From: Black belt caterpillar wrestler - PM
Date: 24 Jun 10 - 04:46 AM
"I presume that the slight differences in the way that the reed flexes along its length and width will determine exactly which harmonics are emphasised and reduced".

RE:The present scientific approach to the matter is not such as that!The tonal spectrum (overtone distribution) from a free reed itself is fairly even and the overtone content may be explained by the effects from the clipping of the airstream itself and NO interferrence from how "reed flexes along its length and width" is neccessary to explain the ovetone pattern.
When the sound is analysed outside the reed chamber a different pattern is noticable with an uneven (sloping)gradual reduction of amplitudes towards the higher frequences and this pattern may also be influenced from damping by other structures along he passage to the ear. Amplification ("emphasized") however does NOT occur since - as I said before - there is no resonator present in squeezeboxes.