Re: [Harp-L] What to do with a Bahnson Overblow Harp?

[Winslow Yerxa <winslowyerxa@xxxxxxxxx>]

Björn - 

The slide button operates a pair of flate plates that slide against the
reedplates, mounted on the side of the reedplate opposite to the side
that has all the reeds. The blow reed plate has the reeds on the
inside, so the blow slide plate is on the outside. The draw reedplate
has the reeds on the outside, so the draw slide plate is on the inside.

The slide plate in the out position does nothing at all. If you play
the instrument and do not press the slide button, it has no effect on
the reeds.

When you press the slide button, the plates slide into place and block
the airflow from reaching certain reeds:

Blow 1, 4, 5, and 6 are blocked.

Draw 7, 8, 9 and 10 are blocked.

(The other reed in each of these holes is then isolated, allowing for
easier overblows in Hols 1, 4, 5, and 6, and easier overdrawas in Holes
7, 8, 9, and 10.)

If you press the slide into place while no reed are vibrating, again,
there is no danger to the reeds.

However, if you press the slide and shift the slide plates while reeds
are vibrating, there is the possibility that a reed's vibration will
carry it through its slot. For instance, Blow 1 might swing all the way
through the slot and be hit by the edge of the slide plate as it moves
into place to block that reed's slot from receiving air.

This possibility suggests that you should be careful to move ths slide
plates only when the reeds mentioned above are not vibrating.

However, I have had the experience of moving the slider while playing
and hearing a slight sound as the slide plate catches the edge of the
reed, but this did not cause any damage to the reed. All the same, it's
good to be careful.

Winslow

--- Björn Giesler <bjoern@xxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

> Hi,
> 
> I just resubscribed after a long absence from Harp-L and harps. So  
> hello everybody, I'm Björn from Germany, and a funny thing happened  
> to me today.
> 
> I can't believe my luck -- I just bought a Bahnson Overblow harp from
>  
> a local dealer. And really cheap, too!
> 
> He had no idea what he was selling (told me that the previous store  
> owner bought it and the thing had been gathering dust for a couple of
>  
> years on the shelf), and I had no idea what I was buying but I was  
> pretty certain I'd never seen a Golden Melody with a slider. Of  
> course, they didn't let me test the harp at the store so I wasn't  
> sure what the slider did. He ended up offering it to me for less than
>  
> a new Golden Melody costs since it was obviously "an antique". Well, 
> 
> I got home and looked on the net and figured out I have a Bahnson.  
> Hooray!!
> 
> Now that I have it, though, I'm wondering what I should do with it.  
> Should I play it, leave it on the shelf, or even sell it to a  
> collector? Plays like a dream, by the way -- super airtight, loud,  
> full tone. But I've read somewhere that due to the slider possibly  
> snagging with the reeds, these things are easy to break. How much of 
> 
> a value would I risk breaking if I played it? What do you guys think?
> 
> Regards,
> Björn
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