Harmonica Reedwork Masterclass

[@BrightBlueJim]

WOW! What a treasure chest of knowledge. This was exactly what I was hoping to find, without actually expecting to find it.

[@ikust007]

Such an excellent technical and detailed video . Thank you

[@prodoverjeff2876]

I am both a machinist and a harp player, about 50 years at both, and did both as paid work. Everything in this video makes sense. My thanks to Mr. Winston

[@49684]

You sir are a GEM 💎, what a wealth of valuable information as well as great historical history of Hohner. 😊💪👊

[@Fabios-br]

Hi Rick, greetings from Brazil! Very good video. I liked a lot. Thanks for posting. Keep doing it, it's not every day that I find somebody who worked for Hohner! 😁

[@danmarchuk3617]

You are a companion for all who want to know a little more about our wonderful musical instrument.

[@trudyprescott8714]

Again an amazing contribution to our communal knowledge brought by the 'limitations' of lockdown. Silver Cloud. Much needed. Much appreciated. Now and going forward. From our respective perches amidst the storm all around.

[@ChampionOrchestra]

Monumental piece of work, thank you Rick!!!

[@212sean]

Wow, this video is GOLD! So many great pieces of information as well as historical knowledge. Thank you so much for posting this. Looking forward to seeing more and joining the next live stream.

[@MrSupersidewinder]

Wonderful share, great to see a craftsman at work!!! Using solder and the graphite resist was awesome. So many folks are using blue tack or white out, I'm old school like you!!!😁

[@stimmrad]

Thanks for that. I use solder for permanent retuning, but I also use blue tack for temporary jobs , to try out new tunings or when out on the road. Back in the 70s I used powdered brass mixed with beeswax, after reading that the Chinese used to use a powdered lead and beeswax mixture to tune the sheng. Got the blue tack idea from Brendan Power; it's much easier than powdered brass and beeswax.

[@MrSupersidewinder]

@@stimmrad I play kalimba as well and tune it with tiny magnets.... This allows me to play in 5 different keys and to do some key changes with custom tunings... I need to make a video about it as I haven't seen anyone else doing this...🤪🎶🎵👍

[@danielroy185]

So great infos Rick !! Thanks Daniel

[@vortex187vortex187]

thank you you Rick for passing the torch of knowledge!!! a++++++

[@stimmrad]

Sorry @PhilipCatley, I seem to have lost your comment regarding fixing the reedplate to the work surface during chamfering, as shown at 17:00. Thanks, this might be a good idea. Bear in mind though that the reed is to be chamfered from four directions: forward and backward for the sides, and to the right and left for the tip. This will require that whatever surface the reed is fixed to will need to be movable. @PhilipCatley At 17:00 when you are working the reed would the plate be more stable if you put a nail through the screw hole. Ie it’s slipping when you hold it with your fingers

[@CathalJohnsonHarmonicas]

Great workshop Rick, enjoyable and very informative!

[@ikust007]

Thank you profoundly Sir.

[@MeteCanKarahasan]

Oh my God! What an amazing history lession about materials @55:00!

[@AdamWestUS]

If you are reading this comment, watch till the end! So many great nuggets of knowledge here. Thank you so much rick! Also what is the chef you spoke of that shared recipes online?

[@TheSalinski]

Excellent lessons. Thank you!

[@thomasgriffin8755]

Love your knowledge and work.

[@stimmrad]

👍

[@ResonantHarp]

Awesome. I really appreciate this!

[@ajfedor]

Hi Rick! Long time no see! Great stuff, bro. Should be required viewing for all players.

[@stimmrad]

Hey AJ, thanks, great to hear from you!

