[Harp-L] Re: Hohner CX-12 vs 270 (2. version)

[Snaruhn@xxxxxxx]

Hi,    

once again my computer played a nasty trick on me. What appeared 
in the mailbox was the raw text but not the final version as shown in the
outgoing cabinet. I use to "compose" my comments and such a shit I
wouldn´t dare to publish. I hope that this time the dam machine will
forward what was intended.   
   
Winslow wrote:

< What's your experience with the CX-12 and the 270 thus far? If you
< have a preference for one over the other, I'd be inclined to let that
< guide your choice. Each has its strong and weak points, each its
< boosterrs and its detractors.>

Absolutely, and that goes also to the ridiculous disscussion between
pure blues harpers and chromaticists. 

Concerning the CX 12 I thought I´d all said in my "CX 12 story" (s. archives)
but actually I´m busy to correct a weak point of this most innovative 
chromatic
model I have mentioned on harp-L too.

As long-subscribed listlers do know I´ve developed a brass shell in the shape 

of the CX 12 fitting to chromatics with 3 or 4 octaves and diatonics as well,
not at least for the purpose to prevent the damage of the brittle plastic 
covers 
of the original CX.     

Well, everybody would suppose that I would play my own customized 
CX models. That was so in the beginning but recently my curious "son"
Harpie caught me that I exclusively play the black plastic originals and he
don´t know why. Maybe they are real lightweights compared to my brass 
monsters. Anyway, 4 black CX 12s are always in the starting holes.

However, I should mention that all my black CXs have the thicker 
chrome-plated reedplates thanks to an assembling mistake in the factory. 
The plates of one of these CX 12s I changed into the straight reed position 
I consider to be more advantageous than the actual crossed position. But
the slide of this exemplar got a little sticky and because of my lots of 
other 
CX 12s I let it rest and only played on the crossed "vacuum cleaners".      

Now comes the point. My actual favorite is "The girl from Ipanema" and 
one day while just playing Stan Getz´ version I had the certain feeling that 
my black crossed CX 12s needed a lot of air though I´d customized them
to be absolutely tight. So, it came into my mind to reactivate my straight 
CX 12 to have a comparison. 

Yup, it was as I always had asserted. The big holes of the crossed 
position can by far not compete with the smaller holes of the straight 
version. 

Once Smokey-Joe mentioned the at the straight harps the air is
concentrated like at pipes. Absolutely, and further advantages are
the shorter slide way and above all the diminished effect of the air
holes when shifting the slide which even can be heard at the higher
notes of a crossed chrom brand.

In order to prevent a possible misunderstanding, the mere reed position 
isn´t the problem but the bigger mpc holes of crossed chroms.

In former years I changed both the crossed reed tuning and the
mpc holes. It was a lot of work to retune every 2. reed by a semitone,
to make special layers with small holes and to adjust a slide with 
squared holes. 1 layer only with holes covering a certain portion of the 
chamber or comb holes should do the same effect to concentrate the 
air stream. Anyway, I´ll report on the result.

Last not least I should mention that at one of my CX 12s I removed the
spring and installed a ring at the slide knob to draw back the slide by
the pointer finger. This idea is from Wim and it works well. The slide 
speed is now the same in both directions, no spring can cause
any noise and one hasn´t to find the lost spring under the table.

Siegfried