Re: [Harp-L] Removing windsavers from chromatics

["Tim Moyer" <wmharps@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Jonathan Hill wrote:
> I was at a HOOT meeting last night (great group, btw :-) 

Welcome to the club!

> and heard something about removing some of the windsavers to be 
> able to achieve some bending effects/techniques. 

On chromatic harps that are sufficiently airtight, removing the 
windsavers will enable the kind of two-reed bends that you get on 
diatonics.  You might look around on Brendan Power's site 
(www.brendan-power.com) for hints on how he suggests valving 
different tunings of his custom chromatics.  I believe that Mitch 
Weiss, for example, plays a Richter tuned CX-10 which is half 
valved, enabling two-reed bends on the lower 6 draws and the upper 4 
blows, but also permitting draw bends on the upper notes and blow 
bends on the lower notes.  On most production chromatics, valves are 
used to reduce the amount of air leakage and permit playing with 
less wind (hence their other name: windsavers).

-tim

Tim Moyer
Working Man's Harps
http://www.workingmansharps.com/