Improve Your Harmonicas - Reed Gaps 

Thank you for taking the time to comment. 30 years of playing is just awesome! I can't imagine life without music. Congratulations for stepping into tuning and doing your own repairs. It may sound weird, but I've always felt more attachment to my older harmonica. Harmonicas are friends who may need my help once in a while. *Plus they're not as cheep as they were 30 years ago! The payoff of tuning and adjusting gaps is huge and takes so little effort. Having a deep collection spare parts is a fantastic advantage.

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You are most welcome Aaron!

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Lol, good one! When all else fails, I run them through the thickness planer.

@@dchurch911 awesome video and it was made in simplicity which I liked no doubt I'm new to the harmonica just about 3 weeks in. But I definitely love the sound and the sorrowful sound it has. Best to you always keep up the good work

3 weeks in is awesome. Have a great learning journey!

Wishing you the very best of luck:) Ps don't start with your favorite harmonica. :o

Wow Clint, Thank you. This is such a nice comment. I actually saw your order a few hours ago and packaged it up for shipping tomorrow morning. I should have received notification of the generated shipping label. I'm clearly bias but totally agree that the gapping tool is virtually fool proof! I wont admit to how much I used to struggle to set reed gaps. My hands are not always as steady and sensitive as I'd like them to be. The problem of setting gaps really hit home when I watched harmonica guru Adam Gussow struggling with the same task. What chance do mere mortals have? He obviously did not have the right tool for the job. I headed straight to my shop and went to work on creating a gapping tool that did not require the hands of a surgeon or years of experience to use. I actually sent Adam Gussow an email and thank him for the inspiration.

@@dchurch911 You're quite welcome. I've never once in my life tried to tune on a harp, but i'm pretty mechanically inclined, and common sense tells me that reed needs to be flat like the plate its mounted to, and just lifting on, or bending the reed to increase gap size has the potential to bend the reed into a U shape. By design your tools put the force at the base of the reed where its secured to the plate, and that will help keep it flat as possible while you are making your adjustment to the gap. Pat yourself on the back my man, you did good, and again, thank you!!

Muchas gracias por su video, wuieto saber su usted vende estas herramientas para la armónica? Tengo chinos que tocan la armónica y quieren comprar la herramienta.

@@user-he9pv2dc6x www.dbombmute.com/shop/harp-plane.html

Dang, I swear I opened it on the 6th! No wonder there have been no orders:/ doh

Yes, We ship to any valid address world wide :)

That is sad:( No question there are problems with quality control now days, and not just with harmonicas. Unfortunately that type of harmonica is a bugger to work on.

This could be caused by excessive gapping. But, if you are proficient at bending I suspect the 3 may be leaking. This may cause you to struggle into a deep bend technique where you normally have finer control. I would check the comb and plates for flatness. If you are in a development stage of bending be aware that this could simply be a subtle difference between harps... In that case it just takes time and focus.

@@dchurch911 Thank you for that valuable information. I will spend some time these forthcoming days/weeks, going over the things you have mentioned. Appreciate your help. Cheers, Lolwit

Typically that is a poorly seated read. I fix that with a light but solid tap using a small hammer. Rather than hitting the rivet head directly you can use a "nail set". You can find a small nail set at your local hardware store. It's a very rare problem but If the tip only was somehow bent you could slip the corner of a razor blade under the body of the reed then gently press down on the high corner of the reed to bend it back in place.

I am currently on the road. The shop will reopen on July 21st. Yes, we ship to the UK. Thanks for asking.

Hi, thanks for the reply. I've had a quick look and your website looks closed. I thought I'd mention it just incase there was some sort of technical issue. All the best.

Thank you, we are back open and everything is in stock.

Great question! I am using the dBomb harmonica mute. Here's a link to to the demo: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-xx1-lSLJ_S4.html

The E-Z Gap and other harmonica tools are only available directly from our online shop at www.dbombmute.com

@@dchurch911 thank you very much friend!

