New TOOL & METHOD for IMPROVING HARMONICA REED RESPONSE
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- Опубліковано 5 вер 2024
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Nail Art Pen Amazon UK:
www.amazon.co....
Rick Epping, the pioneer of reed-slot embossing (interview):
www.brendan-pow...
Richard Sleigh: hotrodharmonic...
Todd Parrott: www.toddparrott...
You rock so freaking much. Thank you for being so generous in sharing your findings/tricks and continuing in pushing our craft forward.
Taking this principle…I bought low F reed plates. Very leaky on the first four reeds. Using scotch tape down both sides of each reed helped ALOT! (Use the factory straight edge on the tape. CLEAN the plate first. Plink as you go to make sure you have clearance)
Always coming up with something new and really useful. Thanks Brendan yet again.
Thank you Brendan very much. I've been thinking about a solution to the same issue really long time. All kinds of foolish - up to two reed plates overlapping and the reed moving between them. And now you are telling me so simple solution. You saved me a lot of time and tobacco. Thanks again, Maraboy Motherson from Finland, mara.
Excellent hack, thank you! I used Nail Polish and applied it with a tooth pick. I got rid of the squeals when playing overblows 😊
Thanks to you, Brendan Power, for sharing your precious knowledge about how harmonica works !!! I am playing blues harp for only a year, so I really am a beginner. But I have to say that every tutorial I have seen coming from you tought me usefull and simple ways about improving the harp. I am maybe to much of a rookie yet to try the improvement you describe on this video, but I will totally keep that in mind for a later time when my playing will be better. Thanks again.
My pleasure Nicolas 👍
Thank You Brendon for sharing your knowledge, experience and taking the time to help us fulfill our passion ! 😀
Very helpful! I'm just starting to get into repairing and customizing my harps, so this may be a little advance for me. I can bend notes well, but I always feel like I'm fighting the harp, putting way too much effort into it. I just want my harps to be more free blowing. I should mention that I'm a trumpet player, and when I pick up the harp to play a blues on the gig, the audience loves it (honestly, I'm not THAT good, but don't tell my listeners, LOL). I play mostly Suzuki Manjis, great response, hold up well, but very expensive. I'm thinking of switching over to Lee Oskars, which have a big sound. I've been disappointed with Hohners and Seydels, but that's just me.
I'm hoping that if I can master this customizing technique, I won't have to struggle so much to get around the harp. Brendan, you sound fantastic, by the way. Thanks so much for sharing your knowledge.
Thanks so much for sharing your secrets Brendan! I've already got my pens. Can't wait to try this!
Nail polish on my harmonica?!? Are you nuts?!? Well, I have an F Seydel Session Steel, with a Blue Moon custom comb, and I have gapped the reeds. I thought Blue Moon’s airtight comb would help, but Session was still a pain in the butt to play - it was simply unresponsive. I put a light under the reed plate, and I saw the space between the slot and reed, when depressing the reed. Hmm…
So, before throwing it in my “Use for Parts” drawer, I tried your nail art pen technique - on just the draw reed slots, and it worked! My Session Steel is now, a playable, responsive harp - I’m gobsmacked. I’m gonna do the same with its blow reed plate tomorrow.
Thanks, Mr. Power, for your “flipping the script” answer to tedious embossing.
Great idea. This may be nitpicking, but in Stage 1 you say emboss the tip and lower 2/3 of the reed slot. Lower is used here as an adjective but at 6:30 in the morning I read it as a verb. I just spent 5 minutes trying to figure out how to go about lowering a reed slot. Then I realized what you meant. It's probably too late to change the video and I am probably the only person in the world who would misread that, but perhaps change it to emboss the tip and THE lower 2/3 of the reed slot.
Ah... I hadn't thought of that alternate interpretation! Hope you didn't ruin a harp in the process :)
Hi Brendan, I tried this on a diatonic that I rarely use first, as it is has always been very unresponsive. It made this harp actually playable!
That persuaded me to try it on a few more harps that were a little unresponsive, and it certainly improved them to a great extent. I had already embossed these, and bent the reed down. Despite this there was still a gap at the rivet end. After adding the nail varnish they now feel like good harps! I need to play them more, but initial verdict is that this is a real game changer.
Next I’ll try this on a harp that is already responsive and see how much better they get: maybe not much if the gaps are already closed up? although perhaps they’ll get even better.
How do you dream these things up? :)
Glad it's working for you Neil :) The idea was born out of laziness really, trying to save time and effort but still get a good result.
