[Harp-L] Manufacturers' Reed/slot Tolerances

[Brendan Power]

On the Burnishing/Swaging/Embossing thread, Bob Cohen asked:


"Why don't manufacturers machine the reed plates with tighter tolerances in
the first place?"

 

Gary replied: "Suzuki does".

 

Certainly Suzuki are better than they used to be 20 years ago. But if you
compare brands under the microscope as I do, from a dispassionate standpoint
I believe Hohner is currently the best in terms of out-of-the box reed/slot
tolerances. Their reedplates were going bad in the 70s/80s/90s, but since
their revamp of stamping machines and reed widths/lengths/profiles around
2004, reed/slot tolerances were consistently reduced across their range -
and Hohner reed response improved massively. 

 

Of course the Holy Grail is to be able to manufacture harmonicas with
comparable reed/slot tolerances to hand-customised harps. I guess that's
what Bob is driving at with his question, but no one has managed it - yet. I
wouldn't say it's impossible, just extremely difficult.

 

Possibly the adoption of new technology could push the envelope. The
respected accordion reed maker Harmonikas based in Louny Czechoslovakia uses
wire EDM to cut very precise reed slots, and they actually grade the
reedplates by the gap between reeds and slot in fractions of a millimetre.
There website is a treasure trove of reed-making info with excellent photos
and a fascinating factory video:

 

http://www.harmonikas.cz/en

 

Wire EDM is a slow and expensive way to make reedplates so I can't see it
being used in harmonicas, but technology is advancing apace. I believe it's
just a matter of time before someone finds a way to mass-produce harmonica
reedplates with custom-level reed-slot tolerances. That will be a
game-changer.

 

Brendan

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