Harmonium Repair: How to Fix a Buzzing Reed

[@ShivKumarPurohit]

Thank you for saving my day! I have a performance to do later and randomly realised I had a horrible buzzing reed in my harmonium and now it sounds fabulous thanks to you. God Bless You!!

[@tyhyten332]

Thank you! This worked beautifully. I have a Bhava Mini that had a buzzing reed. Here are some tips that might help. Use a guitar pick or a similar piece of thin plastic to help lift the reed. You can use a tiny allen wrench to hold up the reed while you file if you don't have a tool like the view shows. You may need to file the edges of the reed casing too. I filed the end portion and noticed the reed was still slightly clipping the side, so filing along there solved the issue.

[@meihem87]

This Is an amazing video thank you for your generosity and clear instructions

[@rnjan99]

Thank you for taking the time to share this with us. Appreciate it much.

[@ohiofjr]

Thanks for posting all the repair tips. Nice to know there is someone in the US that can repair harmoniums. Planning a trip to India in Oct , will be bringing a new harmonium back. Hoping it makes the trip with no issues, nice to know that if there is a problem, I could get some support and service from you. All the best to you.

[@kalidasmusic1008]

There are few of us that repair harmoniums. If you need help with repairs in the south east US check us out at www.kalidasharmoniums.com

[@jodiheights]

Any suggestions for buzzing that only happens with both octaves of the note are played? I've isolated each one and by themselves there's no issues, but when played together there's a horrible buzzing. Happened after I tuned it, so I must have jostled something.

[@OldDelhiMusic]

It might be a "vibration" that is not the sound of a reed rattling. There might be something else that is responding to this particular frequency and vibrating passively when you play those two notes together, specifically. Good luck tracking it down!

[@maestropatron]

Thank you Nick! for sharing and showing how to service our own harmonium.

[@rachelthompson8123]

Just did this and it worked perfectly, thank you so much!

[@OldDelhiMusic]

Hey Rachel, that's great to hear! Thanks!

[@saileshprashanthdc]

Where do you get the device you used to fix the buzzing Reed??

[@dushyanthsamara7138]

Thank u sir. I just now repaired my harmonium's buzzing reeds now its totally fine

[@catpeterpan]

Thanks for sharing this! I got my harmonium from you about a year ago and haven’t really used it much. Took it out and found this buzzing sound. Do you also have a quick fix for a lower latch that won’t latch anymore when closing the harmonium?

[@pippomusic]

Thank you Nick. My harmonium has a fixed note that doesn't go out. Keys work properly, but that note keeps playing. It is a brend new foldable portable harmonium and I can't find any tutorial. Do you have any suggestions? Thank you.

[@OldDelhiMusic]

We have a couple tutorials for this. It depends on the kind of harmonium you have. With Coupler - kzbin.info/www/bejne/iZDIo3hmrt-hiac Without coupler - kzbin.info/www/bejne/moHKaplniZKWaLc Hope that helps!

[@rsh108]

Hi. I have a problem with my harmonium reed is out of tune. How I can fix it? Thank you

[@mdchowdhury3874]

Hey Bud, I have a 3 reed CalCatta Harmonium. I don't know how to tune it. I fixed the buzzy key after watching your vidoes. Can you please make a video regarding tuning?

[@noorkhawaja]

Quite informative video. Thank you!

[@SantoshKumar-cv5fr]

Sir, can u make a video on "list of basic tools used for harmonium repairing and how to use them in repairing"? I'll be highly grateful.

[@OldDelhiMusic]

Maybe someday. :-)

[@marcelw1981]

thanks nick! fixed my paul & co with this.

[@archananaveen100]

i watch your adds, hopefully that helps you. Thank you for these videos.

[@naomiwinne8305]

Thank you so much! My baby sounds nice again!

[@Raku777]

Thanks for sharing this video, I am going to try this tomorrow.

