[Harp-L] Seydel low F

Chad Nordstrom chad.nordstrom@xxxxx
Wed Mar 1 12:59:24 EST 2023


I can attest to being a recovering “Harpbreaker”. 

I used to go through a D MBX every 6 months and A & C about once a year. I learned I was blowing to hard at Dave Barrett’s last Masterclass. I took a class from Dennis Gruenling and told me the same thing; you’re playing to hard and you need to use a larger amp. This does not mean playing louder per se, just let the amp do the work. It comes back to Hohner’s “Just Breathe” message. 

It took me about 2 months to “relearn how to play". To my surprise it is actually much easier to do this way. It is easier to hear, more tonal options, as well as better overall tone and richness. It is still easy to overplay, but I have only had one harp fail in the past 10+ years. 

Like many things in life, I just wish I learned this lesson much earlier. 

> On Mar 1, 2023, at 10:31 AM, Barbeque Bob Maglinte <barbequebobmaglinte at xxxxx> wrote:
> 
> Ron Burton, stainless steel reeds are an extremely tough metal and if
> you're able to blow them out quick, the problem is NOT the h armonica at
> all and unfortunately, the real problem you have is something you clearly
> aren't addressing at all and that's the amount of breath force you're
> playing with and it's clearly obvious that you're playing them way too
> hard, especially during the note bending process, where that problem always
> gets a helluva lot worse. In fact, the large box of blown out harps is
> giving you that very same message and so you need to dial it back at least
> 50% or it's gonna get worse and it will follow you with whatever harp you
> intend to buy no matter what. Based on gigging at least 4-8+++ nights per
> month usage, if you dial back the breath force, the minimum amount of time
> a stainless steel reed harp should last is TWO YEARS and with brass reeds
> it's one year.  BTW, if I remember correctly, Seydels are warrantied for
> two years. Time to stop blaming the harmonicas and work more on playing
> with a softer breath force.
> 
> On Tue, Feb 28, 2023 at 4:39 PM Gary Lehmann <gnarlyheman at xxxxx> wrote:
> 
>> Try a low F Manji, one year warranty!
>> 
>> Sent from my iPad
>> 
>>> On Feb 28, 2023, at 1:28 PM, Steve Shaw <moorcot at xxxxx> wrote:
>>> 
>>> At least 25 years ago I bought a Lee Oskar low F. It's far from my
>> most-used harp, admittedly, but it's still going strong, and I suppose that
>> the spare set of reed plates I bought for it,  just in case, will have to
>> go in my will...
>>> 
>>> Steve Shaw (stayin' alive!)
>>> 
>>>> On 28 Feb 2023, at 18:59, Ron Burton <aussierwb at xxxxx> wrote:
>>>> 
>>>> Hello friends and family of harmonica wizards,
>>>> I have just ruined (again) another diatonic that I use frequently, a
>> Seydel low F.  The first hole draw reed went flat.  I tried to tune it but
>> should have realized, having a BOX full of bones already, that the gentle
>> touch needed is just not my forte.  Any suggestions as to whether to send
>> it to a pro or just buy another.  Being on SS, like many of us, I have to
>> watch the expenditures...nevertheless, I need this harp...or any low F for
>> that matter.
>>>> 
>>>> Thanks in advance
>>>> Ron B  (long time watcher from the sidelines)
>> 



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