Mitch Weiss is having issues with his Trochilus slider bending and seizing up while playing. I’ve thought about applying my PTFE slider design that I used on my Backslider to the Trochilus, but I don’t have the inclination to make a prototype. I thought that a block the width of the comb could be glued to the back of it to facilitate the rod/spring assembly. Your sliding mouthpiece might be another solution. I just wanted to let you know that the Trochilus might benefit from a Power solution.
Best Regards,
David Pearce
Power Solution for Trochilus
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Brendan
- Posts: 943
- Joined: Fri Mar 24, 2017 2:28 pm
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Re: Power Solution for Trochilus
Thanks for the heads up David! The Trochilus is a great harp, and deserving of discussion to modify or improve it in useful ways.
Rather than go to a lot of trouble making a new slider/mouthpiece for the Trochilus, I prefer to work with what's there and make it operate more efficiently.
Personally I'm impressed with the stock mouthpiece/slider JDR have made. It's airtight, with a nice smooth action. But they're not resting on their laurels. Recently JDR have released a new, slightly deeper mouthpiece for the Trochilus that should please tongue block players. Some felt the original MP was too shallow and allowed their tongue to get caught by the slider.
As a lip purser I never had that problem, and find the original mouthpiece very comfortable. But, like Mitch, after some time playing, as with any chromatic harmonica I found the slide builds up residue and starts to bind. At that point it's best to remove and clean the mouthpiece and slider. This is quick and easy: only takes a few minutes and you'll be playing again.
However there's a simple mod you can do to make the slide run freely for longer: file or sand down the outer parts of the plastic comb front, beyond the air chambers. These can be gently sloped away about 1mm from the outer edges of the first and last air chambers. The sloping only needs to be 0.5mm deep at the outside edges of the comb to be effective. It prevents excessive slider rubbing on that non-critical area, to reduce friction.
If desired, you can also use a polishing wheel to slope the inside of the mouthpiece in the same way. If you look closely you'll see JDR have already done this on the treble side, but the same area on the bass side is flat. A rotary polisher willlslightly lower that area too, complementing the work done on the outer edges of the comb front.
These actions combined will have a good effect in reducing slide friction. As far as Mitch's complaint goes, I'm not sure how he's bending the slider; care should be taken not to do that. However if the slide does become bent and you can't get it straight again, JDR do sell replacement sliders.
There's nothing against making a new Trochilus mouthpiece/slider if you want! Domenico designed a mouth-slider combo for it I believe (?), and I've made new sliders with thumb hooks for my own use. But I think regular cleaning and those simple steps to reduce friction on the outer edges will work well for most players.
Rather than go to a lot of trouble making a new slider/mouthpiece for the Trochilus, I prefer to work with what's there and make it operate more efficiently.
Personally I'm impressed with the stock mouthpiece/slider JDR have made. It's airtight, with a nice smooth action. But they're not resting on their laurels. Recently JDR have released a new, slightly deeper mouthpiece for the Trochilus that should please tongue block players. Some felt the original MP was too shallow and allowed their tongue to get caught by the slider.
As a lip purser I never had that problem, and find the original mouthpiece very comfortable. But, like Mitch, after some time playing, as with any chromatic harmonica I found the slide builds up residue and starts to bind. At that point it's best to remove and clean the mouthpiece and slider. This is quick and easy: only takes a few minutes and you'll be playing again.
However there's a simple mod you can do to make the slide run freely for longer: file or sand down the outer parts of the plastic comb front, beyond the air chambers. These can be gently sloped away about 1mm from the outer edges of the first and last air chambers. The sloping only needs to be 0.5mm deep at the outside edges of the comb to be effective. It prevents excessive slider rubbing on that non-critical area, to reduce friction.
If desired, you can also use a polishing wheel to slope the inside of the mouthpiece in the same way. If you look closely you'll see JDR have already done this on the treble side, but the same area on the bass side is flat. A rotary polisher willlslightly lower that area too, complementing the work done on the outer edges of the comb front.
These actions combined will have a good effect in reducing slide friction. As far as Mitch's complaint goes, I'm not sure how he's bending the slider; care should be taken not to do that. However if the slide does become bent and you can't get it straight again, JDR do sell replacement sliders.
There's nothing against making a new Trochilus mouthpiece/slider if you want! Domenico designed a mouth-slider combo for it I believe (?), and I've made new sliders with thumb hooks for my own use. But I think regular cleaning and those simple steps to reduce friction on the outer edges will work well for most players.
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harpdog123
- Posts: 40
- Joined: Fri Mar 24, 2017 6:37 pm
Re: Power Solution for Trochilus
Thanks for sharing that info, Brendan. Less is more — the simplest solution is usually the best, as you say. Mitch mentioned he put in a new slider and that solved the problem.
I was wondering, though: could having the spring at the end of the slide (instead of near the button) make the slide more prone to bending? Do you think there could be any benefit to a CX-12–style slide with a torsion spring on the side? Or is a bent slide most likely just the result of the harmonica being handled a little roughly?
I was wondering, though: could having the spring at the end of the slide (instead of near the button) make the slide more prone to bending? Do you think there could be any benefit to a CX-12–style slide with a torsion spring on the side? Or is a bent slide most likely just the result of the harmonica being handled a little roughly?