Alcohol will wear down the tips of the tines of my combs but there are a few other reasons not to use it as part of harmonica maintenance.
I spent a big part of my career working in an operating room or ICU as a Respiratory Therapist and Clinical Perfusionist. I'm familiar with asepsis and sterile techniques. Here's my take on cleaning versus trying to kill microorganisms in the harmonica.
While 70 per cent alcohol is effective at cleaning off thermometers and stethoscopes, it is not idea for disinfecting a harmonica. Alcohol is very volatile and evaporates quickly - anything less than 70 per cent concentration will not be effective. And if sprayed as a mist (for example, Mi-T-Mist), you cannot assure that a high enough concentration of alcohol will actually reach the target since most of it will evaporate in transit.
There are too many nooks and crannies in a harmonica for alcohol to work. Not to mention a porous comb will shelter microorganisms from some products.
Alcohol will not kill organisms caught under debris so to reach all the bugs, each piece of the harp must be cleaned first. But if you clean the harp well, there is no real need to sterilize.
I only think about sterilizing a harp if I am worried about a specific pathogen, example someone with active cold sores played my harp.
Instead, I recommend soap and water. My combs do not swell. You can dunk the whole harp with my comb under soapy water and slosh it around. Rinse it out, tap out the excess water and let it dry. You can use a hair dryer to warm up the inside of the harp to dry it out faster.
If you need to disinfect in addition to cleaning, I recommend hydrogen peroxide. It is inexpensive, non-toxic and earth-friendly: it breaks down into oxygen and water.
Frustrated Player:I bought a new harp and the reeds are stiff.
Me:You find the reeds feel stiff? The major brands' reeds usually work very well. They may have a different feel, but they shouldn't be stiff. I think something else is going on.
Frustrated Player:It's the reeds. In fact it's mainly the 2 and 3 draw reeds. I tried gapping them but that only made it worse!
Me:Often when a harmonica is leaky, it feels just like the reed is stiff because we need to use a lot of effort to get it to play, but the real problem is that there's not a lot of air getting to the reed. The reeds are fine. But since we can't see what's going on as we play, the sensory feedback is the same as if the reed really was stiff.
I get the feeling the only thing the person is hearing are sounds that come from the adults in Charlie Brown:
"Waugh Waaugh WAAaa WAAAAaa...."
Frustrated Player:It's a (insert any and every Make/Model here). I read on the internet they are all stiff.
Me:I'm sure we can fix it.
Frustrated Player:Okay. Here. I forgot to mention, I tried embossing but that didn't work.
Me:Really?
Frustrated Player:Embossing didn't do anything so I just kept embossing until the reed got stuck. I freed it up but now it buzzes. And it's still stiff. It's the reeds on this (insert any and every Make/Model here)!
I take the harp apart and we check the flatness of the reed plates and comb. We either correct or replace the comb. We flatten the draw reed plate using a flat surface and some sandpaper and we straighten the blow plate using the F tool™ and French Tuner™. The whole process takes about five minutes.
I carefully eliminate any dust particles from the inside of the harp and reassemble it. I deal with the over-embossing and zealous gapping. I hand the harp back to the disgruntled player.
Formerly Frustrated Player:Wow! This person is visibly pleased.
Me:Are the reeds still stiff?
Formerly Frustrated Player:Do-Diggetty Wah Wahh. (Can't talk with the harp in mouth except to say "thank you!")
I'm not making this up. This happens to me *all the time*.
My combs maximize surface contact and do not incorporate room for the tips of the rivets that stick out on the under side of the reed plate. You need to flat sand the draw plate to install my combs. Flat sanding the draw plate is easy and it provides an additional boost to the performance of any diatonic harmonica. Try it on a harp with its stock comb and see.
This kit provides what you need to work on harps anywhere.
Use this kit to:
-Adjust reed shape and gap
-Fix tuning troubles without having to take apart your harp!
-Fix Reed Centering
-Replace lost screws
Here are a few thoughts on overblows and harmonicas. These ideas are relevant to both setting up and playing overblows on the diatonic harmonica.
- Overblows, overdraws, overbends are just like regular bends. The same thing that causes a regular note to bend causes the note to overbend.
- Air flow makes the reeds move and resonance affects the frequency (pitch). This is basic to how the harmonica works.
