[Harp-L] Re: tooth-picks and all that

["rick epping" <rickepping@xxxxxxxxx>]

I should have mentioned that the last step before switching back to screws
for the Golden Melody was that we sent out samples with the preferred screw
arrangement, along with nailed samples, to Hohner endorsers who played
Golden Melodys predominately.  All of them either found no difference
between the two, or preferred the screwed samples.  And, of course, those
that worked on their own harps appreciated the ease with which screwed-on
plates could be removed and replaced.

Best,
Rick

----- Original Message ----
From: rick epping <rickepping@xxxxxxxxx>
To: harp-l@xxxxxxxxxx
Sent: Wednesday, February 27, 2008 6:55:41 AM
Subject: [Harp-L] Re: tooth-picks and all that
Golden Melodys, like Special 20s and most other Hohner plastic-bodied harps,
were originally made with nailed reedplates.  The first time the Golden
Melodys changed over to screws, the result was a marked decrease in
compression and playability.  It was so bad that the factory had to switch
back to nails.  But by the early 1990s, the Golden Melody was the only
Hohner harp still using reedplate nails and, with the relatively small
quantities needed, these nails had become prohibitively expensive.
It was given to me to decide if or how screws could once again be
used to assemble the Golden Melody's reedplates.  The original screw pattern
- 3 screws at the front and 3 screws at the back, directly behind the ones
in front - clearly would not do.  So I made multiple samples with various
screw patterns and blind tested them, along with samples of nailed
reedplates as well as the original screwed version, by shuffling them all on
my workbench with eyes closed, then, still with eyes closed, playing them
over and over, arranging them in order of playability.  Through many such
tests, one screw arrangement consistently proved to be best; as good if not
better than the nailed samples, and was finally adopted by the factory: that
being the same pattern that was used for the nailed version, including
mounting the screws from alternating sides.
The only possible reason I can see as to why it might be better to alternate
the sides that the reedplate screws are mounted from are that the through
drilled reedplate is held to the comb by the screw head's pressure on the
reedplate's outer surface; pressure which might be more widely distributed
on the reedplate than the force exerted by the screw's shaft on the inner
surface of the threaded reedplate hole.  Alternating the screw direction
might then help minimize airleaks that can occur in the area midway between
two screws by avoiding having two of the less-preferred threaded holes side
by side.  It is certainly true that over-tightening reedplate screws can
cause this area between the screws to bow upwards, causing significant air
leakage.  So when tightening reedplate screws, it's important to look
closely at the area around the screws to make sure that it does not get
pulled downward into a shallow crater, but remains perfectly flat.