Re: [Harp-L] What to do with a Bahnson Overblow Harp?

[Zombor Kovacs <zrkovacs@xxxxxxxxx>]

There are much more experienced people here than
myself, but I would probably not use that thing for
playing. Just try it, see how it works and have it as
a rarity. 
Price? No idea. Maybe others have an idea. 

Zombor



--- Winslow Yerxa <winslowyerxa@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:

> Björn - 
> 
> The slide button operates a pair of flate plates
> that slide against the
> reedplates, mounted on the side of the reedplate
> opposite to the side
> that has all the reeds. The blow reed plate has the
> reeds on the
> inside, so the blow slide plate is on the outside.
> The draw reedplate
> has the reeds on the outside, so the draw slide
> plate is on the inside.
> 
> The slide plate in the out position does nothing at
> all. If you play
> the instrument and do not press the slide button, it
> has no effect on
> the reeds.
> 
> When you press the slide button, the plates slide
> into place and block
> the airflow from reaching certain reeds:
> 
> Blow 1, 4, 5, and 6 are blocked.
> 
> Draw 7, 8, 9 and 10 are blocked.
> 
> (The other reed in each of these holes is then
> isolated, allowing for
> easier overblows in Hols 1, 4, 5, and 6, and easier
> overdrawas in Holes
> 7, 8, 9, and 10.)
> 
> If you press the slide into place while no reed are
> vibrating, again,
> there is no danger to the reeds.
> 
> However, if you press the slide and shift the slide
> plates while reeds
> are vibrating, there is the possibility that a
> reed's vibration will
> carry it through its slot. For instance, Blow 1
> might swing all the way
> through the slot and be hit by the edge of the slide
> plate as it moves
> into place to block that reed's slot from receiving
> air.
> 
> This possibility suggests that you should be careful
> to move ths slide
> plates only when the reeds mentioned above are not
> vibrating.
> 
> However, I have had the experience of moving the
> slider while playing
> and hearing a slight sound as the slide plate
> catches the edge of the
> reed, but this did not cause any damage to the reed.
> All the same, it's
> good to be careful.
> 
> Winslow
> 
> --- Björn Giesler <bjoern@xxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
> 
> > Hi,
> > 
> > I just resubscribed after a long absence from
> Harp-L and harps. So  
> > hello everybody, I'm Björn from Germany, and a
> funny thing happened  
> > to me today.
> > 
> > I can't believe my luck -- I just bought a Bahnson
> Overblow harp from
> >  
> > a local dealer. And really cheap, too!
> > 
> > He had no idea what he was selling (told me that
> the previous store  
> > owner bought it and the thing had been gathering
> dust for a couple of
> >  
> > years on the shelf), and I had no idea what I was
> buying but I was  
> > pretty certain I'd never seen a Golden Melody with
> a slider. Of  
> > course, they didn't let me test the harp at the
> store so I wasn't  
> > sure what the slider did. He ended up offering it
> to me for less than
> >  
> > a new Golden Melody costs since it was obviously
> "an antique". Well, 
> > 
> > I got home and looked on the net and figured out I
> have a Bahnson.  
> > Hooray!!
> > 
> > Now that I have it, though, I'm wondering what I
> should do with it.  
> > Should I play it, leave it on the shelf, or even
> sell it to a  
> > collector? Plays like a dream, by the way -- super
> airtight, loud,  
> > full tone. But I've read somewhere that due to the
> slider possibly  
> > snagging with the reeds, these things are easy to
> break. How much of 
> > 
> > a value would I risk breaking if I played it? What
> do you guys think?
> > 
> > Regards,
> > Björn
> > _______________________________________________
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> 
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