Brendan Power & Alternative Harmonicas Forum

We started discussing these harps in the "Any News" thread, but I think they deserve a thread of their own.

I just posted a video demonstrating a couple of variations:
https://youtu.be/jejsiCD172E

There are some interesting queries posted in the Comments by Winslow Yerxa and others.

Yes. It's based on 12 chromatic notes per octave over 4 octaves (the range from hole 1 of a G harp to hole 10 of an F# harp). Actually it should be 48 reeds to cover all the notes, not 47. This is the stock of reeds a company would need to keep. They could be blow or draw reeds depending on orientat...

I mentioned earlier that a manufacturer of modular reed harmonicas would only need 47 reeds to cover every key harp in 4 octaves, from G to F#. That's if they use the same reeds for blow and draw breaths. The simplest way would be to adopt the normal blow reed configuration where the reed is attache...

I was contacted by a Brazilian player called Gaspar Vianna, who has apparently been using modular reedplates secured by coverplate bars for some time. Hopefully he will send some photos of his harps to check out.

You could slide draw plates in from the rear, but what about blow plates? They have a reed hanging under them. You'd need a slot in the comb to accommodate it, then a way to re-seal the slot. It would all take a lot of high precision manufacturing.

Here's an example of what I mean:

Several of you mentioned the desirability of simplifying the reed attachment system from multiple screws to something else. I've been thinking about it too, but right now can't think of anything better. Crawford's idea of a bar pressed down at each end could work - but I imagine getting sufficient c...

You can make your own modular reed harps with a bit of effort, by slicing up regular harmonica reedplates. Like others I thought this could be a great idea and tried it a long time ago (1990) - but my test harp didn't sound good, so I gave up. However I just tested it quickly again yesterday and fou...

I meant put it near the reed when it's not in use. Eg. For the 5 raised draw in Country Tuning - you can lower the tuning lo standard Richter by sticking on the correct size dab of Blu Tack you have sitting ready nearby, back on the reed.

I'm glad to hear you're getting into re-tunings of the new Solo and PowerChromatic Lucky 13 harps Sachlaw. They lend themselves to some nice options: the same tuning in different keys, alternate tunings like Diminished, or the above with small variations... Using Blu-tack is a great way to do minor ...