Harpie on thicker reedplates=louder?

[Snaruhn@xxxxxxx]

Hello friends,

as I see I=B4m back on the list after a long time of silence.That Harpie=20
appears in=20
the subject doesn=B4t mean that he is going to make jokes about louder=20
reedplates.=20
Only at the end he couldn=B4t resist.

Note: For harp friends who subscribed in the meantime, Harpie is my imaginar=
y=20
son
I invented for entertainment years ago.

I=B4ve carefully read all comments and here are my 2 cts on the subject=20
Keith Freeman started again. Yes, nothing or very little is absolutely new o=
n=20

harp-L. Even the materials question is sometimes still alive though=20
considered a=20
dead horse.

Well, theoretically, a thicker reedplate enlarges the amplitude of a=20
vibrating reed=20
which is the parameter of the loudness. Let=B4s see what happens at a vibrat=
ing=20
reed=20
to understand the reason.

A reed vibration has 4 distinguishable phases, starting with the neutral=20
position of=20
a reed in rest as phase 1. In phase 2 the reed reaches its upper maximum,=20
then=20
coming down and dives into the plate slot (phase 3) and reaches in phase 4=20
its=20
other maximum.=20

Assuming the playing wind comes from above, the reed motion is against the=20
wind=20
in phase 1 and 4 and with the wind in phase 2 and 3. The phase 2 is crucial=20
because=20
the opening area for the airstream has its maximum and the reed receives the=
=20
necessary energy for a stationary vibration.=20

When the reed is coming down it finally closes the vibration channel (except=
=20
the=20
unavoidable gap between reed tip and slot wall) and chokes the airstream=20
extremely. Because of the inertia of the braked air mass a pressure differen=
ce is=20
formed which=20
acts into the direction of the reed motion and is therefore accelerating=20
unlike in=20
phase 4 when the reed comes back from its below maximum. Here the reed moves=
=20
against the air stream and the pressure difference brakes the reed motion.=20

However, the compensation of the accelerated reed motion in phase 2 by the=20
braking effect in phase 4 is small because of the much bigger airstream=20
between=20
phase 1 and 2.  =20
        =20
Now comes the point. It is obvious that the just mentioned compensation of=20
the=20
motion acceleration has to become smaller when the reedplate becomes thicker=
,=20

thus increasing the amplitude =3D the loudness.  =20

That=B4s the theory but in practice many reservations have to be considered=20=
and=20

at the end the simple statement that a thicker reedplate is louder sounds=20
like the assessment that this or that harp ist the best one.

At first, the above mentioned air pressure compensation works only for reeds=
=20
which=20
are long enough to swing through the plate slot. The shorter reeds move more=
=20
or less=20
within the slot because of their stiffness and a thicker reedplate would or=20
should=20
then even enlarge this effect.  =20

This is allegedly the reason why Hohner neglected the plate doubling of the=20
two=20
higher octaves at the Super 64 X. I say "allegedly" because Hohner is=20
contradictory.=20
Shortly after WW II Hohner introduced the Chromonica II de Luxe as is to be=20
seen=20
on the cover of Toots CD "Man bites Harmonica!".

BTW, Toots only poses with this instrument but never played it.

Well, this 3 octave Chromonica II de Luxe had alu reedplates with a thicknes=
s=20

of 2 mm. In other words, the reedplates of the two highest octaves have the=20
same=20
thickness as the two lowest octaves of the Super 64 X and it worked well.=20
That the Chromonica II de Luxe was a flop and was soon out of production had=
=20
other reasons.         =20

Now let=B4s talk on the constructional side of thicker reedplates. I only kn=
ow=20
of Hohners options to fit out one and the same harp model with different pla=
te=20
thicknesses.=20

There are the two 270, the Mellow Tone (MT) and Hard Bopper (HB), the Super=20
64=20
and Super 64 X and the Golden CX 12 (the Silver model is out of production)=20
and all=20
other CX 12 colors.

A normal reedplate of brass has a thickness of about 1 mm and the=20
chrome-plated=20
thicker version of 1.3 mm =3D they differ by 30% only, but the two Super 64=20
differ by=20
100% because the 64 X  plates are doubled 64 plates. Considering this one=20
could=20
mean that the two 64 must show a more noticeable sound difference than the=20
other 12-holers if at all. But I didn=B4t find that.

