[Harp-L] Re:Chromatic customizing (2.)

[Snaruhn@xxxxxxx]

Orrps,     

the first attempt to comment the subject was an angry mistake of  mine.
So, once again.
 
Blackie once said that every harp right out the box has to be worked more  or 
less. Yes,
because harps are mass products and all measures to achieve a flawless  
finish are cost
factors for the factories. 
 
Lets only take the visible parts of a normal Hohner 270. Though the ends of  
the curved
cover plates are bent towards the inside, the corners at the bottom are  
sharp, as well as the
fixing bolts and nuts of the cover ends. Even the wooden comb has unworked  
rims and edges.
 
Round mpc holes are somewhat more comfortable than cornered ones (gunk),  bot 
both
designs have sharp rims.
 
However, all these weakpoints of the outer finish can be worked by  everybody 
unlike 
harp problem Nr.1, the airtightness. The more parts a chromatic has the  more 
reasons for 
leackage occur which specially concerns the mpcs of 270 and older 280  
chroms, consisting 
of 4 parts.
 
Well, a certain portion of clearance is necessary at movable parts, of  
course, but besides
the movable reeds of all harps, the slide of a chromatic has more  clearance 
than necessary.
 
Vern mentioned an interesting point in answering Timler`s analogy of  
weatherstripping the 
windows but open-standing doors at unvalved chroms:
 
< In a valved harp, a stock slide acts as an open-standing  window.......this 
is because the worst 
< source of leakage in a valved chromatic is from hole-to-hole through  the 
slide >
 
Absolutely!! I often wondered when observing what happens when the slide is  
moved. 
Closing a hole opens the hole for the opposite chamber in a  corresponding 
way, so, 
when the slide is pushed halfway in both holes are half-open. This  means 
that a chromatic 
never can play a clean single note like any other music instrument. To play  
two neighbouring 
piano tastes is an intentional effect but two chromatic notes when shifting  
the slide are an
unavoidable technical necessity. 
 
Vern:
 
<Hole-to-hole leakage through the slide is the seldom-mentioned but  
egregious thief of breath 
<and resonance! >

I mentioned that often enough when criticising the crossed reed layout  
giving allegedly a bigger
airstream. At the highest crossed octave one can even hear the air  holes. 
So, the straight     
position with the smaller slide holes is the lesser bad  alternative.  
 
< In cutting down the flanges of the U-channel to reduce clearance you  don't 
<expose much brass ....>
 
I tried that too but found it better to glue thin plastic layers on the  
lower plate and the
U-channel because they reduce the slide noise and are almost insensitive  
against the glueing saliva 
 
<When Tate was among us, I was awed by his musicianship but argued that  he 
<placed unwarranted importance on silver plating >
 
Well, Vern, I think the dicussion on silver plating did concern lesser the  
slide but more
the mpc. If I remember right, it was discussed on harp-L which material  
gives the best 
gliding effect If so, I`d liked to remind of my "gator-look" I  mentioned 
years ago.  
 
What`s that? Simply, the result of my observation of a very funny  "chromatic 
ritual".
 
Being part of the audience and oberserving chromatic players on stage,  it 
can`t be overlooked    
that they are constantly licking their mpcs. They do that almost in an  
unintentional reflex same 
as billiard players are constantly working their cue tips with chalk  though 
it`s chalk enough on
the tip. 
 
During the respective list discussion many preferred a silver-plated  mpc 
having the best
gliding surface.I found just the contrary.
 
Instead of a very smooth and even surface I roughened the brass mpcs of my  
CB chroms by 
countless little dimples. The idea behind?
 
Same as the corners of a room to be renewed by paint are the last  spots 
which dry up, these
mpc dimples are the last ones where the licked saliva will evaporate.
 
All for now.
 
Siegfried