Can you tell me exactly what you bought the nails supreme was not available in amazon ?
Thanks so much Brendan!!! Best explanation I've ever heard, and your killing it with that Asian harp.
My pleasure William! I'm always looking for the fastest (but still effective) method to do something 🙂
Why doesn;t a manufacturer try to machine a slight depression slot the depth of the reed thickness at the point of attachment. That way, the resting position of the reed would be BETWEEN the slot walls rather than on top of it. Now the TOP surface (not the bottom surface) of the resting reed would be flush with the top surface of the reed plate.
It's a perennial question asked by many before you, including me... I guess the simple answer is that it would add extra cost and hassle to the manufacturing process, when their desire is to streamline it as much as possible.
Simple and amazing. Im tempted to try it on my accordion
Go for it! I've improved the response of cheap Chinese accordion reeds a lot with a mixture of embossing on the lower 2/3 of the reed and this nail varnish seal towards the root.
Thank you! I just discovered Rick Epping's "master class" video on free reeds, and now UA-cam is sending me everything about harmonicas. I'm tempted to try this on my Suzuki S-32C soprano melodion, on which the upper register (with narrower reeds) is not as crisp as the rest of the instrument. Those narrow reeds have about the same gap with the slot as the wider ones, where they should probably be closer, and I think this might help.
I was wondering if the nail art pen thing worked for your melodion? It worked on my Seydel Session Steel F. It took all of 10 minutes for each reed plate, and the results were wonderful. Brendan is a genius.
Embossing each slot and reshaping, then retuning the reed is way too much unnecessary work, when u can get the same effect in 20 minutes - without stressiing the reed’s metal.
@@stuffnuns Well, I don't think the nail art pens I got from Amazon are the same as what he worked with, and I was unable to find exactly the same type. The paint in the ones I tried were too thin, and didn't work as expected on a test piece of brass, so I didn't try it on the instrument. In truth, the instrument doesn't sound bad as-is, or maybe I've just gotten better at playing it.
Wow! I've never been able to get custom harmonicas because I live in a part of the world, where import duties, timezone differences, etc make it too tedious to be able to collaborate with a customizer. And I'm not great with my hands, so I rarely do my own. Sometimes I try, but usually make do with the closest stock factory model harp to what I'm after.
This looks like a great solution!
Glad you feel it empowers you Jasper! Out of interest, in what part of the world do you live?
@@BrendanPowerMusic Hey Brendan! I live in the Philippines. Besides timezone, it can be a hassle taking international deliveries - most items are held for customs clearance and tax, etc
Originally I'm from Australia - we've met before at Woodford Folk Festival in Australia. And, years ago, we tried a 'Balkan' chromatic/diatonic hybrid together - first iteration was almost there, but not quite what I had in mind.
In large part, I think, because I opted for 10 holes, which meant amputating the final two holes of the chromatic (I know - its a horror in the re-telling, but I thought it was a brilliant idea at the time). I've since lost that design, however the other day I was pondering about picking it up again).
You are amazing. Thanks for your generosity. This is really amazing.
I m impressed about your talent as playing harmonica but also the way you costumes them.So many ideas along the time.Im so happy because you exist ,Im so sad because I can not meet you in person.Im your big fun.Good health…
Thanks Elise, I'm glad you like my ideas. I see you are in inventor too, with your wireless adapter for the DM48 👍
Thank you for answer, you made this day, a wonderful one for me…I used to do few few innovations to my little music home studio .I do not intend to “cheat”but to enable my self to control more than one device at the time(I mean one man band)My setup is predominant midi I love midi but midi is crazy some time,you know.My favourite instrument is harmonica followed by keyboards.I do not have so much talent but I enjoy working hard to bring my self one step upper.DM 48 is great.I have been waiting for it over 15 years.I build up my own midi harmonica just before DM48.I worked over one year but I had satisfaction .It is big like a bass harm.heavy 1 kg about.It is playable but a kind of stiffness makes to put more effort than normal.Soon when I will make a new video on you tube I will use it.I want to bring as a subject the app for iPad called DREAM FOOT personal I consider this app awesome.I control the auto accompaniment on keyboard just with one pedal changing or ever chord I need(chord pattern to set before)Last think …The” slider” on DM 48 are doggy you can fix it using a micro switcher instead the original switcher.You will get longer strike and the electric contact is happen in middle of strike as well as acoustic aromatic harmonica.I just sent my mobile on messenger.Keep safe and good health!
Hi Brendan !Thanks for answere.I sent my mobile on messenger.We are busy I know, but only you can make possible that big joy for me …Indifferently what your decision is I still appreciate you.Good health, keep safe!!!
