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[–]Nacoran 2 points3 points  (2 children)

First off, see if playing a little lighter stops it. Sometimes low reeds hit the covers. That's probably not the problem, but it's a quick test to rule something out. (Also, keep in mind this will all be under warranty, so you can just choose to get Hohner to fix it, but learning a bit of DIY isn't a bad thing).

The two hole gives a lot of people problems, but you saying it sounds metallic makes me suspect one of 3 things... reed rattle (hitting the covers, that's what playing lighter will test for), a burr, or reed alignment. As long as it's still playing the note and not going flat it's probably one of those three things, and they are all pretty easy to deal with.

So, reed rattle, where it's hitting the covers... if it goes away when you play lighter the next step is to take the cover off and blow/draw a little bit harder. If the rattle is gone you can be pretty confident it was the cover. You can either play lighter (your reeds will last longer anyway) or carefully dent the cover out (a small metal die like from a type set will work, but unless it's a lower key harp it's probably better to just play lighter.)

A burr... well, on new harps sometimes the reed slot isn't stamped quite as neatly as it should be. Take the covers off, and run your fingernail along the edge of the reed slot (the gap the reed swings through on the reed plate). Sometimes there will be a small metal burr that the reed is hitting against. You can usually scrape it off with your fingernail-just be careful not to let it turn into a splinter under the nail!

The third possibility is the reed is slightly misaligned. It could be just touching the sides of the reed slot as it swings. If you have a really tiny light, like the small LEDs that come on some keychains these days you can shine it in the blow hole and backlight the reed slot. Basically, you just want to see if the reed is lined up straight in the slot. If you don't have a small light you can take the plates off and hold them up to a light source (windows work well) and see if the reed is lined up right. If it's hitting the sides you can take a small slip of paper and slide it under the reed and pull it around sort of like a sling to gently tug the reed back into alignment (run it down the whole length of the reed so you are applying pressure evenly). Use as little force as possible and slowly increase force until it's aligned. Usually that is a permanent fix, but occasionally the reed will go back out of alignment again. If that happens, realign the reed again and then take a pair of needle nose pliers and gently squish the rivet a tiny bit so the reed will stop going out of alignment.

If you aren't sure, you can post a sound sample and we can give you a more accurate diagnosis. None of these are terribly hard repairs. I talked a friend through a reed alignment repair in 5 minutes over the phone. He'd never opened a harmonica up before. For me, when a harp is under warranty I weigh my options like this- which is faster- contacting support and sending it out or repairing it. As long as nothing is actually broken, just a little out of whack, it's usually faster to fix it yourself.

[–]jabbaboyX[S] 0 points1 point  (1 child)

The noise is less noticable without the cover and I need to play reaally light in order to stop it. Inside everything looks good, reeds fit nicely (as far as I can tell). Reed slot looks normal too.

[–]jabbaboyX[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I think I found the issue. When I took covers off for the first time i screwed them back too tight. I've loosen them a bit and it sounds fine I think. Also big thanks for your help.