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



Vern writes:

Reports such as yours about the actual performance of a particular type of windsaver are just as important as experiments with new materials.

I should point out that I really had no involvement in this beyond the basics of using them for a eight years or so now (it was sometime around 2000). This was Pat's first commercial usage of it, but I can't say at all how long he'd been using it on his own harps. He is extremely cautious with customer's instruments, and so would only use this after being convinced it would hold up over a very long time, so we can assume quite some time before that was when he developed it.


With a big community of chromatic players cooperating, we can gradually develop the optimum (if not perfect) windsaver.

The optimum is a chromatic that doesn't need them. You're Hands-Free- Chromatic comes as close to this as any instrument, but even there the lowest octave of a tenor (or a 64) gives problems. The Tombo Ultimo type of chromatic also doesn't need valves, though here I have yet to try one in that pitch range. These microfibre (or ultrasuede, not sure the actual material used myself) valves are quite effective throughout the rest of the range, and it also depends on the instrument. I have these on the CB-tenor Siegfried Naruhn made for me and they are fine on all the reeds there (he used the reed-plates from a 64X)--so perhaps combinations of hole chamber size, reed-plate thickness and other issues may all come into play to effect the valves in that range. On the 280 it is only an issue on the lowest two holes, and only if you do certain things at certain speeds. And even then, not a major issue.


Smokey Joe writes:

Right, only the long windsavers are touchy. Hohner used to make 'vaulted' ones for the low octave. You 'could' try this (which I suggested to Vern Smith).

I've used these and not particularly liked them. I think I prefer the standard-style of Hohner valve to this.


Very fine wire from the carriage cables in the tuner of a radio. This cable is only about a milimeter and has several 'hair' sized strands. Once unravelled, the individual wires will STILL have the curls in them from the braiding, BUT this won't hurt the installation.


Thanks for the tip. I have several potential materials in mind for light springs, but haven't really had enough of a desire to bother yet. Which probably says a lot about the degree of the problem in and of itself.

PT Gazell wrote:

"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."


No, I was referring to this post:

http://www.harp-l.com/pipermail/harp-l/2005-August/msg00812.html

Which dates the convention to sometime before August of 2005. I haven't been to another since then.

It seems that there are a lot of varieties of similar material out there, so perhaps finding the right one is critical. I've not tried what Pat gave me on standard Richter diatonics, but have tried it on XB-40s. It worked fine, but because of the way the XB-40 is valved in the first place I'm not sure it's a significant improvement over the standard valves.






()() JR "Bulldogge" Ross () () `----'






This archive was generated by a fusion of Pipermail 0.09 (Mailman edition) and MHonArc 2.6.8.