Re: [Harp-L] reeds

[Vern <jevern@xxxxxxx>]

IF a reed is straight at rest, then it must bend downward into a curve to enter the slot.  All of the bending can not and should not occur right at the rivet end.  The bending and the stress that it causes need to be spread over the length of the reed for longer life.  If the reed has a gentle upward curve, (tangent to the plate at the rivet and passing through the upper extent of the gap) then it straightens out as it bends down to enter the slot.  Thus the initially-curved reed seems best to meet the flat-when-it-closes door analogy.

Sissy Jones' method makes a lot of sense to me.  Before she retired, she probably gapped more reeds in a day than most of us do in a year.

The truth may be that it doesn't make much difference and we are splitting hairs

Vern


On Sep 26, 2012, at 10:24 AM, Mike Fugazzi wrote:

> The correct way is whatever works for you.  I think some terms like reed 
> arc/curve are misleading, as the goal initially was to REMOVER the 
> arc/curve.  At any rate, my preference is straight with the gap coming from 
> an angle towards the back of a reed.  Richard Sleigh does a fantastic job 
> describing this in his book.  I've see the analogy of a closing door 
> credited to Joe Filisko.  That is a good way to think of it too.
> 
> If you look at a current stock harp, you'll see that they are fairly flat 
> to begin with, but often vary in how they sit within the reedslot.  As a 
> general rule of thumb, I've found that flat reeds gapped approximately the 
> width of the reed tip is a good starting point.  I say general, as factors 
> such as key of the harmonica and the force with which you play is going to 
> influence your gaps.
> 
> 
> 
> On Wednesday, September 26, 2012 11:10:36 AM UTC-5, Brian Stear wrote:
>> 
>> As I’ve actually just started to take to gapping my harmonicas ( funny, 
>> I’ve always tuned the octaves and such and didn’t think about gapping ) I 
>> too, would like to know the correct way. I’ve seen them straight, and 
>> straight with a slight curve from 1/2 the way up on the reed. Thank God 
>> they play either way! Maybe Steve Baker or someone else from Hohner, 
>> Suzuki, etc. can set us “newbies” straight. 
>> 
>> Brian 
>>