Re: [Harp-L] stuck reed



On Feb 13, 2012, at 4:49 PM, Stephen wrote:

> Can anyone direct or tell me how to fix stuck reeds. I think they got cold
> in the garage. There is no damage just no sound coming out. Have opened it
> up to slightly tap the reed but am afraid I may snap it This a 12 hole
> chromatic sydel deluxe. Thank you all for the support

There are two likely causes of "no sound".

1. The reed is crooked and touches the side of the slot when it tries to vibrate. You need a reed wrench to fix this. These are a part of most harmonica tool kits.

2. There is an obstruction in the clearance between the reed and the slot.  This could be a hair, dust, fried chicken, etc. You can usually fix this by running a very thin (.001" .002") blade along the clearance between the reed and slot.  A metal strip from a theft-prevention tag will work.

The reeds are rugged and will not "snap" with reasonably gentle application of the above procedures.  However, the windsavers are extremely delicate and require great care not to bend them away from the plate and cause kinks.

You should watch the Hohner harmonica repair videos on youtube.  

Vern
> 






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