Amazing things are possible when you combine two diatonic harps together behind a single mouthpiece. Here are two videos demonstrating some unique new 10-hole harps you've never seen before.
TWIN-DIATONIC HARPS Part 1 - Octaharp, TremoloHarp, & OctaHarp Selectable
TWIN-DIATONIC HARPS Part 2 - MiniChrom, DoubleHarp Selectable, X-Reed UniBender
Well, Brendan, another batch of ingenious innovations for harmonica players to investigate, and incorporate in their tool kits! You have consistently provided amazing options for players, and there is more to come, I'm sure. It's always exciting to see what you come with...I'm waiting to see what your take on a chord harmonica will be!
the guts of these harps will be more airtight than a regular diatonic. there are always only two reeds in the air stream at a time, same as a regular diatonic but on the UniBender harps one of those reeds will have a zero gap so less air loss.
as long as the mouthpiece doesn't leak air it should do as well as a regular diatonic in this regard.
Brendan, is Helmholtz a concern with the UniBender as it is with the other models? Is it strictly chamber volume or shape as well that causes it? if volume alone i'd pack bits of modelling clay in the chambers.
Wonderful stuff Brendan! As usual, especially interesting with the octaharp and the X-Reed Unibender. These would be great harps for Irish trad. players, especially when Hohner discontinued the Auto Valve and the XB-40. ---------- Regards, Joel Andersson Sweden Website Facebook YouTube
Thanks Joel and everyone for the positive comments.
@Roverharp: Helmholtz Resonance Coupling is really mysterious! I've tried making the rear combs with extremely narrow slots and infills to reduce the overall chamber volume, but it had negligible effect on pitch compared to a standard comb.
I think it's mostly to do with the distance from mouth to reed. Increasing the distance means that high keys are less usable, though they can be made to work with retuning the top notes. The XB-40 had similar Helmholtz issues, which is why they made the highest key D.
G to C is about the best standard range for the MiniChrom and UniBender, it works well to go lower for the Low harp equivalent keys: Low F, Low E, Low D etc.
Last Edited by Brendan Power on Aug 20, 2017 4:56 PM
The x-reed unibender is up my alley. @Brendan, did you set that one up with a PowerDraw or PowerBend? A Seydel x-reed unibender in PB is def going to be on my Christmas list.
Actually, the Octaharp looks seriously cool. It would work well with Major Cross. Better still, you'd only need ones in G and D to cover most trad tunes.
The Seydel Major Cross range has a high D, pitched similarly to a high G. It works extremely well, and would match with a Low D Major Cross, pitched similarly to a regular G.
Is this product on the market yet? If so I may be tempted. An instrument like this would slay all comers.
For me, G version would require the low instrument to be based on the Seydel low model, with the extra fat cover plates. Would this be a problem?
Another issue: what kind of case would fit these beasts? ---------- Tony Eyers Australia www.HarmonicaAcademy.com everyone plays...
Actually, to answer my own question, the fat cover plates for the low harmonica may not be an issue after all. The fat cover plates give the low draw reed more room to swing, to prevent the rattling which has been an issue for low harmonicas with standard plates.
However with this setup you could simply position the low harmonica so that the draw reeds face the inside, thereby eliminating the need for the fat cover plates.
The full valving makes sense, this is done on the Seydel Concerto Octave model, also the Hohner Autovalve, as far as I'm aware. In the case of Seydel, fully valved harmonicas can be ordered through the custom shop, for those not confident with installing valves themselves. In this case, two harmonicas could be ordered (i.e. standard and low), fully valved, then just bolted on to your assembly.
I feel an order looming. ---------- Tony Eyers Australia www.HarmonicaAcademy.com everyone plays...
Ta for the feedback, it all helps since these are just a bunch of protoptypes right now and options/prices are still being finalised for release next week sometime.
@ Chris: I think I demoed three pf the X-Reed UniBenders in the video. The Seydel and one of the Hohners were in Richter tuning, with the x-reeds configured to give the missing chromatic notes.
The 'Wayfaring Stranger' harp is actually in Solo tuning - though you wouldn't guess it as it's tuned for big bends on every note. The bends are configured to go down to the next note down in the scale, which gives you two ways to get every note: as a standard blow/draw or as a bend from the note above.
I call these 'bend enharmonicas'. they give you lots of beautiful expression.
The great thing with these babies is that you can choose ANY tuning you like, and they will sound soulful. So there is no need to learn a new tuning in order to get more chromatic bending notes.
@ Tony: I still need to suss out the Seydel Low harps for the OctaHarp. They have fatter combs, which wouldn't fit the present design. But it won't be a big change to adapt them.
On the valving: I'm talking to Seydel to make sure that if customers order their (excellent) valves with reedplates designed for these twin-diatronics, the valves are not trimmed, but cover the slots fully. This is better than the Gazell style of cutting 1-2mm off the end of the valve for the twin diatonics. But that's an easy change to make.
For those who want to do their own valving, I have a new easy-fit valve kit coming soon, for all popular diatonic harp models.