[@abramelinthemage3894]

Every day is a school day. Thank you harp master flex

[@WilliamonWheels]

Huge Respect to you sir for sharing the knowledge 🫡

[@ikust007]

38:52 brilliant . Thank you

[@TechTins_Projects]

Rick this videos and your others are like gold. So useful. Some quick y/n questions. I have two harps both have the the 4 draw reeds blown. 1. Can I assume that removing the 4 blow reed on one and after replacing it into the 4 draw position of the other harp I only need to sharpen it to tune into a 4 draw. 2. Also could I use a 3 draw reed cut it smaller and also tune it as 4 draw reed. 3. Can ! also do same for 2 and 1 hole reeds turned them into a 4 draw reed.

[@stimmrad]

Hi there, Sorry for the delay. 1. Yes, on a standard 10-hole, the 4-blow reed will work tuned up in the 4-draw position. 2. A 3-draw reed will work cut down to the 4-position, with some key harps possibly easier to manage than others. 3. 1 and 2 hole reeds, especially in the lower keys, can be quite thin in the back half of the reed, requiring the front of the reed to be filed too thin to bring it up to the pitch of a position 4 reed and still maintain a strong tone. If possible, I would choose a reed closer in position to the reed needing replacing. But, as reeds 1 and 2 rarely wear out, there’s nothing to be lost in trying.

[@stimmrad]

Note that Hohner diatonic and chromatic reeds come in two widths, the lower reeds being 2.1mm wide and the higher reeds 1.9mm. Doesn’t work to put one into another’s position.

[@TechTins_Projects]

@@stimmrad Thanks for this. Really appreciated.

[@jamesmora100]

Thank you for the video I’m new to chromatic harmonica and harmonica is in general I took mine apart and found that on top of some of the reads they had a plastic cover like a plastic grease how does that work? Maybe there’s another video that addresses that. I appreciate your work

[@stimmrad]

Thank you for message. The little PVC plastic strips are a kind of check valve, usually called windsaver valves. They are important for the harmonica’s compression and response, as well as for enabling single-reed bending in both chromatics and diatonics. They can require some maintenance from time to time. My video, “Voicing, Valving & Tuning” discusses valves at 18:17.

[@padejjaroon1140]

great..Thank you so much

[@TechTins_Projects]

At 28:00 you describe embossing but then show it as running the 100mm radius push tool over the reed only. I thought embossing was done on the reed slots and not the reeds themselves. I am confused. Could you clarify

[@stimmrad]

The 100mm tool is pushing the reed into the slot and then going on to emboss the top edge of the slot. I only do this about halfway along the reed. Were I to do it for the half closest to the rivet, it could force the reed too far into the slot, changing its set and possibly straining it. When determining how far back to apply this technique, gently work the tool back from the free end until you start to feel resistance. It’s a matter of practice to know how far back and with how much pressure to use this tool. Finishing embossing the rest of the reed slot requires a different tool and technique.

[@TechTins_Projects]

@@stimmrad Thank you very much, that now makes sense. So last part can not be embossed using this tool.

[@tandemwings4733]

Its not 100mm radius, its 10mm. 100mm is like four inches.

[@bluntwhite5935]

Another big thank you for sharing. Now a question about embossing for improving brightness (upper partials) without going to far. What's your thinking on only embossing the end of the reed slot (omitting the sides entirely). Reasoning the tip of the closing reed generates most of the sound. Thank you again

[@stimmrad]

You could start with embossing only the tip of the reed slot and see what effect it might have, but I expect it will be fairly minimal. All Hohner chromatic and diatonic reeds except for MS are tapered; wider at the base and narrower at the tip (MS reeds have parallel sides), while all slots have parallel sides. If you don’t get a desired result from only embossing the tip, then try embossing to halfway or so back from the tip. In addition to creating the desired sharp edge along the slot, it will help close the gap between the reed and slot where it is widest. After that, try chamfering the reed itself before going on to embossing the slot sides all the way back. A sharp edge along the reed has the same effect as a sharp edge along the slot. Here’s some information about chamfering: docs.google.com/document/u/0/d/1hHeMSL1Pt3MV2U9HWGoPBCYicfukRP6W09CpfVssinU/mobilebasic?pli=1

[@bluntwhite5935]

Never thought to measure the widths of the reeds/slots. Just measured some... always nice to learn something new! Regarding chamfering, I read your research report a long time ago and have chamfered my reeds ever since, just like in Formula One, low drag rules. For chamfering I use one of Richard Sleigh's draw scrapers. My embossing technique has always been all the way around, thanks to your suggestion going to change it up a bit. Really appreciate the advice. Thank you @@stimmrad

[@jasperblues1231]

Thank you!

