Chinaski
264 posts
Nov 26, 2013
3:32 AM
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I recently acquired a Hohner 64 chromatic to add to the couple of 48s I've had for a while.
However, I notice the 64 is quite buzzy with windsaver noise on a couple of reeds in the low and middle octave.
What are the most effective ways of eradicating this?
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Frank
3390 posts
Nov 26, 2013
3:57 AM
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Chromatic Harmonica Windsavers
What They Are and Why They Exist
Chromatic Forum
Last Edited by Frank on Nov 26, 2013 4:04 AM
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GMaj7
309 posts
Nov 26, 2013
5:01 AM
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Wind saver noise is difficult to eliminate and in truth is really only managed not eradicated. The wind saver has to lay perfectly flat on the reed plate. This gets harder to make happen as the wind saver gets longer as is the case on the low side of Hohner 64 which has some big reeds.
You can try replacing the wind saver and when you do, roll or crease it a bit so that there is a little tension on it forcing it to stay on the plate.
The buzz is the noise that results when it flaps.
Also, some of the better chromatic techs out there are experimenting with other materials including ultra-suede which is not susceptible to curling. Adam Hamil has also done some work with accordion parts that lay on top of the wind saver. They are essentially pieces of wire that hold them down.
I bet Gnarly can weigh in on this as can Adam. They much more than I do.
Anyhow, welcome to the club!
----------
Greg Jones
16:23 Custom Harmonicas
greg@1623customharmonicas.com
1623customharmonicas.com
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Chinaski
265 posts
Nov 26, 2013
5:12 AM
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Cheers guys - looking at the vid, I'd say one of them is misaligned then.
I sort of expected some noise on the lower given the size of the reeds down there, but there is one up in the mid octave that is very buzzy. Maybe that needs replacing then.
Last Edited by Chinaski on Nov 26, 2013 5:12 AM
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clyde
322 posts
Nov 26, 2013
6:48 PM
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Try warming it up before you start playing
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Gnarly
798 posts
Nov 26, 2013
6:57 PM
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There are a few things you can do to make valves less noisy.
I recently refurbished a valved Pro Master to trade for a chromatic. A few of the notes had an unwanted octave resonance. I wound up replacing the valve on holes two and three several times, winding up with Ultrasuede.
So what I gather is that the mylar valves (that's what most valves are made of ) wanted to play along!
The bottom line is, you have to fiddle with these things until they cooperate. I have even glued wind savers one on top of the other.
Greg will tell you that the Seydel valves don't reach the end of the slot. I don't know if that's a solution really…
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harpwrench
734 posts
Nov 26, 2013
7:31 PM
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Gnarly is waxing the plates worthwhile? I've read about it but never tried.
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Gnarly
799 posts
Nov 27, 2013
7:04 AM
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I wax reed plates upon occasion. The main benefit is cutting down on the amount of condensation that causes windsavers to stick.
I don't think it does anything about wind saver noise.
Valve noise can get really bad in the lower octave of a 16 hole chromatic; those reeds are so long--they swing wide. The easiest solution is simply not to play those notes so hard; the lower the volume, the less likely the Reeds will hit the wind savers.
Edit: I just saw this--
http://www.slidemeister.com/forums/index.php?topic=9443.msg101349;topicseen#new
Tom Stryker has the same problem! And he is quite experienced . . .
Last Edited by Gnarly on Nov 27, 2013 8:27 AM
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Chinaski
268 posts
Nov 27, 2013
8:39 AM
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Yeah, the lower octave is sosrt of 'acceptable noise', given the size of reeds.
It's one particular windsaver up in hole 7 that has the
worst constant buzzing noise.
I'm aware that general windsaver buzz eases at the harmonica warms up as both my 48s behave that way.
However, it sounds like this one is a replacement/removal issue.
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harpwrench
735 posts
Nov 27, 2013
8:51 AM
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Thanks Gnarly!
Chinaski there's more than one reason for noise. One is reed hitting valve, another one can be for instance the valve on the blow reed popping when you play the draw note. As said before they need to lay perfectly flat, so air doesn't flow there and cause the second problem. Needs to be clean. The two layers need to be not stuck together. If they do it will aggravate the reed hitting the valve problem. You can lift the outer layer up and put a slight kink midway, rising up in the middle like a little pyramid, to prevent the layers from sticking together.
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Gnarly
800 posts
Nov 27, 2013
9:15 AM
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Different manufacturer's valves behave differently.
A lot of people like the Suzuki valves; I am using Hohner valves for my repairs at home. Both work well; the second layer on the Suzukis are much shorter.
I really dislike the valves that Hering puts on their harmonicas. They buzz no matter how much you warm the harmonica.
Is Seydel using Ultrasuede valves exclusively?
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Chinaski
269 posts
Nov 29, 2013
11:47 AM
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Thanks Joe, I'll have a look at that too.
Otherwise, the short term solution is just take the thing off I guess :)
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Frank
3411 posts
Nov 30, 2013
3:16 AM
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A little Chrome inspiration :)
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