That's awesome! The Crossover is a mighty fine harmonica:)

@@dchurch911 love it . But $$

Bummer, the 3 draw bend on a D Harp should be pretty easy. Maybe there is a slight twist in it...? You could try giving that rivet head a light tap or two. That gap should be roughly the thickness of a matchbook cover. Wish I was there to give you a hand with it.

@@dchurch911 Hey! There is no twist. But the things got better after I narrowed the 3 blow reed until it is almost completely closed. Bends got easier after that! Thanks bro!

I have a few ways of doing that. One is to just hold the plate flat against to my lips. That's pretty primitive. My standard procedure is to hold the sandwich together. I don't have any trouble hitting single notes or playing splits for tuning. Another option is a "French Tuner" harp.andrewzajac.ca/FrenchTuner But you make a good point. The ultimate test can only be done with a fully assembled harmonica.

@@dchurch911 Another question, is there any kind of consensus on gaps?, I'm confused about what's low/high and what's a tight/open gap (as in which is closer/further from the comb) and which notes need a wider/smaller gap based on size/length. I'm also wondering if there's some certain amount of breath required no matter what instead of it literally playing the split second you breath into it with the smallest breath possible. Not understanding how reeds should be adjusted for overblows/overdraws either, nobody seems to describe it well, but with regular blow/draw I'm assuming it's as simple as having the blow and draw reed from the same hole play with equal breath.

@@meh4371 Gaps are described relative to the reed plate or slot, regardless of the comb or weather it is a blow or draw reed. A tight gap is another way of saying a minimal distance from the reed to where it enters the reed slot. There is no absolute rules for gapping reeds. Each player is different and each harmonica is unique. Some players prefer tight gaps others not... But generally speaking longer deeper pitched reeds are set with more gap distance than shorter higher pitch reeds. Almost all players appreciate having consistent playing reeds from one end of the harmonica to the other. The majority of players prefer a responsive harmonica, one that requires the least amount or air to produce sound. Overblows/draws are easier to hit with a tight, leak free harmonica. Embossing (burnishing) makes it even easier. It further helps to have the reed enter the slot relatively level rather than tip last/first.

Harmonica tools ship worldwide from www.dbombmute.com

The EZ Gap Tool and our other products are exclusively sold at www.dbombmute.com Thanks for asking, Dave

I would ask Suzuki about that.

@@dchurch911 today morninG I saw in the suzuki web that reeds are avaiable.The problem is who sell it?where we can find it?ow my god

Thank for the comment. Stainless steel and some bass alloys can be pretty stubborn. I highly recommend starting this type of work on a cheap or broken harmonica. Reeds do have a lot of spring and memory. The right tools makes it easier to contol the pressure needed to overcome this. It does take some experience. It may help to make a pencil mark at the point where the tool is slid up to. Then repeat this a little further up and make another mark... Don't be afraid to over gap and under gap the reed using more pressure. That's why a cheap or broken harmonica is the victim:)

@@dchurch911I tried for 4 5 times now its getting better and now it responds better to my air blowing. Thank you for guide. It helped me a lot. I was trying to fix my melodicas note gaps. Some notes needed more air to sound which cause also delays. Now managed to reduce to gap so it sounds quicker and need less air.

Thanks Robert I appreciate the comment. Yes, I do recommend using an orbital electric toothbrush over manual brushing. I go into more detail about that in a Marine Band renovation video that is still in draft form. From my experience the bristles of a manual brush are more likely to be caught between the slot and the reed. As you pointed out this is bad. I agree never brush from tip to rivet! But, I've found that the electric brush (Oral-B w/ AA battery $6.99) glides over the reeds and slots much nicer in a perpendicular motion. Naturally, very light pressure is used for this. The Marine Band renovation video will include shaping reeds and embossing reed slots. The harmonica is pretty crusty so we are covering extensive details related to cleaning... Thanks again for your feedback.

It is up and working fine. www.dbombmute.com It was recently down while we were attending the Yellow Pine Harmonica Fest. Thank you for asking.