Re: Re: [Harp-L] Gapping/Embossing, am I doing it right?...long.



Vern Smith wrote:
> There are customizers who make a specialty of gapping and 
> voicing reeds.  I don't doubt that they can do a fine job 
> and none of the remarks that follow whould be interpreted 
> as criticism.  That said, I agree with you that there is no 
> reliable, objective, articulate information available on 
> gapping.  It belongs in the category of a guild secret.  
> Those who can do it either can not or will not give us an 
> articulate description of their proceedure.  

I have found those who do this kind of thing for a living (and I 
count myself among that number) to be extremely forthcoming with 
their procedures and techniques.  The fact that no "objective" 
information exists on the topic is probably for the reason that 
there's no incentive for it.  I have described in great detail the 
procedures that I use to voice reeds, and have conducted seminars 
where I demonstrate them.  

While it may be possible to painstakingly document how gaps and 
other characteristics are adjusted, the truth is it's far simpler to 
practice this as an art than as an engineering process.  There are a 
very large number of variables involved, certainly not the least of 
which is player preference, and it's simply not practical to detail 
every combination of reed pitch, length, width, arc, thickness, 
etc., against the desired result.  It's also not practical to invest 
the time and money in the type of equipment and experimentation that 
would be necessary to measure all these combinations.  

The common practice is to start with a set of assumptions, and build 
some experience.  The assumptions would be things like:

1) Low pitch reeds require greater gaps than higher pitched reeds. 

2) Long reeds require greater gaps than shorter reeds.  

3) Lower gaps will respond to lower air pressure than higher gaps.

4) Higher gaps will be louder than lower gaps.

5) In a dual-reed system (such as found on common diatonic 
harmonicas), the lower pitched reed in the chamber requires a larger 
gap than the higher pitched reed.  

6) There is an extreme amount of variation in the air pressures 
generated by players, and this is a highly influential factor.  

7) Overbending requires specific gapping techniques, which are 
influenced by other procedures (narrowing of reed slot tolerances, 
arcing of reeds, etc.).  

> They claim that only long experience can give you the art.  I 
> find this distasteful because I think that there should be an 
> objective method that can be taught to a beginner that will 
> enable him to do good gapping.

There is nothing that a customizer does that a player can't do for 
him- or herself.  There is enough information out there in this 
forum's archives and in other places to constitute a significant 
body of knowledge to get you started.  That said, most players will 
never gain the experience that a customizer has in building and 
adjusting hundreds of harmonicas for players of all levels of 
ability and all manner of requirements.  

No customizer is more familiar with a player's needs than the 
player, but most players never gain the experience working on their 
own few harmonicas to equal what a customizer does for their 
customer base.

> I hope that this helps you feel a bit less confused about gaps.  
> It is a topic worth much more discussion and about which the 
> acknowledged experts could be much more generous with their 
> information.

I'm anxious to hear what the "acknowledged experts" have to say!

-tim

Tim Moyer
Working Man's Harps
http://www.workingmansharps.com/










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