[@Dr.M.Ashfaque009]

Can you tune harmonium

[@haryharan7293]

Thanks for the video. How would you remove the reeds from a triple reed harmonium that have the reeds fixed horizontal? Thanks.

[@OldDelhiMusic]

Hary - It's tricky. They make side angle screw drivers that will work, or you can remove the whole reed board, but I wouldn't recommend that. If it's just one reed you are replacing, figure out how to get something small in there to slowly turn out the screws, and remember that only one screw has to be removed completely. Good luck! -Nic

[@haryharan7293]

OldDelhiMusic Thanks a lot Nic.

[@DJ-GG]

Nice but can't find a hooked diamond file. They are all flat. Where is the link for the tools you used. It seems easy if one has the tools.

[@sunitakumari-xj4xe]

Sir, a button in my harmonium keeps on sounding continuously when I play it ,🙏🙏🙏🙏 please🙏🙏🙏🙏 make a video in which you tell how to repair it .

[@madhursangeet29]

How can we fix the air leaking problem?...

[@OldDelhiMusic]

+Himanshu Mittal Air leak issues and tuning are the main things I typically don't encourage novices to deal with themselves, but if you have no other choice, here's what you need to know - There are many, many places where you might have air seeping from your harmonium and the range of problems / solutions is vast, but the basic process of fixing is to identify where the air is getting out and make some kind of manipulation to stop the air from leaking. It's not always easy. In fact, it's generally pretty tough to figure out, but that's the process. Good luck! And if you need additional support, I am available for Skype support sessions. If this interests you, feel free to email me about at [e-mail]. Thanks!

[@sitapatel2332]

Just seal it with tape or mseal

[@apiitg]

where can i buy the tools? did not see them on your website.

[@OldDelhiMusic]

apiitg amazon - search for "curved diamond files"

[@miorieser3210]

Danke an den Fachmann! > Welches Modell besitzen Sie?

[@OldDelhiMusic]

You're welcome. I play a Bhava Studio Teak - olddelhimusic.com/products/bhava-studio-concert-teak-harmonium

[@VenkataY]

My Harmonium's higher octave notes need a lot of air to a get sound, otherwise I'm just hearing the air sound when press the key. Is that normal?

[@OldDelhiMusic]

Yes and no. Yes, it takes more air to get a high note to sound. Same as your voice needs more air to hit a high note. BUT you should also check your gapping to ensure your reeds are not too far out. I suspect this may be the case since you are saying you hear air. Additionally, if you are hearing air, it may be that you are loosing air somewhere else and that is what you are hearing. This loss of air elsewhere would mean your reeds are not getting the full pressure of the air, and that would also cause the high notes to struggle. Good luck!

[@VenkataY]

@@OldDelhiMusic thank you for the reply. There is not leaking when no keys are pressed, but when I press a key I just hear air noise and I have to keep pumping and then I will start to hear the high note.

[@sulavdeepuprety4442]

​@@VenkataY Hi, Did you find the reason for hearing the sound of Air upon pressing the key and hearing the harmonium sound only after lot of air gets pumped? I tested out some New harmoniums straight out of the box which hadn't been played for maybe like a year and those had same issue too. Any videos that i watched on KZbin related to any harmonium never showed latency in sound on higher octave so i was wondering if it's common on newly built harmoniums or not.

[@arvindbzp]

Please tell me if last 3 higher reeds are not sounding

[@OldDelhiMusic]

I'm going to assume you have already verified nothing is prohibiting the reed from movement. Beyond that, check first to see if they are gapped properly. The "gap" is the space between the reed and it's surround. If there is no gap, it won't sound - if there is too much gap, it will be delayed or not sound. Beyond that, keep in mind that the highest reeds require a lot of air to sound. If you're talking about a low quality instrument, it could simply be a matter of these reeds not getting enough air to make sound, and there may not be much you can do about it if the instrument isn't built well and cannot achieve proper air pressure. Good luck.