I saw Brownie McGhee play at the Wellington Town Hall in the 80's .Unfortunately Sonny Terry wasn't playing with Brownie at the time,so a stand in was needed for some of the songs.I'm sure that person was Brendan Power.
The words "lower end of the reed slot" and "upper end of the reed slot" are indistinguishable. There is nothing to say which end is upper and which end is lower. It would be better to say "tip end of reed slot" and "rivet end of reed slot".
This is so cool. I actually tried an Asiabend and found it rather leaky/unresponsive and this one you play here sounds Way better.
Because of the extra air loss at the slide it really benefits from work to close up the reed/slot tolerances. I'm working with Easttop to improve that area at the factory, but extra hand customising will always be beneficial.
Great idea! Thanks Brendan!
you are a genius Brendan ... thanks so much
Nice! Will be looking into this. (But where do we get to discuss which colour of polish works best! :) I'm going with cherry red, 'cause it goes faster.)
I have tried to find these squeezble nail art pens, & I cannot find them. Can you once again guide me to where they are for sale. The ones I saw on Temu did not squeeze, & Amazon does not have those types either. I am also very interested in your Asiabend, & hope that I can make some good music on one, soon. I am a new student, learning to bend & play single notes of the blues scale. I will go this (painful) learning experience, for sure. Thank you for your helpful videos & love hearing your music.
Brendan hat off to you, you are an exceptional human being!, thank you"
This technique cannot be used with chromatic harmonicas because the cell dividers of the comb rest on the locations of the reedplates where some of the nail polish would be. I realized this after I bought the nail polish.
Oh! The cosmetic companies are phasing out the pens with the small diameter tubes. Finding some to buy is now difficult in July 2021. The nail polish companies do sell bottles of polish with narrow brushes.
Brendan is a mad scientist
Genius! :-) Genius. I was thinking about what I could use to make my harmonicas a bit more airtight. This is it! -- I want to experiment, by putting a bit of that between each reedplate and the comb -- at the edges (perimeter) of the reedplate like a rectangle of gluey stuff, when we put it back on the comb. That could perhaps stick them together (but without perma-sticking them!), and isolate the air even more?
If the comb is flat, and the reedplate is flat, there is no need for further sealing, as long as the screws are not overtorqued. The main leakage happens at the reed slot.
Thanks Brendon, great idea.
Hi Brendan. I met you at Indore when you visited India (I had a lot of beard and asked you about vibrato). So, recently I had a problem with 9 hole draw on my Bb Wilde tuned harmonica (same as powerbender). Whenever I would bend the reed, the bent note would cause a high frequency shrill noise. I thought it was a result of the draw reed rattling in its slot. So, I used this method but with fevistick( stick glue used for sticking papers, posters etc). It also added weight to the base of the reed, and the reed pitch didnot get altered. As a result, the bend on the 9 hole draw started working perfectly.
I was interested in knowing if what I did is the same as what you describe in this video. Because, if it is, then applying this method becomes way easier. The reason for this is that glue sticks are easier to procure than nail art pens. I would like to hear your opinion on this.
Whatever works :)
Trying this on my beater concertina next week! Thank you!
Can you use the nail polish method further up the slot? Take it all the way to the end and skip embossing entirely?
I second the comment below. Thank you for sharing Lolwit
My pleasure, glad it's useful 👍
Hi Brendan, I love absolutely love this ingenious idea. I was just wandering though, it's been a couple of years since you shared your findings. Have there been any new developments in harmonica manufacturing since you came across this solution? With the harmonica being a relatively young instrument I like to think that harmonica manufactures follow your inventions very closely but maybe that's wishful thinking on my part! Thanks again for your never ending energy in continuing to push the boundaries.
Thanks! Sadly no great interest in doing anything different from the harmonica manufacturers that I can see...
@@BrendanPowerMusic How depressing. Heads in the sand as they say. On a positive note I've had great results in tweaking two old harps with your method, it really helps with jazz and getting those troublesome extra notes.
As always, thank you very much for the great stuff!
What's that shim/shin (couldn't get the actual name) tool you use to break the seal of the nail polish?
Shim. The stuff I and other harp techs use is the thin steel strip you find inside the plastic tags they put on shop items, that trigger an alarm when passing through the door barriers unless it's scanned. Slice the tag apart and there's a small spring steel strip inside, the perfect thickness for harmonica reed slot sizing.
