Re: [Harp-L] Re: twin harmonica system

["Brendan Power" <bren@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

I noticed that Bill Price wrote, in response to Richard Hunter, that his
claimed original idea of stacked diatonics a whole tone apart



“...is the obvious impetus for Mr. powers’ “whole-tone" product.”



That’s not correct, Bill. It might even be described in this part of the
world as a load of old bollocks.



The Twin-Harmonica System is a complicated piece of kit. It didn’t pop out
of nowhere in the last few months, and certainly not as a result of your
simplistic bolted-together diatonics. I have been working on making a double
chromatic for over 20 years, and have laboriously hand-made several
prototypes in that time. The first was made in 1993/94 and it was two
chromatics a tone apart. You can see the photos here, under the
‘Frankenharps’ tab::



http://www.brendan-power.com/harpgeeks.php



Secondly, ‘your’ idea of stacking diatonic harmonicas together by some
mechanism is not new, and has been patented in several versions over the
years. I’m rather surprised that you were granted a patent for it actually.
Here are some earlier patents along the same lines:



A nifty spring-loaded double harmonica holder to make playing two stacked
harmonicas less nose-irritating:

https://www.google.com/patents/US4713999?dq=harmonica+holder
<https://www.google.com/patents/US4713999?dq=harmonica+holder&hl=en&sa=X&ei=
TN2BVNCCDoGwPaXYgbgF&ved=0CDIQ6wEwAzgo>
&hl=en&sa=X&ei=TN2BVNCCDoGwPaXYgbgF&ved=0CDIQ6wEwAzgo



Just about every double harp coupling configuration you could think of in
this one:

https://www.google.com/patents/US1884150?dq=two+harmonicas
<https://www.google.com/patents/US1884150?dq=two+harmonicas&hl=en&sa=X&ei=JN
uBVIfaEsqr7Ab5y4DgCQ&ved=0CB4Q6wEwAA>
&hl=en&sa=X&ei=JNuBVIfaEsqr7Ab5y4DgCQ&ved=0CB4Q6wEwAA



This patent has a very similar system to Vern Smith’s Hands Free Chromatic,
but for two diatonics:

https://www.google.com/patents/US1780368?dq=two+harmonicas
<https://www.google.com/patents/US1780368?dq=two+harmonicas&hl=en&sa=X&ei=JN
uBVIfaEsqr7Ab5y4DgCQ&ved=0CDkQ6AEwBA>
&hl=en&sa=X&ei=JNuBVIfaEsqr7Ab5y4DgCQ&ved=0CDkQ6AEwBA



That’s just a few…



I must say you do play your system well though. Good luck with it,



Brendan Power

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