My new (several weeks)Seydel low D harmonica all of a sudden has a problem. Hole #7 plays the same note on blow and draw. It's the draw note that sounds whether you blow or draw. The note seems equally strong on blow or draw.
I took the covers and plates off and the blow reed does not appear stuck. As I said, this happened all of a sudden. I played it last a few days ago and it was fine. I went to play it today, and the correct note was gone. Any ideas?

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I'd call Seydel customer support.

EDC-- I wrote to their US customer rep yesterday and OK'd it for me to send the harp in for evaluation/repair/replacement.
Interestingly, he said that reeds can fracture at "any time" including "within minutes" and are not covered by warranty. What is, then?

_________________
Got wood?
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Let me custom make one for you!

Have you tried turning it off and on again?

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Fye now Johnnie, get up and rin
The hieland bagpipes make a din

I seem to recall that harmonica reeds need to be broken in slowly. Full volume with new reeds can damage them.

That doesn't sound like a reed going flat, but it could be a broken reed. Honestly, I just open them up and look for myself. I took Steve's advice a few years back and decided to not be scared of tweaking.

That said, I bought a TON of crappy harmonicas ($5 ones) to learn tweaking on. At this point, I'm comfortable that I can replace reeds and retune them. That's not a ton, but it's pretty much all I needed.

How is the Seydel Low D? I still use a Hohner for my low D (and LO or Seydel for my G, Busman for my C)?

Update-- the rep verified that it was a fractured reed and although they are not covered by warranty he offered to replace that reed for me as a courtesy. He also gave me the option to upgrade to stainless steel reed plates at a discount which I accepted.
Apart from that one reed fracturing so soon, I like the Seydel low D quite a lot.

In related harmonica things, I just pulled out an old Super Chromonica that I bought about 10 years ago at a flea market. It's a real old one, but in mint condition-- it was still wrapped in it's tissue paper. I played it some, and then pretty much forgot about it. Gonna give it a try again after sealing the comb with polyurethane.

It won't be good for playing Irish tunes with others though...any recommendations for a decent Chromatic in D? Got a few St. Paddy's day gigs coming, and I might be willing to use some gig money on a new harmonica which I could use in the band.
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Later-- that Chromonica turned out to be not so mint. I started to take it apart, intending to seal the come against cracking...too late! It had two decent size cracks. They were at the first and last chambers which I haven't used much so I was unaware or them. So, I took the whole thing apart, repaired the cracks with Cyanoacrylate glue, sealed the bore with woodwind bore oil (works for whistles, so why not?) and put'er back together. As long as I was at it, I flipped the slide which I'd read made it more suitable for Irish music. So far, I think I like it. Now all I have to do is find a session that plays tunes in C#...

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Got wood?
http://www.Busmanwhistles.com
Let me custom make one for you!

The same reed in a Seydel low D gave up on me rather quickly. I guess it is a weakness in these Seydels. I have replaced the instrument with a stainless steel low D, and hope it will last a lot better. I much prefer the Seydel low D than the Hohner low D.

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Hans Bracker - Handcrafted Whistles from Scotland - http://www.music.bracker.uk
Custom built aluminium whistles in any key and other speciality whistles and flutes

Is this the "ordinary" Seydel Session low D (... or do you happen to know if every low D by Seydel has this issue)?

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It was a Blues Session model. I would not like to generalise on this. If my memory serves me right, I read about a failing Blues Session low D, on the same reed, once before, possibly on this forum.
viewtopic.php?f=17&t=75328&p=968569&hilit=seydel#p968569

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Hans Bracker - Handcrafted Whistles from Scotland - http://www.music.bracker.uk
Custom built aluminium whistles in any key and other speciality whistles and flutes

Thanks Hans! Yes, I was referring to that Blues Session model, too. That's a pity; I'm looking for a low D currently, and was really fancying this one. Good I read this thread...


Seydel as well? I'd be interested in the long term durability then... maybe an update in a few weeks?

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yes, a stainless steel low D Seydel. They call it Seydel Session Steel. Stainless steel reeds. Seydel say the reeds should last 5 times as long as the brass reeds. So I got some hope. But I play it very little anyway, so I am no good judge as to how well it goes, unless it breaks quite quickly, which would be a huge disappointment.

The low D Session Steel is more expensive than the Session Blues. There is no Paddy Richter model, so I retuned the blow 3 reed myself to play a note higher (B instead of A). This worked well.

Got it online through Eagle Music in the UK. Fast and cheaper than ordering from Seydel directly.
http://www.eaglemusicshop.com/diatonic- ... cas/Seydel

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Hans Bracker - Handcrafted Whistles from Scotland - http://www.music.bracker.uk
Custom built aluminium whistles in any key and other speciality whistles and flutes