BTW, concerning the Super 64 X I really meant in the beginning that Hohner=20
assembled the plates as a compact unit =3D without the slightest air gap=20
between=20
the plates. Then I noticed that the plates are fixed with only two nails at=20
the plate=20
ends so that the plates can=B4t touch absolutely airtight at all points, uff=
f.=20

I helped myself by setting more nails and worked the plate rims so that=20
finally=20
nobody can see that the plates consist of two parts, only to work harp=20
problem=20
no. 1, the airtightness.

Then I started once again a playing test with my 2 MTs and 2 HBs.=20

Same as Vern I=B4m the proud owner of a sound meter, however, as he correctl=
y=20
stated to get a convincing result you have to use a bellows with a manometer=
.=20

But, though I haven=B4t tuned as many harps as Pat has I dare say that I hav=
e=20
my=20
breath under control like him.

I mixed the MTs and HBs on the table like playing cards untill I didn=B4t kn=
ow=20
which=20
is which and then played always the same notes in the middle range with the=20
subjectice same air pressure. Next I made two groups where I thought this wa=
s=20
a=20
MT and this was a HB (thinking a HB should be louder) but was surprised abou=
t=20

the result. The groups were made of a MT and a HB which meant that sometimes=
=20
the MT seemed to be louder than a HB.

Bobbie mentioned that she correctly guessed that Doug once played a Renny=20
with=20
HB plates. Unfortunately, she didn=B4t say why. I suppose that it wasn=B4t t=
he=20
loudness.=20
Here, I remember that every MT and HB box contains a recommendation from=20
Toots=20
where he advises to use a MT for ballads or lyric music and a HB for jazz or=
=20
bebop=20
because the HB  had a more brilliant sound. He doesn=B4t mention a differenc=
e=20
of the loudness. Surprisingly, Toots himself doesn=B4t take care of his=20
recommendation.=20
He plays the MT for all kinds of music.

OTH, Hendrik Meurkens exclusively prefers the HB performing his Latin=20
American jazz.=20

Many harp artists prefer the Super 64 rather than the 64 X: Pete Pedersen,=20
Ron Kalina, William Galison or Franz Chmel just to mention a few.=20
I have just a Super 64 and a 64 X for repair and tuning but don=B4t have the=
=20
feeling that=20
the 64 X is noticeable louder. This finally leads to the CX 12, the chromati=
c=20
I know best besides my own CB chroms.

The CX 12 is known among other qualities for its remarkable loudness but thi=
s=20

wasn=B4t so in the beginning. I had the opportunity to play the prototype at=
=20
Hohner=20
which had a grey plastic cover without the typical funnel at the bottom.=20
The loudness of the CX protype didn=B4t knock my socks off. The breakthrough=
=20
was=20
the funnel which acts like a megaphon.=20

For my first customized CX 12 I took a Silver CX 12 cut off half of the lowe=
r=20
cover=20
part and replaced it by brass in order to prevent the damage of the slots by=
=20
the=20
wrong constructed spring band. This instrument was louder than the original=20
Silver CX though I didn=B4t provide a funnel. But I made the cover opening i=
n=20
full=20
length broader than the funnel of the original.

I personally prefer thicker CX 12 plates because they are chrome-plated, thu=
s=20
giving=20
a better protection against the agressive saliva compounds and not because=20
they=20
are noticeable louder. Actually, I can=B4t compare the different CX plates=20
because all=20
my CX 12 are black and all have the thicker plates thanks to an assembling=20
mistake=20
in the factory.

Nevertheless, the loudest chromatic is up to now my CB 12 MT. That=B4s a=20
12-holer=20
in the shape of the CX 12 but with a brass cover and screwed MT plates.=20
Blackie=20
found this instrument absolutely airtight and I think that is the reason for=
=20
its loudness.

In this moment Harpie rushed in, and read all that lot of stuff on the=20
screen.=20
My dear, Dad, me seems that all this palaver on the loudness of thicker=20
plates=20
is similar to the materials debate. How can you say that, Harpie?=20

Yeah, Dad, because the folks are talking a lot about amps and mics as well.=20
So, why not use an amp and then it doesn=B4t matter whether the plates are=20
thick=20
or thin. And concerning the materials question I always had an idea in mind.=
=20
The believers mostly said that thanks to this or that material this or that=20
harp had=20
another sound. Mind you, they mostly said "another" and not a "better" sound=
.=20


That=B4s right, Harpie, because people love it to change clothes, car models=
,=20
hair colors or
don=B4t like to eat every day the same. Think of our German saying "Na, endl=
ich=20
mal was anderes".=20

Harpfried       =20
         =20

       =20

      =20

         =20


 =20