[Harp-L] XB40 setup experiences

[Zombor Kovacs <zrkovacs@xxxxxxxxx>]

So, let me share my experiences perhaps there are
people here who are interested.

As I said I bought an XB40 in C. Out of the box I can
say now, that the playability was simply shit, worse
than any other harp I have ever bought. Bad control,
interference noises on the low end blow bends and high
pitched noises on the high end draw-bends (also some
on the blow). "Slippery" and inconsistent bending
behaviour, uneasy response. No chance to play quietly
the high notes. Not without dog whistles, but in any
way. Hole nr 10 was a disaster. Impossible to control,
impossible to bend even almost impossible to make it
sound. So I had to do myself what Hohner did not
manage.

I adjusted some of the gaps. I reduced them, also on
the auxiliary reeds, to get more control. The result
was significant. However this was not enough to cure
the whistles in any way. It took some time until I
have decided to seal the comb. The comb is now sealed
between the reedplates, but not between the two
comb-halves yet. Maybe later I will do that as well. 
The sealing had a more or less dramatic effect. Hole
nr 10 became almost acceptably bendable and the rest
of the holes have also improved a lot. If we take a
look at the construction the reason seems to be
obvious. The walls separating the cells are too thin
resulting in air leakages between the cells. The
sealing surface is not big enough. The separating wall
thickness is perhaps a millimeter or one and a half.
This is not enough, it is much less than in an
ordinary harp and tightening the bolts does not help
it. But with a room temperature curing silicone based
sealant, the problem can be solved really a great
deal. So it seems that the higher key xb40-s should be
regapped, and the comb should be sealed if we want
something which is usable. 

Zombor


		
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