Re: [Harp-L] reed rattle or buzz

[Seth Galitzer <sethgali@xxxxxxxxx>]

Thanks to all who offered their advice on this.  After my panicked 
email, I did check out the archives and found a couple more good 
pointers.  Oh, and this is a Sp20 A, btw.

I knew the idea for the reed hitting the cover was probably not right. 
I've actually done that with my Sp20 G, so I know what that sounds like. 
 That was also due to me just drawing way too hard and not a flaw in 
the harp itself.  To make sure, I tried moderating my air as much as 
possible and still get a sound, and the buzz/rattle was still there.

So here's what I actually ended up doing.  A combination of embossing 
the slot, smoothing out the slot and reed edge, and realigning the reed. 
 For the embossing, I used a penny and used just enough pressure to 
make a noticeable mark on the edge of the slot.  Then I took a razor 
blade and went along the slot and reed edge to remove any burrs (visible 
or otherwise).  Then, after looking through the reedplate at a light 
source, I saw that one edge of the reed was just slightly closer to the 
slot edge than the other.  So I took a pair of pliers and *very* 
carefully applied a bit of pressure in the appropriate direction.  I'm 
sure it didn't move very much, but it seems to have been enough.

The good news is one or all three of these methods combined seem to have 
resolved the problem.  I was worried like hell about it, since I didn't 
want to wreck a brand new (expensive) harp a few hours before the gig. 
I was extremely careful, not wanting to exert too much pressure at any 
step.  I like to think I ended up very lucky in getting it resolved.

As it turns out, I got the buzz to go away and the harp worked great 
Saturday night.  The gig went great.  My friends who came (including my 
wife) said we sounded really good and my harp playing was completely 
tolerable.  I suppose that's all I can ask for.

Thanks again to everyone who gave me input, both on and off the list.

Seth

--
The beatings will continue until morale has improved.