- Resonance can make a reed stand still. Resonance is kinetic energy and it can greatly affect the frequency of a reed.
- Resonance has a strong effect on both reeds when regular bends are played. Regular bends are double reed bends and overblows are single reed bends - they have a different behavior and sound.
- Resonance has a weaker effect on the closing reed than the opening reed during an overblow. If you can't hold and overblow note, it's likely because the reed that's supposed to stand still is not standing still.
- There are several kinds of overblow. Which is your favorite?
- It’s technique, but it’s also the harp. You need technique to play overbends but you also need a harp that will respond to your playing.
"...Here's how you do it: Only emboss half the slot...."
Embossing is SO misunderstood.
Embossing decreases the amount of space between the reed and the slot. It's as simple as that!
Why do it?
- You want to improve response
- You want a little more volume
- You like a bright sound
Why would you not want to emboss?
- You don't like bright tone
Embossing doesn't fix anything!
Do not ever try to fix a problem with embossing. If a note doesn't play well, spending 30 seconds embossing won't help. And when you are not happy with the result and decide to emboss some more - this time with more force - you will probably overdo it and end up damaging the reed plate.
To fix a misbehaving reed, make the harp airtight and fix the shape of the reed. Once you have done that, you can try embossing to add a little extra juice.
Embossing isn't just for overblows!
It would be a challenge to set up a harp for overblows without embossing, but that doesn't mean you can't take advantage of the benefits of embossing on a general-purpose harmonica.
Also, in of itself, embossing doesn't make your harp play overblows any easier. Not to any useful degree anyway... Again, the shape of the reeds counts for a whole lot more.
The Dark side of embossing
Embossing can cause problems. If you overdo it, your reeds will start to sound thin and the high overtones will become more present. As you continue to emboss, you will start to hear the reeds buzz. If you continue further, you will make the reed seize.
None of this causes permanent damage; you can undo embossing. But if you force the reed while trying to fix the damage, you can wreck your harp.
Embossing a harp is a job that takes a few minutes. If you are spending more time fixing the damage than you are spending time embossing, you are doing something wrong! I'm not saying you should rush your work but if you are spending hours embossing, you should probably re-think your process.
Less is more: Get the advantages without the drawbacks!
Gentle embossing can offer you a lot of the advantages of embossing while avoiding 99 per cent of the drawbacks.
Here's how you do it: Only emboss half the slot.
Find a round metal object like a 10mm chrome-plated socket driver, or the tip of one of my pin vises.
Hold the object halfway down the slot and press down. Press about as hard as you press a touch screen phone. Move the round object towards the free end of the slot (towards the reed tip).
You won't be able to see the little ridge you have created on the inside of the slot just by looking at the reed plate. Feel the inside of the slot with your fingernail. Pick at the side to see if you have created a little ridge on the inside of the slot. If you feel nothing run the round object down the slot again, this time with a little more force.
Do it until you have used just enough force to create a ridge (or burr) on the inside of the slot. Repeat the process on all the other slots one at a time starting from the halfway point and going to the free end.
On the weighted low reeds, you may need to position the reed plate over the edge of a table so that the tip of the reed can "peek" out the bottom of the slot as you move your round tool towards the tip.
Next, check your work. Use this hand position and angle the reed plate to look through the slots:
The shortened view of the slot is a low-tech way to zoom in and see how close the reed is to the sides of the slot. No extra equipment required (Microscope, Light Table, etc...)
Push the tip of the reed through the slot while you are looking to see if the reed touches any part of the sides. You'll also see if the reed is off-center as you do this. If you embossed with gentle finger pressure you should still have lots of room on either side of the slot.
If you overdid it in some areas, you will see it using this view. You may also notice the reed has a prickly/buzzy sound or maybe it doesn't even plink? To fix it, push the ridge of metal back. Use gentle force in the areas you need to target so that you don't completely undo your work.
Use a round piece of metal like a reed tool or a safety pin.
Since you only worked on the front half of the slot, you should be able to get your tool in position from the under side of the slot. The reed won't be in your way, it will simply be pushed up a little. Plink the reed a few times and re-check.
Now, put the harp back together and play it! You should notice more responsiveness and louder sound.
The reed shape, gap and tuning should be unchanged after embossing this way because we only worked on the free end of the slot. Not bad for a few minute's work! This method is a real time-saver!
