This is the simplest thing you can do to any diatonic harmonica to get the most improvement.

Use 220 grit sandpaper and a flat surface. No need to buy a precision surface plate made of granite. Just something very flat. And one quick pass with 220 grit is all you need. More passes and a finer grit will actually make things worse and make the surface round, albeit shiny and polished - which is not what we want.

For more improvement, use one of my Dark combs:
https://harp.andrewzajac.ca/Combs

My Quick Videos are jam packed with all the information you need. Even the intro clip gives you insights that you can't find anywhere else.

All of the customizing concepts I use on my custom harmonicas are covered here. This set is complete.

There is a pdf with extra information and charts you might like to print out and keep handy in your workspace.

The twelve videos run for a total of 31 minutes.

This doesn't mean that you will cover all the material in about a half an hour. Most of the techniques and concepts will take you weeks of practice to learn. You will need to get your hands dirty and do the work.
Everybody learns differently. Some need some step by step and others need to do things for themselves and will only need to get a few hints along the way.

For the player who really doesn't want to have to do any work on their instrument - but we all have to - these videos try to show you what to do so that you can get right back to playing.
For the player who is curious about getting more power and response from their instrument, the more advanced videos show you what you should aim for. You will probably watch some of the videos more than a dozen times as you make progress and gain experience before you have gotten everything they have to offer.

I recently reviewed every video looking for things I could improve. I thought I could update them. But I don't think I can do any better. They still hold up.
They do exactly what they say they do and I think you will get a lot of value from them.

Sometimes I solve a problem and that leads to a new standard way of doing things. Here, I show you how I leapfrogged from trying to make a task a bit faster and more convenient and discovered how the new method was also better and more predictable than the old way.
I integrated this change into my Multi tool.

Buy it from RockinRon

My tools are expensive!! I put a lot of work into each piece. They are the exact same tools I use on my workbench when I customise harmonicas. I know they work well and will last a long time.

I've added a minimalist kit to my tools so that you can make your own choice about what you need and save some money.

The Essential kit is my Basic Kit with fewer add-ons and it doesn't include the Grobet file.

Tuning is an important aspect of harmonica maintenance but it may be less important to some players. For those folks, I offer a method that uses easily obtainable 120-grit sandpaper to make tuning adjustments using my reed support tool.

As with my other kits, 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.

See the Essential Kit page.

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If reed work seems like an occult art or weird science, or if embossing feels like a dangerous idea, maybe you aren't looking at things the right way. Maybe you don't understand what you are seeing or what you should be seeing?

Here's a hint. Tilt your phone.

If you aren't reading this on a phone, print it out!

See also this post from a few years ago around the same subject. It has a video!

Question:
"I play ... blues, simple jazz, little country. I play single tone, multitone, chords, arpeggios (triades, 6th; 7th), different modes (or positions). Tongue blocks, splits,
What kind of tuning is optimal for my style of playing?"

Response:
"Hi ---,

Since you play single, multiple, chords and arpeggios but you also play in different positions, the answer is not straightforward. But the problem may not be too big, either...

If you have played both stock Golden Melodies and Stock Marine Band or Special 20s, you have experienced both temperaments. And if you don't have a strong preference at this point, then either temperament should work for you - the question is which do you prefer? How important is it to you? Is this really a big problem?

If we focus on the reeds that are tuned as major thirds, that's the most noticeable difference. So holes 2, 5, 8 blow and 3, 7 draw are tuned about 12 cents flat on Marine Band type harmonicas. When playing in positions/modes/scales where those holes are the tonic or the fifth, I feel like that's where it's the most noticeable. The single note is flat and if that's your tonic, the whole scale may seem unstable. Or for example, the major scale in third position - the second and the sixth note on the bottom octave feel a little off. They would feel better in equal temperament.

But if you tune those notes to be equal, the major triads and even the splits can offer less power, less harmonics. One of the features of a custom harmonica is the precise tuning which provides powerful harmonics if you tune for harmony. The sound from the major triads in harmony can fill the room (as Joe Filisko says, little instrument, big sound!)

I am sorry but you can't have both! Not on the same instrument at the same time, anyway. So the choice is a matter for you to decide. But I hope I have given you the information to make that decision. Please let me know if you need me to elaborate further.

Best,
Z"

I offer two harmonicas that are not listed on my Custom Harmonica page. They are variations of my custom harmonicas.

BASIC CUSTOM
CAD$55 less than my Full Custom

RECONSTRUCTED / NRW harmonica™
Special 20/Rocket CAD$150
Marine Band Deluxe CAD$175

It's a little bit like going to a restaurant and ordering something that's not on the menu.

I try to tailor each instrument to your needs and I keep the Basic custom or NRW options open for specific cases.

I'd rather start the discussion with what a Full Custom can offer and suggest a Basic Custom if the player would not benefit at all from the extra customisation.

I used to feature my Basic Custom harmonicas along with my Full and Overbend custom harmonica as a budget friendly option. It's a great choice for a player who only ever uses second position.

But the truth is, I have found it difficult to start from a Basic custom harmonica and try to meet some extra needs beyond its intended scope.

I usually end up creating a custom harp that's an awful lot like a Full Custom, and that means I have spent the same amount of time and effort customising it as a Full Custom.

I'd love to keep doing things that way, but it's not sustainable.

It's not easy to tell a player who is really set on a Basic custom that I feel they would best be served with a Full Custom because it feels like I'm up-selling.

So my Basic Custom harmonicas are now an off-menu item. They are CAD$55 less than my Full Custom.

The other off-menu item is new: A Reconstructed or NRW harmonica™.

A Reconstructed NRW harmonica™ is not a custom harmonica because it does not feature high-performance reed work.

Whereas a custom harmonica does most of the work for you and is played with little effort, an NRW harmonica™ is played with regular breath force. As such it is the best choice for players who cannot use breath control.

Every player secretly hopes to "win the lottery" and get a "really good one" when they buy a new stock (non-customized) harp from the music store.

A Reconstructed NRW harp™ exceeds that expectation because attention is paid to every detail of its foundation as it is rebuilt. But it does not feature custom reed work (reed shaping). It aims to be powerful, consistent from top to bottom and in perfect tune.

My Reconstructed NRW harmonicas™ are CAD$150 to $175.

See more information about my custom harmonicas here (The Menu)

"Surely, there's one secret thing you do?"

Well, it's not that simple....

When two Hohner Affiliated Customizers talk shop from Andrew Zajac on Vimeo.

When two Hohner Affiliated Customizers talk shop and all you want to do is play a nice harmonica.