Re: [Harp-L] Seydel Saxony Chromatic

[Winslow Yerxa <winslowyerxa@xxxxxxxxx>]

The slide assembly on the Saxony consists of a I-beam, the slide, the slide cover, and the mouthpiece.

The I-beam is shaped like a capital I in cross section - a vertical bar with perpendicular "arms" extending to the right and left at the top and bottom. It has round holes along its length to allow air to pass to and from the channels on the comb.

On one side of the I-beam, the arms cover the comb/reedplate block, with the front edges of the reedplate chamfered to fit within the I-beam's grasp.

On the other side of the I-beam, the arms form a cradle for the slide to move. The slide cover is placed along the arms of the I-beam to enclose the slide, and the mouthpiece is placed on the slide cover and tightened down with screws.

You can see the I-beam mounted on the reed block here:

http://archive.harmonicasessions.com/oct09/Yerxa.html

The height of the I-beam arms on the slide side must be sufficient to allow movement of the slide without binding, but not so large as to allow too much air to leak from the slide enclosure. I feel that the height of the I-beam arms on the slide side could be reduced to make the slide even more airtight that it already is. 

Such a modification, though, must not be overdone, or the slide clearance will be insufficient and the slide will bind.

Also, making the instrument more airtight may change the tonal qualities and the reed response, requiring further adjustment to achieve satisfactory response.

Winslow


Winslow Yerxa
Author, Harmonica For Dummies, ISBN 978-0-470-33729-5
            Harmonica Basics For Dummies, ASIN B005KIYPFS
            Blues Harmonica For Dummies, ISBN 978-1-1182-5269-7
Resident Harmonica Expert, bluesharmonica.com
Instructor, Jazzschool for Music Study and Performance


________________________________
 From: Music Cal <macaroni9999@xxxxxxxxx>
To: Winslow Yerxa <winslowyerxa@xxxxxxxxx> 
Cc: harp-L list <harp-l@xxxxxxxxxx> 
Sent: Friday, December 21, 2012 3:00 PM
Subject: Re: [Harp-L] Seydel Saxony Chromatic
 

Hi Winslow

I don't have a Saxony yet and I can't find a good image of the slide assembly online. Could you describe the modification a bit more ... the whys and hows?

MusiCal