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I'VE FOUND THAT EVERY NEW HARMONICA needs at least a bit of working on before it will do what I want it to, that is to say play "in tune" and blow and draw predictably and evenly throughout its range.
Setting-up and tuning is fiddly but exceptionally rewarding. Not only will the playing results be so much better, but you also gain an intimate understanding of how your instrument responds to your playing technique, and this, in my view, inevitably leads to better music-making. Not least, you will quickly and confidently be able to fix the little things that go wrong occasionally.
Years ago I bought a Lee Oskar harmonica system tool kit and an electronic CHROMATIC tuner - note the emphasis - and for most purposes I find that that's all I need. You could probably equip yourself with that lot these days for about fifty quid or less. The tool kit is perfectly good for Hohners etc. but you'll have to add a small flat-bladed screwdriver. The tool kit comes with an extremely useful manual which deals with basic maintenance. Get one I say!
REED SET-UP, OR GAPPING: Each reed sits slightly proud of its own slot in the reed-plate. The slight angle (the offset) which the reed makes with the plate is crucial for the reed, AND the one which shares its hole, to respond correctly. Too great an angle and the sound is weak. Too small an angle - very common - and there is a momentary delay before sound emerges when the note is hit hard. Or NO sound! Absolutely ruinaceous for your music-making. You are doing all the right things but your harmonica isn't. Fortunately it is possible, with care, with the appropriate tool (note the caveats) to lever the reed gently to achieve the correct gap. Generally, there should be a gradation from slightly bigger gaps for the longer reeds to slightly smaller ones for shorter reeds. I try not to get too theoretical about it: if it works for me I'm happy. It is worth pointing out that different playing styles can call for different gapping setups. Generally I find that the out-of-the-box gapping of Hohners and Lee Oskars is more or less right for me, though I occasionally have to open up one or two reeds slightly to prevent their choking. Just in case it mysteriously ceases to work when you're blasting away in the pub (it does), I keep stand-in harmonicas with me at all times. NOTE: If you want to use the technique known as "overblowing" (I don't use it myself) then much what I've said about gapping doesn't apply.
TUNING REEDS: Not only possible but often very necessary. You would think that a new harmonica would be "in tune." Aha. Lee Oskars are accurately tuned to slightly sharper than concert pitch (to around A=442), which gives a bright sound, and are tuned to "12-tone equal temperament", which means they are set up nicely, to my ear at least, for single-note tune-playing. The Hohners I've mentioned, on the other hand, are subtly different. If you check one of these against your electronic tuner you will find some notes that seem slightly "out." This is to ensure that chords sound sweeter when played: they can sound slightly sour on a harp tuned to 12tET. For me, single note playing, not chords, is my priority, so I always tune my Hohners to the "Lee Oskar tuning." There are many who would disagree with this approach, and I am no guru! There can be nothing worse for your morale than that uncomfortable feeling that you are out of tune. Fine tuning of harmonicas is a big subject, and one which we melody players perhaps ought to know at least a little about. There is a range of possible fine tunings, from 12tET to Just Intonation: the latter has chord-playing as a priority. The Hohners mentioned have a tuning somewhere between these two - but I still maintain that equal temperament is probably the best compromise for us. Just an opinion - and conflicting ones exist! I'm aware too that I've given a VERY simplistic view of this topic. Check out the link below for starters if you want to know more.
Tuning consists of gently scraping or filing metal from the free end (the surface, not the tip) of the reed to sharpen a note or the fixed end, near the rivet, to flatten a note. You have to use the correct tool from the kit and support the reed carefully before starting. You need good light and a steady hand (I try to avoid emergency tuning between my fourth and fifth pints of Doom Bar!). Brass spreads out when you scrape at it, so when you've finished tuning you may have to file the edges of the reed to stop it from "buzzing," that is, catching on the edge of its slot. You may also need to check the offset again which you may have disturbed.
Tuning the tremolo harps can mean working on a lot of reeds! All the same principles apply but you have to tune two reeds for each note. It's a hassle with the Hohner Echos, not only for this reason but also because of that Hohner tuning I mentioned. I tune the top reed to concert pitch and the bottom reed slightly sharp, to get the degree of tremolo which suits my taste. Trial and error again. You have to stop one of the two reeds sounding with your thumb or something while you're checking the other. Test out the instrument with the covers held back on (essential) and don't lose those endearing Hohner cover pins! One day I'll investigate the Tombo tremolos - they shouldn't need all this work. But only when my Echos wear out.
I strongly recommend that you download (free) the files called Altered States 2.2 at http://www.patmissin.com/tunings/tunings.html for excellent and down-to-earth detailed advice on what I've covered on this page.
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