[@damoaguilar4947]

Hello, can you help me with mine please 🙏🏽

[@shawonamit9944]

And how to fix the frequency of each keys brother pls hlp

[@OldDelhiMusic]

Shawon - Tuning is completed by scratching one end of the reed or the other until you get the pitch to where you want / need it to be. You can find good tutorials on this if you research the topic via Google. Good luck!

[@shawonamit9944]

Thnku brother will u hlp me with the chart Freq.of each keys

[@NorthStateAuto]

hi sir where is your store or how can i send my harmunium for repair to you

[@OldDelhiMusic]

We are in Illinois. Email us if you need anything - [e-mail]

[@5part4]

4:21 diamond files Is there anything lying around the house that we can use to do the scraping to fix this reed problem. I was thinking my harmonium was broken but now I know how to fix it thanks to you bro :p. Thanks a lot. Perfect video easy tutorial on fixing it

[@OldDelhiMusic]

Not that I know of. I don't really know of any conventional tools that can be used in place of diamond files. The ones we use are actually very expensive (PFERD Riffler Files, Medium Grit ~$200 for the set), but for limited use, you can get by with the cheap Chinese made files available on Amazon, which can be purchased for $10-20.

[@5part4]

@@OldDelhiMusic out if curiosity if I use some other tool will it damage the reed altogether so does it have to be these specific tools you mentioned and thanks again for the reply :)

[@OldDelhiMusic]

@@5part4 I couldn't tell you. A replacement reed isn't that costly. You're not risking much here.

[@5part4]

@@OldDelhiMusic last question on this topic bro :). Basically I wanted to use the same flathead screwdriver to do the scraping because it seems the same and my last bit on this subject is. If the scraping happen incorrectly what is the result? Will the note not make a sound at all or will it just be that ringing sound all the time

[@OldDelhiMusic]

@@5part4 I've never seen a screwdriver with diamond grit. I don't think it will work. You need something that has a gritty sanding surface to sand off the edge of the reed housing. As long as you don't do anything to the reed itself, you should be fine, but I'd recommend investing in a cheap set of riffler files. Once you have a tool, it's common to find many random uses for it. Good luck!

[@KarlSheen]

Wondering if you can help?...just stumbled on your vids found them fascinating. I used to restore mechanical musical instruments a long time ago and reed organs were the poor man's pipe organ. Recently been investigating Indian harmonium as a portable version of the western harmonium but been finding contradictory info. I'm a keyboardist and organist so stops and pitches are second nature to me. Can you define all those stops on Indian instruments as it seems pretty confusing...for example....if it Haa 2 sets of Reed why 9 stops ....yes I know 5 are drones (sharps) but that leaves 2 unknown stops??...the other one I wanted to ask is advice on a dulcetina claiming to have 4 banks of reeds. I'm guessing it's bass male male female or in Western 16' 8' 8' 4', if this is correct would the second male 8' be tuned off (tremolo)

[@OldDelhiMusic]

A 9-knob set up will have 2 Bass stops, 2 male stops, and 1 bass tremolo + 4 drones. It is not typical that a 4 reed harmonium or dulcetina would be tuned with the adjacent Male reeds "wet" (creating a natural vibrato). They are typically "dry" tuned. "Wet" tuning is more common to accordions. As a side note, a 4 reed dulcetina is likely to be a terrible instrument. I've yet to find a 2 reed that is playable. They are an interesting concept that in practice just doesn't have enough air to do the job... We don't sell dulcetinas. For reasons. ;-)

[@crajendran1]

Do we have to retune the Reed

[@OldDelhiMusic]

In most cases, yes. Just a little.

[@poragahmed6598]

Sir, my harmuniam sound is very poor how can improve sound

[@breaker4927]

How do I fix if I press a key on my scale changer another key also gets down at the same time and makes the sound ..please help

[@OldDelhiMusic]

This is a feature, not a fix. ;-) The "octave coupler" is typically controlled by a button (or a lever) on the far right or left side of the harmonium.

