Re: [Harp-L] Re: [ Harp-L] Analog tuners

["Monsterharp" <Monsterharp@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

Another option is to build a box. approximately 3" H x 6"d x12" W (simplest 
design,......you could make it a wedge or a whole table). Drill a hole that 
will fit a vacuum cleaner hose on one end. Do the same on the other end. 
make a flat rectangular piece of thin board that is at least 1/2 in larger 
than the vac hole as the width then 1.5 in longer on the length. In that 
board drill a hole 1/4 in from the end and attach it over one of the holes 
that you drilled for the van hoses so you can pivot it to open and close the 
hole as a carburetor.
I created one slot in mine but my next one I build will have ten slots with 
slides to open them. (Octaves)

HERE IS THE FUN PART. I use a tiny shop vac with a non inductive motor (the 
motor must have brushes)
I used a 2 gang electric box with a rheostat on one side attenuating a 
duplex outlet on the other.when you plug the van into the box you can turn 
the speed of the vac down. I believe you can also go to a woodcraft type 
store and purchase an rheostat made for a rotary tool (MAKE SURE THE 
AMPERAGE IS SUFFICIENT FOR THE VAC) With the little carb you made you can 
fine tune the flow.

FUN PART TWO. Isolate the vac noise by any SAFE means (long hose, a large 
enough box with ardex on the inside), and use a unidirectional mike.

I'm sure there is someone on harp-l that has expertise in airflow  that 
knows about an air pump that is quieter, possibly matched with a rheostat.
Through my experimentation I a tried a fairly large squirrel cage fan I got 
free ......NOPE. A squirrel cage fan delivers volume but little pressure and 
surprisingly enough, it takes more focused pressure than I thought.
My next design will incorporate A larger pump at slower speed, kinda like a 
dust collector going super slow.

I got my idea from a picture I saw of a tuning table (somebody posted about 
ten years ago) I believe was at the Hohner plant, it said Richter on it.

The table takes the human element out of it (Lips breath saliva). You must 
take into consideration that the comb and cover plates change things and 
adjust the tuning accordingly.
This allows you to use as little air as possible to get the reed moving. 
Although I now use a strobe my needle tuner stayed more stable when I was 
using the box.
I also believe this will help in finding gapping procedure by playing with 
the air flow.
I'm going to build my next table soon and do some 
experimentation...................

DISCLAIMER experiment at your own risk, (If you fry your A$% designing your 
electronics.....................it aint my fault)

Thanks man..........................................Dane Paul







----- Original Message ----- 
From: <spschndr@xxxxxxx>
To: <harp-l@xxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Tuesday, April 24, 2007 5:52 AM
Subject: [Harp-L] Re: [ Harp-L] Analog tuners


> <<I would like to have more info on tuning a harp.  I read Pat  Missin's 
> directions on how to tune by ear but my tuners' needles jump around way 
> way too much to get thru it.  All I ever do to tune is to tune
> octaves to  each other.  Suggestions?>>
>
>
> I will refer you to a hoary old thread I instigated a few years back about 
> what I call "tuning to the bounce" with an analog tuning like the Seiko 
> ST1000 I used to rely on, but I'll also summarize here to possibly save 
> you looking.  The fault may not lie with your set, as they used to say on 
> TV: a particular playing technique is needed to get accurate tuning 
> results with an analog needle.  You have to learn to play a steady, soft 
> but resonant note for maybe a count of two, maximum, that will bounce the 
> needle up to ~the highest natural pitch the reed is capable of in its 
> current tuning~.  I emphasize that highest natural pitch because ~that is 
> what the tuning charts you see are generally oriented to~.  If the tuning 
> chart says +14 cents on 2D, that's not the pitch the 2D is supposed to 
> produce when you're playing the note hard and flattening it; the 14 cents 
> is what the reed is supposed to produce when you play it with that light 
> but steady and resonant stroke I mentioned ab!
> ove, because ~if the reed is tuned to that as the highest natural pitch, 
> then when you play it hard, it will tend to flatten to right around A=440 
> and stay there, for most people's strong playing pressure.
>
> There's an art to producing that highest natural pitch and you should sit 
> down with your harps & tuner and work at it till you master the attack 
> that coaxes the needle up to the reference point you need.  The needle 
> will literally bounce up there and hang for instant, and nothing you do 
> short of an overbend will push it up past that highest bounce, and it will 
> return to that highest bounce point fairly consistently; then you know 
> you've got it.  Of course, if you keep bouncing the same blow reed, it's 
> going to start loading up with condensation and giving a false (low) 
> reading at the needle; less of a problem once you've really mastered the 
> tuning stroke and can work the needle for an accurate reading with fewer 
> tries.
>
> It's a good exercise in internal awareness while playing, and relates 
> directly to playing resonantly but softly when you're playing with other 
> people.  fjm can attest to the results I got back when I used to rely 
> exclusively on the Seiko, pre-strobe tuner.  I find the strobe faster for 
> very precise matters, but the strobe also requires a correlation of 
> playing technique to the dial reading to get maximum accuracy.  In fact, 
> my old ST1000 lost its little mind last year, nothing I could fix myself, 
> and just last week I decided I need to go to the guitar store and see what 
> the analog options are, get another one to complement the strobe tuner, 
> though primarily for singing purposes.  You can do it with an analog 
> tuner, but you gotta learn to play the tuner, really, same as with a 
> strobe.  Open your throat and get that full resonance, but play the note 
> softly, steadily, and briefly, and you should see that highest natural 
> pitch you are looking for.
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