Search found 818 matches

by Brendan
Wed Mar 27, 2024 10:20 pm
Forum: Interesting Alternative Harmonica Ideas
Topic: Resin 3d printing reedplates
Replies: 3
Views: 16748

Re: Resin 3d printing reedplates

Just saw this thread... I don't do resin 3d printing, but I'll try to answer your questions: - Is the material food safe? From a quick search, apparently not. However this wouldn't be a problem if the reedplates were behind a mouthpiece, so your lips are not in direct contact with them. - does the m...
by Brendan
Wed Mar 27, 2024 5:34 pm
Forum: Interesting Alternative Harmonica Ideas
Topic: Converting an EastTop T10-40 to an "XB-40" style harmonica
Replies: 1
Views: 10

Re: Converting an EastTop T10-40 to an "XB-40" style harmonica

The Easttop T10-40 is the latest in a slew of Chinese valveless chromatics modelled on an old Seydel design. That's where the individual comb channels and tuning/slider combination format came from. The Seydel precursor is discontinued, but the design concept lives on. The Easttop version is better ...
by Brendan
Wed Mar 27, 2024 8:52 am
Forum: Brendan's Custom Harmonicas, Tunings, etc
Topic: X-HARPS : Personal Experimental Harmonica Project
Replies: 12
Views: 35614

Re: X-HARPS : Personal Experimental Harmonica Project

I've continued experimenting with different designs for this project. There are so many theoretical ways to follow to achieve what I'm after, but none is easy! It's been a two year journey so far, and the stack of crazy-looking prototypes that have resulted surprises even me when I go back and look ...
by Brendan
Wed Mar 27, 2024 8:27 am
Forum: Interesting Alternative Harmonica Ideas
Topic: 3d Printed comb ideas to improve responsiveness
Replies: 1
Views: 13

Re: 3d Printed comb ideas to improve responsiveness

Welcome to the forum Dominick! It's nice to have a trained engineer with obvious curiosity about harmonica design and the skills/tools to make stuff accurately contributing here 😊 The general consensus about diatonic comb design is that it's better to have small chambers in the top octave (for good ...
by Brendan
Wed Mar 27, 2024 8:04 am
Forum: Brendan's Custom Harmonicas, Tunings, etc
Topic: X-HARPS : Personal Experimental Harmonica Project
Replies: 12
Views: 35614

Re: X-HARPS : Personal Experimental Harmonica Project

Yes, bending the 5 and 4 of the scale a wholetone are essential if you want to emulate guitar players... Have you tried the Hohner XB-40? It will give you those wider bends. The intermediate semitone bends are trickier to control (similar to hole 2 on a Richter harp), but it can be done with practic...
by Brendan
Wed Mar 27, 2024 7:52 am
Forum: Brendan's Custom Harmonicas, Tunings, etc
Topic: Magnetically Attractive Reedplate Sliders
Replies: 2
Views: 41490

Re: Magnetically Attractive Reedplate Sliders

Since it roughly halves the comb size, could you use this to fit two chromatics on top of one another in about the same thickness as a typical chromatic? I don't think so - because you'd need four reedplate sliders, including two in the middle of the sandwich. It would still end up fairly thick. I ...
by Brendan
Tue Feb 27, 2024 3:30 pm
Forum: Brendan's Custom Harmonicas, Tunings, etc
Topic: PowerBender/PowerDraw/PowerChromatic for Irish?
Replies: 3
Views: 171

Re: PowerBender/PowerDraw/PowerChromatic for Irish?

Re. Half-valved chromatic: reduce the blow reed gap on the odd numbered holes where the outside valve is removed, to minimise air loss. Embossing will always help if you want to go that far, but isn't necessary. Here's the link for the other thread: Lhttps://www.brendan-power.com/forum/viewtopic.php...
by Brendan
Mon Feb 26, 2024 12:26 am
Forum: Brendan's Custom Harmonicas, Tunings, etc
Topic: PowerBender/PowerDraw/PowerChromatic for Irish?
Replies: 3
Views: 171

Re: PowerBender/PowerDraw/PowerChromatic for Irish?

Hi Ken, thanks for your post. Playing Irish traditional and related folk music (eg. Old Time, Bluegrass, Quebecois) with greater bending expression than stock harmonicas offer is a topic I find particularly interesting. On both slow and fast tunes, fiddle players in particular use bending all the ti...
by Brendan
Sun Feb 18, 2024 9:50 pm
Forum: Brendan's Custom Harmonicas, Tunings, etc
Topic: X-HARPS : Personal Experimental Harmonica Project
Replies: 12
Views: 35614

Re: X-HARPS : Personal Experimental Harmonica Project

Those two tracks were using the same instrument (X-HARP #2), in the same key, on two versions of the same song (The Thrill is Gone), and using the same effects. So yes, they do sound similar 👍