Fiddle tunes on the Hohner CXB-10/40 by Brendan

[triona]

Because the forums's editor does not accept text (readily prepared with full bbc-code) by paste and copy from a MSword document, this post as a PDF. Click to thumb to enlarge or download. I hope this will do instead.


dear greetings
triona

[Brendan]

Hi Triona,

Thanks for your typically in-depth enquiry regarding my 'PUFFNSAW' album with Janie Rothfield. I'm glad the music has inspired you to find out more about the harmonicas used; in particular, the modified XB-40s.

They have no slider. I just removed the XB mouthpiece and coverplates and put the comb unit in a CX-10 cowling, held in with the backspring. The cowling has a foam gasket inside to ensure an airtight seal between the two components. I did that so I could quickly disassemble the comb/reedplate unit to adjust reeds etc, and to swap in new XB units. Doing this allowed me to keep more of the XB units in a small case, all playable in the same single CX-10 cowling. You could call it a modular XB-40 if you like! You can see it in use here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9DGHG4lBCTI

(I do the same with my normal CX-12s as well. I have a few cowlings with sliders, and a lot more CX-12 combs with reedplates in different tunings in a case. Because it's quick to swap them in, this means I can carry many more CX-12 options than if all of them were fully made up. This modular approach not only saves space and weight, it's cheaper too!).

As far as tunings go, I used Paddy-Extended and Solo. Paddy-Extended is CD-EG-AB-CD etc, and Solo is of course CD-EF-GA-CB-CD etc. All x-reeds are tuned to allow the active reeds to bend down to the note immediately below in the scale. I first used this setup on my 'New Chinese Harmonica' album (eg. on the opening track 'Kang-ding Love Song': https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rjlIZLiFETg&t=102s).

They're just my personal harps, never been for sale. I'm happy to bring some along to Klingenthal for you to try - but basically they are no different in function to an XB-40, except in the tuning.

The XB-40 tunes on the album are:

PADDY-EXTENDED: Cumberland Gap
SOLO: Misty Wednesday Morning, Over the Waterfall/St Anne's Reel, Sugar in the Gourd, Sports are Sports

The rest of the tunes on the album are played with other types of harps.

Hope that helps! Brendan

[triona]

Hi Brendan,

thanks for the info.

... I used Paddy-Extended ... Paddy-Extended is CD-EG-AB-CD etc,

What do you mean with "extended"? That seems to me like a standard Paddy as usually?

After all, it seems to me, that a standard XB-40 retuned seems sufficient, as far as there is no slider?
The problem is rather that there are not too many XB-40 on the second hand market to get.

The modularity of the CX-12 is a good idea anyway. I had already intended to do this since longer. The crucial point that I did not yet is the zig-zag-design of the CX-12's slide. I intended to interchange whole reedplates upside and downside each to create a modular system with reedplates a 5th/4th apart like the Seydel Sampler or your Irish Session Harp, using special tunings like e.g. D major + A myxolidian. This would give a couple of nice harmonicas comparable to your Slide Diatonics, just not shifting only a whole note, but a 5th/4th.

Beyond this, quitting the slide on this is giving a phenomenal "power chord harmonica"! I have customized a Seydel Sampler like this. It is extraordinarily loud. If I play it for half an hour full power, my ears are ringing. And it gives astonishing combination tones (residual tones) in the bass. If I play D4+A3 the digital tuner shows me a nearly unbelievable D2!


I am looking forward to jam with you one more time.
I hope that my state of health and my finanancial situation allow me to attend your workshop in Klingenthal.


dear greetings
triona

[Brendan]

Yes, you can of course just use a standard XB40 retuned to your preference. They can still be found on eBay etc.

Paddy-Extended is the first octave of Paddy-Richter repeated in all octaves. I first recorded with it on the track 'Tom's Tune' in my 2004 album TRADISH: https://brendan-power.com/Tradish.php

The CX12 housing can be converted to straight-tuning (as used in Hohner 270, Seydel Sampler etc) with a bit of work. I've got a couple of such CX12 converted housings which you can drop a Hering or 270 comb/reedplate unit into and play, but they're just for fun really!

However with Seydel you have the added complication that their chromatic hole spacing is 9.7mm, whereas Hohner uses 9.4mm. I have made adapter parts for this type of conversion for my own use, but they're such a niche item they're not offered for sale.

[triona]

The CX12 housing can be converted to straight-tuning (as used in Hohner 270, Seydel Sampler etc) with a bit of work. I've got a couple of such CX12 converted housings which you can drop a Hering or 270 comb/reedplate unit into and play

This is a thing that I am interested in very much!
What kind of "a bit of work" is needed there?
I guess it might be to cut a new slider, or to rework another slider (of a 270 or anything else) to fit into the housing of a CX-12? In the latter case maybe there might be nesecessary some modifications on the slider to fit into the housing of the CX-12, respectively to the ingeniously simple spring of the CX-12's original slider.
The need of adding a new sealing for allover air tightness as you did it with your XB-40 comb units I just take for granted.

Btw: The CX-12's original slider allows to convert the basical home key of the harmonica from e.g. C to C#, G to Ab etc by simply turn around the slider from bottom to top.

... but they're just for fun really!

Why only just for fun?
I think the achieved possibilities for a wide modularity are worthwhile the work.
In the end it could offer an extended musical variability in use beside the saving of space, weight and cost, as you already had mentioned above.
But fun it would be anyway.

However with Seydel you have the added complication that their chromatic hole spacing is 9.7mm, whereas Hohner uses 9.4mm.

alas!

such a niche item they're not offered for sale.

Indeed! But as you already might have discovered: I am especially receptive for any kind of niches!

I would even say that many of your ingenious inventions are really hardcore niche products. The crucial point of this is that this matter of fact is limiting the number of sales severely. And this unfortunately causes high prices.


dear greetings
triona

[Brendan]

Thanks for your in-depth queries Triona.

To reply properly would require photos etc. I don't have time to reply right now, will come back to this later.

[triona]

Thank you. Take your time. At the moment I try to recover from months of hard work under bad health conditions. I rather can sit in front of the screen and write posts than do any sophisticated work, not to talk about hard work.


Have nice and contemplative holidays,

dear greetings
triona

[Brendan]

Hi Triona, I took some photos of an old experimental combination of a CX12 shell with a Hering 12-hole chromatic internal unit. I kept the Hering slider assembly and adapted the inside of the CX12 slider area to match the it. The Hering plays well, but no better than with its standard mouthpiece and covers. As I said earlier, it was something I did out of curiosity - just for fun really

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[triona]

Thanks. Looks interesting.
I must research, if Hohner 270 parts could do this as well.
Because the problem is, that Hering harmonicas are very difficult to get since Hering ceased to exist some years ago. And spare parts for Hering even are nearly unavailable any more. And above and beyond this: The brass sliders of Hering are very prone to accidental deformation and even to break.

This one had been hard enough to get replaced:




dear greetings
triona