[@breaker4927]

Thanks Actually what I meant was that when the coupler is on and when I press a key so what happens is that basically the other key goes down but it stays down for A while until I push it back up

[@OldDelhiMusic]

That's more complicated. Basically, you need to figure out what has swelled and relieve the sticking. More than likely, it's the piece of wood that extends from one key to the octave lower that has swelled and is now being pinched / held up. You need to remove the entire octave of keys extending from the A to the A one octave below and then you will have access to be able to remove that coupling piece and sand it down. Good luck!

[@divyankduvedi1]

hey! nick,any idea what causes key to produce such buzzing sound? is it a manufacturing defect or something that we need to take care about while palying harmonium to avoid this.

[@OldDelhiMusic]

It's not a manufacturer defect on the instrument. Just a reed issue. It can be resolved as shown in the video or you can replace the reed...normal maintenance, no big deal...

[@vk.o3815]

Thanks man really helpful 🍻❤

[@abdullahc6931]

Just saved me $110 CAD plus tax! THANKS!

[@alainhalimi3821]

hi! where can i buy reeds on their own? regards

[@OldDelhiMusic]

We have them available at olddelhimusic.com - single and full sets.

[@timotheesinagra9325]

Thank you soooo much!!!!! Love from Brussels. Tim

[@Dr.M.Ashfaque009]

Hi. are you in Houston area

[@OldDelhiMusic]

No. Illinois

[@xamaranto]

thanks so much for this! very helpful.

[@neosozavac]

Thanks Nic - great video 👍

[@ARSUMAN79]

Hi there, I want to have a reed, please can u help me? But how?

[@OldDelhiMusic]

I have reeds available for sale via olddelhimusic.com. You can also email me ([e-mail]) the note requirement (ex. C3) and we can get you something that way.

[@marie-francemartel1803]

Thanks! It worked. :)

[@allinone6591]

Which company of this reeds

[@OldDelhiMusic]

This works with any kind of metal reeds. On the harmonium in the video the reeds are Punjabi style. The brand is probably Bali, Harjas, or something similar.

[@allinone6591]

@@OldDelhiMusic ok sir we are making all types of hormoniyam reeds.. if you want buy reeds also call me

[@rabirandhawa3555]

How to name of Reeds company name. Only reeds company name. Please check reeds stamp and answer

[@OldDelhiMusic]

Generally the reed brand is stamped on the lowest C reed housing.

[@anweshadas7701]

thankyou so much sir ❤

[@raghvirsingh5552]

Thank you very helpful video

[@TheNagualZone]

Excellent vid ty!

[@nivaschandable]

Awesome Job

[@ketanjodhani3972]

I need paris some sur. if you hve let me know

[@yutiyaumatei4647]

Thank you! Very nice video :-)

[@ravikalyan9621]

Thx for the technique sir

[@JagtarSingh-xt6os]

my knobs are very losse and not working

[@OldDelhiMusic]

You'll need to open it up to see what is going on.

[@JagtarSingh-xt6os]

I have opened my harmonium and there is no separating wood between low reeds and high reeds so what can I do

[@JagtarSingh-xt6os]

I have opened my harmonium and there is no separating wood between low reeds and high reeds so what can I do

[@OldDelhiMusic]

For tuning, you can silence individual reeds by sticking a sliver of paper or something else between the reed and casing. It's slower, and one of the reasons I don't like harmoniums that don't have the chambers, but it serves the same purpose of isolating the sounds.

[@zarahg3]

Great, thank you!

[@pratyushbhattarai5632]

Thanks, bro!

[@saifulhaque2170]

Thanks

[@ariyarathnaedirisingha1922]

Please again do it , and no clear it

[@shijinkabraham8712]

Nice bro

[@hamrokoseli6065]

wow great

[@urbanwitchdoctor]

THANKS!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[@MADHOSHTHAKURmadhoshThakur]

sir apna mob.no dijiye

[@akalmusichouseindia735]

9056322474

[@slugee7129]

😢 th you

[@navniitpanwanr1732]

Hi my harmonium is echo sound problem??