Re: [Harp-L] Rick Epping: the Father of Embossing

[Vern <jevern@xxxxxxx>]

I enjoyed reading the history of Epping's use of embossing to reduce reed clearance.

However, it is a process and not a result.  His article leaves the quantitative questions unanswered. 

Q. What were the clearances in fractions of an inch or mm that the player's found to be excessive?
Q. What is the optimum clearance?  Is it different for different reed lengths?
Q. What is the best way to measure clearance?
Q. Is it more important in diatonics than in chromatics where valves block leakage through the opening reed?
Q. What is "compression" and how is it measured?  Is it the opposite of leakage?

Vern
 
On Dec 24, 2012, at 12:23 PM, Brendan Power wrote:

> There was some recent speculation on this list about when the process of
> reed-slot embossing might have begun.
> 
> There is no need for guesswork; in his own words, here is the story of how
> it all began by the originator, Rick Epping:
> 
> http://www.brendan-power.com/images/HW%20Dec%20Jan%2013_Rick.pdf
> 
> Brendan Power