[@norfolknwhey4787]

Do you ever do a full slot reed profile? I see a lot of customizers bending the reed down into the slot near the rivet, and then re-shaping the reed to curve back out of the slot. It’s supposed to maximize air flow and get rid of the leaking near the rivet.

[@stimmrad]

By profile do you mean reed curvature? Always. For the quickest response, the reed should cut off the airflow as it passes through the slot, along the entire length of the reed, all at the one time. This can only be achieved by adjusting the curvature of the reed appropriately. In the organ building trade this is part of what’s known as reed voicing. Responsiveness can be improved further by reducing the duration of the period when the airflow is cut off in the slot; that is, by reducing the length of time between the pulses of air that produce the sound wave. This can be done by reducing both the thickness of the reed slot and that of the reed tongue at their edges of close contact, the reed slot by embossing and the reed tongue by chamfering. All the above procedures- voicing, embossing and chamfering, can, in addition to improving responsiveness, increase the strength of the upper partials, producing what might be called a crisper, brighter, thinner, or shriller tone. So it’s a judgement call as to how far to pursue these procedures in order to find the desired balance between tone and responsiveness.

[@norfolknwhey4787]

@@stimmrad my main goal for working on my harps is to be able to access more overblows and overdraws. I am able to melodically use the 6ob by adjusting the reed gapping and some light embossing, it’s the overdraws that I can’t achieve yet. I’ve been able to use a lot of your tips to get to where I’m at now, including the strobe tuner. I really appreciate all your time and effort sharing this knowledge with us. I’m an aspiring customizer, so your wisdom is greatly appreciated.

[@norfolknwhey4787]

Do you sell that reedplate table? I’d love to buy one, it would make life so much easier!

[@bluntwhite5935]

What's your thinking on making a Long Slot D from Db harp? Would seem to be a simple retune (no solder). Would value your opinion on whether it's worth the effort to try it. Thank you

[@stimmrad]

I have a factory-made Special 20 D long slot. As might be expected, the low end is a little beefier and the high end a little duller and less responsive. If you play mostly at the low end, you might give it a try. When the MS reeds were first developed, the current MS short slot reeds were the long slots, with a short slot scale above it. The short slot high end played brilliantly, even the top reeds of the F#, but the long slot low end, which was shorter than the Classic long slot, lacked the power that Hohner reeds are known for. So a new, longer long slot scale was produced, called “Super Long Slot”. I only wished that they could have kept the old short slot, providing three slot scales, but knew it would be economically infeasible, and a strong tone would be, for most players, more important than high end response for the highest couple of keys.

[@bluntwhite5935]

That's deep. I've always wanted to try a frankenharp project, maybe a long slot D will be the one. If I'm reading your reply correctly it would be... long slot Db MS plates for holes 1-6 retuned up to D. For holes 7-10 MS D plates. And I've been looking for an excuse to purchase a jewelers saw! The economics don't make sense but it would be a good challenge. Something to think about for sure. Thank you for the reply and sharing. So nice to have the resources we have today with KZbin. When I started playing back in 1969 it was the dark ages. All the best, Blunt White, Stonington CT. @@stimmrad

[@stimmrad]

Before you go that far, try just tuning up the entire Db plate. Filing up the highest reeds, even by one semitone, will leave them pretty thin at the tip, which will improve their response. The pitch neutral point for most reeds is about 1/3 the way back from the tip, so utilise all that area when raising the pitch in order to maintain an even gradient in the reed profile. Another idea to try might be to cut down a set of D MS plates to fit your Classic comb. The reed length gradient on MS is steeper than on Classic. Check these approximate reed lengths of positions 1 and 10: MS long slot 17.2 - 8.4 Classic long slot 16.7 - 8.8 Classic short slot 14.8 - 7.6 MS short slot 16.2 - 7.7 The MS short slot is not far off the Classic long slot in the low end and not far off the Classic short slot in the high end. Cutting all four sides of an MS plate to fit a Classic comb will bring the reeds closer to the front of the mouthpiece, improving response over that on an MS comb.

