Brendan Power & Alternative Harmonicas Forum

Confirmed! It took about 4 hours today to make all the subtle changes to fit a Gasket-Valve set for the Mars. The comb is quite different inside to the Amazing 20. A nice design and injection moulding job, well done to Kongsheng.

It was so nice to meet up in person with a couple of the Forum members at Harpmeet: regular posters Triona and Edvin. Edvin had brought along a chromatic in a very interesting original tuning of his, quite a different approach to most. We also talked over the reedplate-stacking idea and made plans f...

I had a few Accordion-reed prototypes at Harpmeet, and it was good to get feedback from Edvin, Triona and others who tried them. The overall impression was positive, which was encouraging. This week I'm working on various improvements: 1. Enlarging the chambers to 'open out' the sound 2. Swapping th...

I'm glad you like your Gasket-valves Paul! Thanks for taking the time to post your impressions - feedback like this makes the time spent in thinking up and perfecting new harmonica ideas worthwhile

I'm bringing some along, see you in Norrköping

@Crawford: Re. marketing, I think these things will only have niche appeal really. Not sure it would be worthwhile to sell them. At this stage it's just for fun

Yes Triona, Joel will be there - he's one of the main organisers of Harpmeet. He lives a little inland from Malmö, so it's quite a way south off your track from Varburg to Norrköping. Possibly we may be traveling on the 11th as well, not sure. Anyway we're bringing lots of tools and stuff to keep th...

This week I'm getting back to messing with harmonicas made with accordion reeds. In the past I made a couple of test instruments, which showed the potential and allayed any concerns over steel reeds rusting. They don't, if you let the harp dry off after playing and it's kept in a dry environment. A ...

Thanks Triona for your helpful and accurate replies. Yes, my Universal Hohner 12 hole chromatic comb will fit the Larry Adler, because the only things different about it from the 270 are the coverplates.

One more observation on your Inverted Bebop tuning. Your intention was to start the C major scale on a draw note, and you get this arrangement (blow note to the left): Bb-C. D-E. F-G. A-B. * Bb-C. D-E. F-G. A-B. * etc Check PowerChromatic in F, starting on hole 3: Bb-C. D-E. F-G. G-A. * Bb-C. D-E. F...