Thanks Brendan!
brilliant as always Brendan , thank you to share this : )))
thank you very much. I'll try this method as soon as possible : I have a lot of old harmonicas who ask to play again :-)
Thx Brendan , Great !
Genius, simple solutions are often the hardest to get to.
Really interesting ! I'll try that approach :)
Can you you floss or a string to open the read after the paint drys? Great video I'm
Working on some old harps got my pens and I'm ready to go. 😊 is this for the blow reads only
I will definitely try this out
QUESTION - can it be a substitute to embossing altogether.
It feels easier and more precise than flattening the plate to narrow the slot, is there a drawback with doing this the full length of reed slot?
thank you for sharing this. may I ask. did you also do this on the draw reeds? or on the blow reeds only. thank you
It works on both blow and draw reeds. You need to disassemble the harmonica first, of course.
If this works at the bass of the reed, why can't you continue all along the reed slot and do away with embossing entirely?
Because the reed is flexible lower down and with a bigger gap. You can't use the reed as a steady guide for the needle, and the nail polish won't wick into the larger gap. Plus regular embossing is easy enough lower down, so why not use it?
What a lovely video! Mr. Power you're a real pioneer of the harmonica.
2 years later, is this still a method that you used or have you tweaked it some during that time? For example, is the nail polish resistant to constant moisture, etc?
Thanks a lot for that information.
Thanks! I use it all the time for my own harps, and it stays in place, seemingly indefinitely.
@@BrendanPowerMusic VERY cool. Although, your product isn't available anymore in the UK. Do you have an idea about a replacement that I can use?
@@robertfeynman3174 it's not my product, just a standard nail art pen. Try Amazon, eBay, AliExpress...
That's awesome Brendan. Love it!
This makes logical sense. But how come its never been tried before? Ok its four years later how many people have tried this? and has it been successful does the nail art flake off over use and time etc..
I use it all the time, and others have tried it successfully too. The nail art lacquer stays in place indefinitely.
@@BrendanPowerMusic Thanks Brendan. This is such a simple but very clever insight.
Would it be possible to use this stuff on the tines to act as a gasket? Or instead use food grade ptfe sheet 0.1mm ??
Yes how do I learn? I am developing a *new Mouth* & it is wonderful.***
Hi, this is a great video, thanks for sharing, I really appreciate it.
So, I have a doubt, I didn't understand well when Tod Parrot is playing, did h he say is easier to play overdraw 7?. Thanks in advance.
Is the Polish safe to use on something you'd be putting in your mouth like a harmonica?
If you don't hear from me you'll know it's not ;-)
This is obviously a concern which you don’t think is a problem Brendan: is the nail polish you recommend definitely non-toxic? (Assume so)
@@MrP00bah yeah, by the way he worded the answer, I can't tell what he meant. I'm going to look into it. If nail polish is not safe, I'll see if I can find something which will do the job that is food safe. It's a great idea.
I've been using clear nail polish to glue key letters on my harp combs for about 20 years. I'm still blowing strong ;-(o)
Why not do the whole slot, without embossing?
Because the whole thing didn't need it. Only the bottom half stayed exposed because it couldn't bend more.
Thx!! Great approach!
Wow, amazing!
What if you put gap tapes on the hole sides and basically do the same? It will heighten the walls and cover the reeds from sides which makes bit harder for the air to escape. It won't touch the reeds and so won't dampen their vibration as like the glue can, plus you do not need to clean the reeds after the glue application.
Jim Antaki already tried this with his TurboTape product. A nice idea in theory, but getting the tape close enough on all reeds without snagging them was impossible - it looks cool but doesn't actually work. With extreme precision matching between reedplates, reed fixing and tape it could work, but in practice there is always some variation in how the reed lies in the slot. So in the end the only solution is slot-by-slot individual adjustment. Maybe in the future a manufacturer will take it seriously enough to coordinate everything together, that would be great 👍
@@BrendanPowerMusic good to know...
btw when the AsiaBend will be in stock :) ?
@@emblemcc This year some time, I'm working on a new model 🙂
Do you do this process on
Blow reed and draw reed as well
Hi Brian are you heading back here to New Zealand anytime to do concert. Would like to come and see you. You would be the best in the World to watch just follow you on FB and UA-cam maan amazing.👍🤗.
What happens if you accidentally get ink on the reed? Also, in your experience, does this last over time?
It's so light a bit of overspill will make no difference to the reed's pitch, but anyway it's easy to scrape off. Yes, it lasts - indefinitely as far as I can tell. But it's reversible (by scraping off or using nail polish remover) if you want to start over or switch to the reed bending/reshaping method.
