I have read postings on harp-l about some harps that are
'leaky'.  I would like to get a better understanding of
this.  Will airtightness affect how easy/hard it is to get a note
to sound on a particular harp?

 

Here's kind of what I mean:  I play Special 20 harps.  I find
them very responsive and easy to play.  Recently, I picked up a Golden
Melody(A) and a Big River (Eb) harp and find that it takes more air pressure
to get the same volume from them as the Special 20's.  Is this the
effect of airtightness?

 

Regards,

Tim