If you are interested in embossing to the fullest possible limits, try Full Slot Embossing.
A harp player bought one of my combs from Rockin Ron's and had a little trouble getting the harp to play well. Here's why!
Just like maybe one-in-ten harps plays really well from the factory, this one suffered from defect and was the worst of the bunch.
It's fixed, now.
This particular harmonica is a Delta Frost but these defects happen with EVERY brand of harp. There are no exceptions. The only harmonica free of defects is a proper custom harmonica.
Optional:
-Reed Replacement kit. Replace blown-out reeds like you change strings on a guitar.
-Grobet Swiss Tuning File. Use this file to tune Brass, Stainless Steel and Phosphor Bronze reeds
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Items you will need (not included but easily found at a hardware store):
- small screwdriver
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This kit provides what you need to work on harps anywhere.
Use this kit to:
-Adjust reed shape and gap
-Fix tuning troubles without having to take apart your harp!
-Fix Reed Centering
-Replace lost screws
Optional:
- Replace blown reeds with the Reed Replacement kit
- Raise or lower the pitch of a reed with the reed plate on or off the comb with the Grobet Swiss Tuning File.
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These tools are hand-made from solid brass and tempered high-carbon steel. Use the tuning tools on Brass or Phosphor Bronze reeds. Use a Grobet File or an engraver (diamond-tip, battery-power) on all types of reeds, including stainless.
They are shipped promptly.
Email support is provided with the purchase of these tools. Within the first 90 days of purchase, I will answer any question about using the tools, just email me your questions.
The Five Cent Tuning Tool™ is used to make small changes in pitch to reeds on the blow plate without needing to take the reed plates off the comb. Use it to touch up the tuning of reeds that are only slightly out of tune (by about five cents or less) without messing up the reed shape or gap.
To raise the pitch of a blow reed, support the reed without bending it out of shape as you file from the tip. To lower the pitch, use the Five Cent Tuning tool to peel off brass from the base of the reed with light pressure and maximum precision.
It can be used on Special 20 harmonicas without the need to cut out the comb's "sprues". It’s meant to save you time and effort without sacrificing the quality of your work.
It's made of springy tool steel and works on brass or phosphor bronze reeds like those in all Hohner, Suzuki, Lee Oskar harps. While the scraper end will not work on stainless steel reeds, the Five Cent tuner will be very effective at supporting the blow reeds so that you can raise the pitch with a file without having to take the plates off the comb.
This tool comes with printed instructions and email support is provided with the purchase of these tools.
Use this simple tuning method (click here) to start tuning now. You can tune your harmonica with very high precision using only a simple guitar tuner and your ears!
Here's the Five Cent Tuner being used to tune with precision without needing to take the reed plates apart:
A pilot hole for this tap can be drilled with a 3/64" drill bit - that's a commonly-available drill bit in the US and Canada. In most cases, the rivet hole is already the perfect size and no further drilling is needed.
To use this tap, I recommend you use a tap handle or pin vise. I can provide one if needed.
This pin vise can hold a single M2, M1.6 or M1.4 tap. Use two sets of pliers to tighten the collet so that you firmly hold the tap or drill bit in the pin vise. This will maximize the life of the tool.
These are Stainless Steel M1.4 screws and washers used for replacing reeds. They are non-magnetic because they are made of 304 Stainless Steel and will never corrode.
Two types of screws are provided. 5mm Phillips head screws are easy to handle but require trimming once in place. The shorter flat head screws are harder to pick up with your fingers but don't need to be cut. (Dip your screwdriver in Vaseline to make the tiny screw stick to the tip!) Washers are a big help to keep the reed in place as you tighten the screw.
It's no secret that a comb flattened by hand will outperform one that is machine-made.
Use this tool to make your combs flat.
The secret to warm tone and excellent response is an airtight harp. To be airtight, the comb needs to be perfectly flat.
I meticulously flatten the top edge of this tool which is used as a reference to measure the flatness of every part of the comb surface.
My comb tool™ is a working copy of a high-precision straight-edge (some call this a machinist square) precise to .000025" per 6" (25 millionths of an inch). The original stays in a drawer!
The tool is also used to distribute the weight of your fingers over the surface of the comb as you flatten. Find all the details and instructions for use here:
Also, here are some extra tips on using my comb tool:
