[Harp-L] counterfeit CR elements?

[Greg Heumann <greg@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

Over on the WeberVST harp board, a guy named Harpo posted some pics  
of a 99H86 CR element and wondered if it was a fake. I tried   
replying there all day, to no avail. for some reason that board won't  
let me post - if someone knows who moderates it I would be happy to  
provide them more info. In any case, Harpo, here is the definitive  
answer (this is what I tried to post there, with this image: http:// 
www.blowsmeaway.com/images/CRvsCM.jpg

Sorry to be weighing in a little late on this but I can tell you how  
to tell with 100% accuracy. Your element looks real from the back,  
but the way to tell is from the front.

On CR's, the diaphragm was secured to the pin that leads down into  
the coil via a small metal "hat". On CM's, it was a drop of glue. The  
drop of glue can appear many different ways - most look like the one  
in the pic (right side), but some are opaque, some are white, some  
are pink. But ONLY CR's have that little metal hat. This is true for  
both black label and white label CR's.

I learned about all of this from the real expert, Chuck Gurney, who  
is the only guy on the planet as far as I know who actually rebuilds  
these elements. Chuck and I have talked about this and agree that the  
little hat is the ONLY difference between CR's and CM's, and is  
probably responsible for the tonal difference between them.

/Greg



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