[Harp-L] re: 30 reed all bending harp



Zombor wrote:

"Earlier I have been on the list, but now I am back
again. Finally I have developed the concept and a
prototype of a diatonic harmonica which

- has all bends for all notes (like the XB40)
- has 30 reeds
- is the size of a normal diatonic bluesharp
- sounds like a normal diatonic bluesharp

Has anybody done it before? Is there such a thing on
the market? Any interest?"

Congratulations. That's a massive effort, and a working prototype is a huge step. I've often made stabs and attempts at new and different designs, but the time and amount of effort tends to keep me from proceeding (I spend enough time during the week making musical instruments that I tend to be worn out for my own projects).

As for your questions, here goes: Yes, it's been done before. Brendan Power was known to have developed a very similar instrument (30 reeds, etc...). Similarly, Richard Sleigh was working on the responder-reed idea, though I'm not sure how far he got. Both abandoned their plans after reading about Rick Epping's patent (I believe Brendan and Suzuki were looking into manufacturing when they found the patent).

That also answers the second question: there is no harmonica like this on the market. The XB-40 is the closest thing out there, and it's quite possible that anything else would violate the patent (I'd have to see the actual design in question, but the two patents Rick holds are both exquisite and extensive). Moreover, the slow sales of harmonicas such as the XB-40 and Suzuki Overdrive are evidence of little mass-market demand--most people just want a nice(r) Marine Band and that's it.

Which leads to the third question. I have interest. I'm sure others on this list are interested. But the mass market doesn't appear to be all that interested. Personally, I'm happy enough with the XB-40 for this sort of thing. A bit of modification (as with any stock instrument) and it can be quite nice indeed. I'd be interested to see this, either in person (less possible) or on a website to get a better idea of the beast.

One question, though. You say it has thirty reeds. My assumption is that you use responder reeds to create the bends which are otherwise unavailable. Thus, you would have responder reeds for blow notes 1-6 and draw notes 7-10. That's great, but it does leave you with two notes which don't bend a half-tone: draw 5 and blow 7. These will be as standard, unless an alternate tuning than the standard German Major tuning is used. I just point this out, as it helped me consider the XB-40 and how it is implemented. I believe the choice there was to use responder reeds throughout to give the same amount of bending on every note (with the exception of the 3draw). I wonder if that will end up being something which has limited sales, and if they had gone with a design more like yours (or Brendans) whether that might have helped.

I am interested in how your design works, and would love to see it produced. Particularly, I'm wondering how you managed to isolate the reeds so that the responder doesn't engage when playing the other direction (ie, how you keep the responder reed in hole 1 from playing when you are playing the 1 draw).

I'd advise looking into patenting this, and if not patenting it making a thorough and possibly even public documentation of the design so as to protect your invention.

Again, congratulations on this.




()() JR "Bulldogge" Ross () () & Snuffy, too:) `----'







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