[@nihalfernandosrilankanharm6655]

Hi please tel me I am playing harmonica chromatic c 12 hol but no 10 hol only dro not blo why

[@stimmrad]

Hi Fernando, Was it working and in tune the last time you played it? If so, then the plastic valve on the outside of the #10 hole might be stuck to the reedplate with saliva sediment. Remove the covers and carefully lift the free end of the valve with a blade to free it. You can instead insert the blade under the cover without removing the cover, but for your first time I would recommend removing the cover so you can better see what you are doing. If this does not solve the problem and tapping the harmonica against your leg (with the covers on) does not free the reed then there might be a foreign particle stuck between the reed and its slot. It can often be removed without removing the reedplates from the comb but I would not recommend practicing this on an expensive harmonica. Safer to remove the reedplates from the comb then examine the problem reed and give it a little pluck. If this does not solve the problem then the reed might be damaged and need replacing. If lifting the valve solves the problem then you might consider periodically cleaning the reedplates. I clean mine in an ultrasonic cleaner like this: www.amazon.co.uk/FLOUREON-Ultrasonic-Stainless-Professional-Eyeglasses-600ml/dp/B0744GDJ3C/ref=asc_df_B0744GDJ3C/?tag=googshopuk-21&linkCode=df0&hvadid=309816033027&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=1032353182695167697&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=m&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=1007850&hvtargid=pla-563231558784&psc=1 I use warm water with a few drops of dishwashing liquid. Don’t use hot water as it might damage the valves. Best regards, Rick

[@LILFROSTY1996]

Can you make a video on how to set up the 3 draw bend on an A harp

[@stimmrad]

Setting up the reeds for the 3-draw bend is no different really than setting up all the other reeds. I cover reed setup, or voicing, in my "Voicing, Valving & Tuning" video. Set the reed offsets for the blow and draw reeds as low as possible without causing them to choke when you play at your loudest. This degree of offset can vary from player to player. The offset of the 3-blow reed is just as important for the 3-draw bend as that of the 3-draw reed. Bending the 3-draw note can feel different and maybe a bit more fussy than bending the 2- or 4-draw notes because the 3-blow reed is tuned four semitones lower than the 3-draw reed. While this means that you can bend the 3-draw note much deeper than the others, it also requires more accuracy to get an in-tune bend of one or two semitones.

[@jezilmehta]

Dear sir, Does Harmonium and Harmonica have similar reed adjustment . As in my harmonium many times there is buzzing sound , which also hampers while tuning 🙏

[@stimmrad]

Hi Jezil, Harmonium and harmonica reeds are similar in their adjustment but buzzing can be due to different causes. Harmoniums do not have the windsaver valves, or reed valves, that can cause buzzing in harmonicas and accordions, so the problem is something else. If a reed is not properly centred in its slot it might buzz. Sometimes it might only buzz if the reedplate is cold, and will stop buzzing when warm. But if the buzzing is happening with many different notes, there might be something loose somewhere. It could be a loose reedplate, but it could also be anything at all, such as a loose screw or bracket somewhere, anywhere on the instrument, inside or out. Go over every inch of the harmonium to make sure everything is secure and hopefully you’ll find the problem.

[@norfolknwhey4787]

Great video. Question… why chamfer the reeds? Couldn’t you just emboss the slots instead?

[@stimmrad]

I both chamfer the reeds and emboss the slots. Doing both improves performance more than simply embossing the slots.