I'll try this. Thank you.
If you similarly try to close the gap further out along the reed - e.g., at the tip - does it alter the pitch?
For the lower 2/3 of the reed you should do standard embossing. It's not possible to use the nail art pen further down as the reed is flexible; it will slide underneath the tip of the tool and get nail polish on the reed itself, which is not useful or desirable. Anyway embossing the lower 2/3 in the conventional way is easy and effective, so there is no need to do anything different.
So we call the lower 2/3 from the tip down?
No
@@BrendanPowerMusic thank you good sir
Does double reed plates make up this difference as well?
Hi Brendan, could this be effective in reducing squeals caused by torsional vibration? Thank you so much, you're great!
A touch of dental wax does the trick
How do you get the polish to come out of the tiny pen. I bought some and the polish is so thick so I bought nail polish thinner. So for that hasn't helped. Any tips? Need another UA-cam on how to use the damn pens.
does it work for chromatics too?
Yes! However, when you break the seal with the shim, you need to be careful not to disturb the valve on the opposite side. The shim must not go all the way through the reedplate, just enough to break the seal at the reed. Go slowly and with care and it will fine.
Wouldn’t you have to remove the windsavers before applying though? Otherwise the nail varnish could stick to them and cause the two halves to stick together?
I did it with some chinese harps like bluesband and piedmont blues... they sound a lot better, are easier to play.
Thanks very much for your materials. I find them very helpfull. Among the many queries I may have, here goes one:. in a chromatic, wht happends if you just take all the windsavers away????
The chrom will play, but sound quite leaky. There are some valveless chromatics on the market. However if the slide is very airtight and you do good embossing you can remove the valves. The AsiaBend I play in this video has no valves, and it is made using the parts of a chromatic.
Thank you for your quick response. I don't think I'll dare to remove the windsavers, which appparently are the reason for many wrong functionning of the reeds and holes. I'll keep following your videos.
Ace of harps!
Brilliant :)
Do you still do this to your harps? Have you noticed any of the nail paint come off? I love this idea, WAY less time consuming than a full slot re-configure, just wondering about durability of the paint itself. Lastly, did you have to surface prep the area to get the paint to adhere? Thanks in advance for your time!!!
Yes, I use it all the time. It's better on new reedplates for sure, but just remove external debris on old plates and it will stick fine. You can use tape on the reedplates to remove debris, or an ultrasonic cleaner. It lasts indefinitely.
Thanks Brendan but isn't it poisonous when breathing in the harp?
No
No
Thanks for the tips Brendan, always useful👍
@@zipperdingo6385 It probably depends on the ingredients. But usually that stuff isn't that healthy and I am not sure whether it is a good idea to put in a place where you constantly breathe in. I like the simplicity of this but I won't be doing it for exactly that reason. Although I am keeping an eye open for alternatives because I really want it.
What happens as the reed gets "wet" as you play - does the nail polish run ? Thanks !
No, never.
👏🏼👏🏼amazing🙌🏼🙌🏼
Does the nailpolish smell while playing?
Hello Brendan.
Would there be any downsides if I used that method through the entire length of the reed?
It's just that that seems much less destructive and much less time consuming than the embossing process.
I broke some reeds already in attempts to emboss them and I see this as a possible alternative.
Thanks in advance!
I've covered this already in previous comments. Theoretically it's a nice idea, but in practice I found the flexibility of the reed lower down makes it too difficult to achieve. But why not try? You may succeed where I did not.
@@BrendanPowerMusic Many thanks for your answer ! Then I will only do the bottom third. I highly doubt I would succeed where the master could not. Huge fan by the way! 😊
@@cupid666bgHonestly, don't just take my word for it, you should give it a try anyway. You might discover a way to make it work 🙂
Also, if you’re breaking reeds while attempting to emboss the slots, something isn’t right. Done properly, you run zero risk to the reed, with the exception of having to backtrack when you over-emboss the slot.
The Walter White of the Harmonicas...
So sorry Brendan got your name wrong my thoughts was on my nephew Brian iwas very worried about him he was involved in a car accident. He to play the harmonicas he is a natural play any tune. So sorry Brendan Powers.
Not a bother! Thanks for your positive words :-)
hi Brendan, that shim at 0,01 mm ,where from is it availible? thanx for an answer . detharp
You can find them inside the magnetic security tags on shop products. Split them open and the shim is there.
I can't seem to find those tags,but i have a feeler gauge 0.05. Is it too much?
Seller does not deliver to France