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DATE: Sat, 26 Mar 1994 23:32:42 CST
From: Winslow Yerxa <76450.32~ompuServe.COM>
Subject: bending and reed damage


JOC~WYO writes:

Anyway, Maybe what happens is that the reed gets bent
(literally) and because it can't spring back to its original
position the harp goes flat.

Sorry to disappoint you. What you're talking about is reed
offset, or the angle at which the reed diverges from the
reedplate. This has nothing to do with pitch, so far as I know.

What reed offset does affect is reed response.

The higher the offset, the bigger the gap between reed and plate.
A bigger gap means you can attack the reed much harder, but also
that it requires a harder attack to activate.

The lower the offset, the sdmaller the gap. A reed with a low
offset will respond to softer playing, but will refuse to speak
of attacked too hard.

For overblowing, and for extremely fast playing, the reed offset
is generally set low, while for heavier playing, it is set
higher. Factory settings tend to be mechanically uniform, and err
on the side of being too high. It's worth it to learn to set the
action on your harps to suit your personal playing style and
desired response.

Much of this is covered in the article on overblowing in
soon-to-come-out HIP No. 4.

Winslow Yerxa
Editor, HIP - the Harmonica Information Publication