[@norfolknwhey4787]

@@stimmrad first time seeing someone Chamfer the reeds. I haven’t played one to feel the difference, so now I’m curious.

[@stimmrad]

Here’s a link to a document about chamfering I wrote a few years ago: docs.google.com/document/d/1hHeMSL1Pt3MV2U9HWGoPBCYicfukRP6W09CpfVssinU/edit

[@norfolknwhey4787]

@@stimmrad awesome. Greatly appreciated. I’ve recently begun to customize my harmonicas, and your videos have been a godsend. By properly shaping and embossing, I’ve been able to integrate (melodically) the 6ob into my solo playing, and hope to have access to the 7od eventually.

[@MeteCanKarahasan]

Read the previous comments in which there is information on reed response related to the duration the reed plate and reed makes a big difference. Leakiness give a mellow tone he says, but it lowers response. Everything in moderation.

[@yuriythebest]

hello! Silly question but why isn't it possible to just solder broken brass reeds? will it work? OR why not get a thin similar brass strip - in terms of materials reeds should cost cents? I know it's naive, but I really wanna "hack the system"

[@stimmrad]

Sorry for the long delay in responding! Even if a soldered crack would hold, the flexibility of the joint would be different to that of the rest of the reed and would affect the reed’s playability. But certainly, give both that and using a thin strip of brass a try! Short of purchasing individual reeds from the manufacturer, you might try installing used reeds from other harmonicas, including cutting down longer reeds to the desired length.

[@yuriythebest]

@@stimmrad thanks!

[@davidsantana8623]

Video is fine

[@nihalfernandosrilankanharm6655]

Hi thank for your Riplai

[@fsoliver]

What brand/type jay harp to you recommend for beginners?

[@stimmrad]

Hi Shan, I would recommend my favourite, the Black Fire jaw harp made by Zoltan Szilagyi. It comes in all keys and is available online from many outlets.

[@fsoliver]

@@stimmrad oh! You have to pick a key? What do most people pick? C, G?

[@stimmrad]

Sorry for the late response! G would be a good key to start with.

[@ikust007]

1:20:44 pretty good

[@ResonantHarp]

Hi Rick, I really appreciate these videos. I've been experimenting (w/ good success:) using solder to drop pitch . Do you think it would be reasonable (feasible) to take a standard C Auto-valve and turn it into a Low D using this technique?

[@stimmrad]

Hi there, It can be done but the scale of reed lengths for the top and bottom plates of the C key on the Auto-Valve are shorter than those of the key of D, so it wouldn’t be as strong and you might get some kicking in the low draw reeds. You might do better re-tuning it to G or A rather than to low D.

[@ResonantHarp]

@@stimmrad Ok. Thanks for the advice. I currently have an auto valve in A and G and am looking for a D to play Irish/ fiddle tunes etc. Maybe it would make more sense to tune a C up knowing that the upper few reeds will probably not be too useable. I can save myself a bit of work in the low octave by tuning it to easy third as well. Do you think I can tune those tiny ten hole reeds up without destroying them? Thanks for the response. Cheers.

[@ResonantHarp]

@@stimmrad One more question if you happen to look at this text stream again... I do have one extra G auto-valve kicking around. Would it make more sense to try and turn this into a Low D? Are the reed lengths more appropriate? I was initially thinking of using a C b/c I have a handful of used/ abused ones that I picked up cheap years ago... Cheers

[@stimmrad]

@@ResonantHarp That would put it an octave above the fiddles, kind of out on its own.

[@stimmrad]

@@ResonantHarp G and A Auto-Valves have the same short reed lengths as C. Easier to tune down than C but the end result will still be less than a stock D. E and F Auto-Valves have the same reed lengths as D. They would do fine being tuned down.

[@ВладимирПархоменко-с4м]

В ученики берёте меня?)

[@stimmrad]

Извините, в данный момент я не принимаю студентов. С наилучшими пожеланиями