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From: Mike Curtis
Date: Thu, 3 Oct 1996 14:27:00 -0700 (PDT)
Subject: Re: Breaking in of reeds etc



Fortunately, in Southern California, we don't have nearly the problem with
flying insects as other areas. so far, I've never encountered one in my
window-breaking-in.

On Thu, 3 Oct 1996, Steve & Anne Price wrote:

> DT writes:
> > With the harmonica I think it is the settling of deposits of saliva around
> > the reeds gradually making the instrument more responsive. If we play fully
> > straight away I think that the expected volume and 'nuance' is not present
> > and the reeds are strained by the player trying to achieve the sound.

> I find there's nothing quite like playing a brand new harp, or reedplate
> set.

And I agree. I prefer brand new harps/reedplates vastly to older ones,
assuming of course that both are tuned well and functioning properly.

> For me the only curve that might improve is my own adapting to the
> particular offset of a new harp. I can usually get them close, but
> invariably there are minor differences, and so the precise pressures I
> have to use vary from harmonica to harmonica, albeit minutely.

I've hardly ever had a problem adapting to a new harp, unless something
was wrong with it. In the case of Lee Oskars, this has never happened
with harps. I've had one reedplate with a misaligned reed, but that may
have been caused by me opening the package in a hurry.

> Once I
> know the feel of a particular harp, it's goodness declines steadily and
> gradually until one of the reeds (always the same ones) is done with our
> little get togethers.

ditto.

> > The only reason I would agree slightly with Mike Curtis on this one. (
> > Drive one handed and signal Left with your harp at 45 MPH until it is full
> > of bug bodies. This will have the same effect.
>
> Rick Epping agrees with Mike Curtis, but I can't see it. It seems to me
> if you drive around with your arm extended and harp out you're giving
> away to the general public some of the best moments of the reeds, and
> not in any melodic fashion.

I agree, but in exchange I get a harp that lasts several times as long. A
doggone fair exchange, in my opinion :-) I suppose if I were wealthy I'd
just buy 'em by the case and have my roadies install windsavers on 'em for
me, and toss 'em into the audience at the end of the show. But until my
fourth platinum CD, I need to get maximum mileage out of my harps.

> As for the spit factor Douglas speaks of above, I'd certainly be
> interested if the reeds were in fact changing their characteristics with
> a nice coating of Douglas's spit. It may be the time factor. Douglas
> gets an average of 30 years of regular drooling per harp reed set. I get
> metal fatigue well before that, and if I play regularly I don't get much
> more than 30 days on a harmonica (though I admit that unlike Mr. Curtis I
> do use more than one harmonica to cover more than one key). But there
> may be something special about Douglas's drool.

Maybe it's the warm beer ;-)

BTW, I don't get saliva in my harps - at least not enough that it comes
out when I tap it out. I play using a deep pucker, and just the slightest
amount of saliva on my lips to allow the harp to slide. When I tap them
out, nothing ever comes out, unless I've rinsed the harp first, in which
case a little residual water will come out. Because I play the same harp
all night, it's usually warm, so I get negligible condensation.

BTW, Steve - for thirty days harp life, how many harps is that spread over
(how many harps in 30 days??), and roughly how many hours of actual
playing time would you estimate this to comprise per harp? I would
guesstimate I put roughly 2-1/2 hours per gig on mine (I do a LOT of harp
instrumentals, as well as lots of harp solos on virtually every song), so
at an average of three gigs per week, practice, jam sessions, etc., I
probably put a good 25 hours or more per week on my harp, times (I'd
guess) 3 months (13 weeks) average reedset life = around 300 hours of
actual playing time before 8D breaks off, always in the exact same spot.
If I don't break it in, I'm doing well to get a month (~100 hours). I do
absolutely no setup on new harps, other than to install windsavers.


-- IronMan Mike Curtis
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