FW: [Harp-L] Re: New wind saver valve leather

[PT Gazell <ptgazell@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

Wow...a whole lotta' info concerning me! Let me state the facts.

I was at the Buckeye convention about 4 or 5 years ago and Pat Mission was
in attendance. When I told Pat that I really liked the idea of valved
diatonics, but was unhappy with the inherent problems associated with
plastic windsavers, he said he had been experimenting with something called
microfiber. He sent me some samples in different thicknesses. This material
is most commonly used as headliner in cars. Pat's microfiber material solved
two issues. Moisture and temperature sensitivity. However it did not
completely solve the buzzing because the thicker sample was to dead sounding
and the thinner sample was not rigid enough to retain it's shape when in
use. This resulted in buzzing and the material getting tangled up with the
reed itself. 

It was at this stage that I went to a fabric store and tried to match as
best I could what Pat had given me. I showed Pat's sample to one of the
women working there and she said that she did not carry that particular
material but had something called "Ultrasuede" that she thought would be
similar.

As Elizabeth found out, there are a lot of different versions of this stuff.
I tried many different samples. Over about a six month period of testing I
finally settled on one that did everything I hoped it would.

I honestly don't know which one of the Ultrasuede lines it is because I went
back and bought a whole lot of the stuff and never asked what particular one
it was.

Brendan being a mad scientist, has tweaked this to what I suspect suits his
style of playing. 

Brendan came to the same conclusion I did... that it works much better on
diatonics than chromatics. Pat was not experimenting with it for diatonics
when he suggested microfiber. I tried ultrasuede on a chromatic that I had,
and had poor results.

My version of this does not require anything additional other than the
fabric. I have no buzzing, no sensitivity to temperature and the stuff is
very moisture resistant. But again, I think a lot of this depends on how you
play.

A detailed article on my valve setup will be in an upcoming version of NHL
magazine. I think the April issue.

I have conducted at least 6 seminars at various harmonica conventions on
this topic and the facts stated above were usually discussed. I suspect that
JR is referring to a conversation I had with someone at a convention which
eventually ended up on Harp-l.

Hope this helps

PT Gazell
pt@xxxxxxxxxxxx
http://www.myspace.com/ptgazell
http://www.ptgazell.com

 


On 2/17/09 12:22 PM, "Brendan Power" <bren@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

> This thread caught my attention as I've been experimenting with a
> synthetic leather valve material. I believe it was first used by my friend
> and fellow half-valved harp player PT Gazell.
> 
> The information on the material was discussed publicly in Sldemeister a
> few months back (valve issues are a hot topic there, as you'd expect!), so
> I hope PT won't mind if I follow up here on Harp-L. It was that discussion
> which prompted me to seek it out and give it a try.
> 
> There are lots of synthetic leathers on the market, but the one mentioned
> on Slemeister was Ultrasuede, invented in Japan in 1970:
> 
> http://www.ultrasuede.com/
> 
> I ordered some and tried it out in my harps, all of which (chromatics and
> diatonics) are half-valved. For me, I find it works better in diatonics
> than chromatics. On my diatonics, I had trouble with buzzing valves in the
> lower holes, which was difficult to fix.
> 
> Valving the lower holes with Ultrasuade cured that problem. It also gives
> a slightly softer tone to the valved reeds, getting closer to the sound of
> an unvalved harp. I presume this is because the seal on the reedplate is
> not quite as perfect as with a conventional valve, so a tiny bit of air is
> seeping through - but that's just conjecture.
> 
> You have to cut out your own valves (I use a steel ruler and a sharp
> blade, but scissors are fine too). I attach with a tiny drop of Superglue.
> On longer valves I also attach a light plastic spring on top of the
> Ultrasuade to ensure the valve instantly returns to its seating position
> with breath changes.
> 
> If Rick's leather refurbishing fix doesn't work, Ultrasuede could be the
> solution for Paul's problem with his old leather-valved chromatic.
> 
> Brendan Power
> WEBSITE: http://www.brendan-power.com
> YOUTUBE: http://www.youtube.com/BrendanPowerMusic
> 
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