with as replacements for brass 
reeds, without having to buy a complete set (which, so far, 
don't seem to be available). I don't mind paying a premium 
per reed, but I don't want to have to buy 19 reeds I don't 
want in order to get the one reed I DO want.
As one of my daughters tells her kids, "W-a-a-a-h, it sucks 
to be you."
TIA for your consideration and thoughts,Crazy Bob
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