[Harp-L] reed rattle or buzz

[Seth Galitzer <sethgali@xxxxxxxxx>]

Hi all,

Wouldn't ya know it, I have to buy an emergency harp for a gig tonight
and I seem to have a problem with it.  When I play a draw 1, even very
lightly, I hear a loud buzz or rattle, like something is loose in
there.  It's a Special 20, and I paid way to much for it at my local
music store, but I had to have it for tonight.  I took off the covers
and reed plates and didn't see anything obviously broken or dislodged,
though I've never done this sort of thing before so I could have very
well missed something.  I did notice the following detail: when I put
the reed plates on by only fastening the two outer-most reedplate
screws, the buzzing did not appear.  As soon as I added one more
reedplate screw (anywhere) or the covers (by holding them on), the
buzz came back.  I tried covering up other reeds with the covers off
to see if I could make the buzz go away, but no such luck.

Anybody got any ideas that might help correct this before gig time?
I've never done maintenance work before, so I can't do any decent
gapping or embossing in a hurry.  I need this harp for tonight and
will play with it in its current state if necessary.  I also just paid
nearly $50 for it (!) and don't want to wreck it.  I know I'm asking a
lot, but I'm desperate.  Any advice is welcome.

Thanks.
Seth

-- 
The beatings will continue until morale has improved.