Shruti Box Repair Tutorial: Fixing a Buzzing Reed (also to fix harmonium reeds)

[@KristinaWelch]

This was a major success for me!! Thank you so much

[@didgeproject]

Yep it works most of the time for me too

[@MrStarbit]

I kind of liked that ringing 😅 haha. I've not seen any of these reeds close up in person but it might of been an idea to go in with a smaller file and file the surrounding brass instead of the actual reed itself. Not sure if that is possible but if it is there would be a lot less chance of you knocking it out of tune

[@didgeproject]

great idea. I never thought of filing down the casing

[@lambiebarbaramatarrese403]

Just got my first box from India, I managed to rid two notes of the ringing! Excellent video. I wonder if you can help me on another thing, the box may be defective and the bellows (with the notes) does not inflate sufficiently to hold the note. I tried everything, it seems to be tight and it shuts too quickly. Any fixes??

[@didgeproject]

Try screwing on the reed board tighter. You can use a white powder like baby powder to check the seams for leaks. Just cover all the seams of the bellows with powder and then play the instrument to see of there is a leak. You can then plug leaks with air tight adhesives like certain glues.

[@lambiebarbaramatarrese403]

I’ll try your suggestions. Thank you!

[@Cathy1864]

@@lambiebarbaramatarrese403 did you find the issue? I have the same problem

[@lambiebarbaramatarrese403]

@@Cathy1864 I followed the advice given above. Screwed in everything tighter (the board and only slightly each key) and it made all the difference!!! When I play it loud it now works but when I try to have the box play quieter it doesn't inflate sufficiently to hold the note. This may have to do with me not knowing how to play it correctly. I'll keep trying before using the powder like suggested.

[@user-oy2dm4is8b]

@@lambiebarbaramatarrese403 Not sure what type of spring mechanism you have to return the bellows to flat position. On mine there are two sprung wire arms, one per side of the note bellows. Remove or decouple one of them and see how it functions under softer conditions..

[@oaivpeolgnhp]

Hello, my shruti box makes a pumping noise every time I pump it. I’ve tried tightening everything but I’m not sure what the issue is. Maybe you could give some pointers?

[@didgeproject]

i'd have to see a video to be able to give you feedback. its not something i have had to fix before.

[@houseoflightnsound333]

I'd love to know what you suggest for a creaking sound. It's not a reed ringing sound. More like a creaky door. I bought a pre-owned Shruti box and it makes a creaking sound when played. VERY distracting but I don't know how to fix it.

[@didgeproject]

Hey thanks for writing. I’ve actually never had to deal with that but it sound like lubricating the spring with wd-40 would do it. Now you just have to figure out how to get to the spring without damaging the bellows! I don’t know how to do that

[@saulriosjimenez1971]

Excellent job!

[@moonlightaylor]

What if the note is silent and not playing at all?

[@didgeproject]

Most likely the reed is bent too far in one direction and needs to be bent back towards neutral at its base

[@mandeep48]

Hi what's the price pls

[@Loebane]

Note to anyone attempting to fix theirs - at least on mine, these reeds can be extremely brittle. I tried slowly bending it multiple times, each time just a touch further, with no movement. It eventually just snapped off instead of bending.

[@didgeproject]

Thanks for that info. I have never seen reeds so brittle on one of our shruti boxes, however I would imagine that this is a common issue on older models or reeds of a different manufacturer. Cheers! -AJ

[@Loebane]

@@didgeproject Yeah, it's definitely a different make than yours - which probably accounts for the reason it broke so quickly :/

[@fredr7217]

Wow