How do you tune them to powerbender? If I got the concept right, we've got:
TWO draw reeds and ONE blow on holes 1-6 ONE draw reed and TWO blow on holes 7-10
Now that's a quite a problem when we don't have the top octave inversion (all normal tunings like powerchromatic, powerbender, or diminished have no breath inversions).
@ Jim: perceptive of you, as always :-) I've done it two ways:
1. Replace the lower reedplate with a normal diatonic reedplate (any Suzuki draw reedplate will fit, Manji, Harpmaster etc). This gives all holes with 1 blow and 2 draw reeds per chamber. Then retune to PowerBender.
2. Keep the bottom reedplate but remove the top 4 blow reeds and replace in the opposite direction (so they become draw reeds). This works too, but is more hassle.
@ Jim Yes, that is the way the harp is constructed--the blow reeds for holes 7-10 are on the draw plate. I worked on one for a customer (Will Scarlett, the chap who first envisioned one--OK, he and Brendan came up with the idea simultaneously and independently) at SPAH last week (I am back working for Suzuki--and got to jam with Brendan, I played Ronnie Shellist's guitar).
@ Jim: Yes, that format makes sense because there is more room to place the outer valve (which sits over the active blow reed - C,E,G,C on a C harp holes 7-10) on the lower reedplate, which has only 10 reeds, as opposed to 20 on the top reedplate.
If the active blow reeds were on the top reedplate there is very little room to stick the valve.
So in holes 7-10 the top reedplate switches from active blow next to sympathetic draw (as in hole 1-6) to sympathetic blow next to active draw. The pitches on a C harp are:
*BbB - *CD - *D#F - *GA
(* = The sympathetic blow reed). Hope that makes sense!
@ Gnarley: It was good to finally meet you at SPAH, and fun jamming with you :-) One point of clarification on your comment above:
"(Will Scarlett, the chap who first envisioned one--OK, he and Brendan came up with the idea simultaneously and independently)"
It was independent, but not simultaneous. Will thought of the idea first in the early 1980s and made a 3-reed cell to test it. However, he kept it secret aside from a signed disclosure to Rick Epping in 1987 (who then took the idea further into a 40 reed concept that eventually became the XB-40). That was a serious bone of contention between them, that they fought out in the US Patent Courts in the 1990s.
I had no knowledge of any of this and thought up the 3-reed-per-cell idea independently in New Zealand in 1989. I made my first 30 reed harp that year and showed it to Suzuki in 1991, who developed it further in 1992-93. The first I knew of Rick and Will's work was in 1994, when I heard of Rick's patent.
Since there was no contact between Will and I we can be considered the two co-inventors of the 30 reed idea. (This kind of thing has happened many times in the history of inventions).
There are photos of my 1989 prototype and the early Suzuki ones here: http://www.brendan-power.com/History%20of%20the%20UltraBend.htm
And a fuller description of the history here: http://www.brendan-power.com/images/HW%20Sept%202012%20Brendan's%20Article.pdf
(I've posted these links before, now updated with new photos)
I met Will at SPAH. He thinks he should have done more with the idea when he alone had it, but is very happy that it's finally come out in a production model. Daron of Suzuki USA presented him with a complimentary SUB30 UltraBend there, and we tested out the idea of removing the valves together (it didn't work!).
I like and respect Will a lot, and think his pioneering work on overblows and the 3-reed chamber should be better known in the harmonica scene. He has taken up my offer for him to tell the story of his early harmonica experiments in my regular article in the next issue of the UK "Harmonica World" magazine. Should be very interesting!
I've extended the same invitation to Rick Epping for the following issue. Aside from his brilliant inventive work, I'm 99% sure Rick was the first guy to emboss harmonica reedplates, way before Joe Filisko and his many followers (as I'm sure Joe would confirm). In fact, Rick coined the term "embossing" for the process. That would make an interesting story too!
Will and Rick are both highly significant figures in the development of Modern Blues Harmonica. Their early experiments should be better known by today's players, who benefit from their pioneering work.
Last Edited by on Aug 25, 2012 3:44 AM
@ Brendan The pleasure is all mine! One of the best things about our community is the opportunity to share moments with truly great artists. You not only play great but are forward thinking, and one of the best things about you is your ability to carry your ideas out to fruition, the UltraBend being the latest example. Good on Ya! Gnarly
