Brendan Power
421 posts
Mar 08, 2014
11:34 AM
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As we promised, the X-Reed MB30 “First Numbered Edition” harps were posted out at the end of February, and are now reaching their owners. (For those who don’t know, the MB30 is a new custom made 30-reed all-bending harp made from the parts of two Hohner Marine Bands).
To help our customers (and anyone else interested in knowing how this expressive new harp works), I’ve made a couple of explanatory videos. The first one shows how the harp works, and how to adjust the 20 active reeds:
MB30 Setup Video 1
Video 2 will show full disassembly and adjusting the x-reeds - coming soon.
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bloozefish
160 posts
Mar 08, 2014
12:03 PM
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Very cool harp, but I have to admit to a sense of relief at seeing that Master Brendan's fingers look as beat up as mine....I thought I was just a klutz when at the bench, hehe
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Sherwin
129 posts
Mar 08, 2014
5:08 PM
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Hey Brendan thanks for the posting, this is certainly amazing stuff.
Michael
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WinslowYerxa
511 posts
Mar 08, 2014
5:24 PM
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Wanna see the MB-30 up close and in person and hear about it from an insider?
MB-30 builder Richard Sleigh will be an Expert Guide at the Harmonica Collective in May (see link below for more info)
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Winslow
Find out about the 2014 Spring Harmonica Collective!
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Mullet
7 posts
Mar 08, 2014
10:06 PM
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I'm one of the 50 who decided to take the plunge. I'm a big fan of overblowing and overdrawing, but wanted to give something a try that would make playing chromatically a bit easier. The harp is pretty responsive and has a really nice wide open sound. I'm finding that I'm having a few blow bends that are hard to get starting from the bent position -- particularly holes 3 and 5. Bending in or down from the notes is proving to be easier. I'm thinking that adjusting the x-reeds on these holes might help a bit. I know I had a similar experience with the ChromaBender and eventually got it worked out with some precision gapping.
I'd recommend it to those guys who don't feel like mucking with overblowing/drawing but want the missing notes. Overall, I'm happy with the harp and would love to get one in the key of A next.
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Brendan Power
423 posts
Mar 09, 2014
1:46 AM
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Glad you're liking it, Mullet!
Yes, adjusting the x-reeds out of the slot slightly in holes 3 & 5 will give you easier blow bends. The second video in this series shows you how. The relevant part for those reeds starts at 8:40:
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RSleigh
1 post
Mar 09, 2014
6:24 AM
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Hey, everyone.... Just wanted to say that Brendan tends to make these things look easy... I always tell people to try things out on beater harps first - something you can destroy...
In the case of the MB30 - if you have never tuned a harp with wind-savers or used a motorized tuner, don't do this till you try out your skills on some other disposable harps.
Brendan, Zombor and I love these harps dearly and have put a ridiculous amount of work into them, so please take reasonable precautions before you work on them.....
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Brendan Power
424 posts
Mar 09, 2014
9:22 AM
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"Brendan, Zombor and I love these harps dearly and have put a ridiculous amount of work into them, so please take reasonable precautions before you work on them....."
Richard is right about that!! Making the the MB30 has taken all three of us to the brink of despair several times, and pushed our various skills and accumulated harmonica knowledge to the outer limits. It's been quite a journey, but the result makes it all worth it.
Richard made another good point: These videos are meant for folks who already work on their harps. If you're not one of those, please DON'T try to tweak the MB30 until you have mastered the basic skills on more simple harps.
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arzajac
1300 posts
Mar 09, 2014
12:21 PM
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This is quite exciting! I'm in awe over the high level of CNC milling used to create this harp.
Brendan, how are the two bottom reed plates sealed? Or rather, what's the best strategy to use to re-seal them in the event they need to be taken apart for reed replacement or more advanced reed adjustment?
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Custom overblow harps. Harmonica service and repair.
Last Edited by arzajac on Mar 09, 2014 12:21 PM
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Mullet
8 posts
Mar 09, 2014
1:39 PM
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Thanks Brendan for the videos.
I'm not averse to opening up the harp and tinkering with it. Been doing that for quite a while now.
Just curious, I noticed that the windsavers are made out of a different material than what you're using in the video. Are they suede windsavers? Haven't opened this puppy up yet so not sure of the material.
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Brendan Power
425 posts
Mar 09, 2014
3:51 PM
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@ arzajac: The inner surfaces of the bottom reedplates are intricately machined by Zombor so the reeds nest into the reedplate opposite (the rivet heads actually poke through small holes). It took him months to get it right, as there is very little margin for error. We flat-sand the the inside surface of the outer draw plate, then seal the two plates together. Richard uses a wax compound he makes himself, I roll on a thin coating of Vaseline.
Richard's procedure is a bit different to mine, so I can't talk for him, but I lock the plates together with a tiny screw and a bit of thin Superglue wicked at the edges to stop them shifting. Then when the valves are attached they also tend to stick the plates together as the glue underneath contacts the rivet heads (though I believe Richard now attaches the valves before joining the plates).
The joined plates can be prised apart easily enough, but getting them fitting together well again is not simple, so that's why I asked folks to leave it to us. We hope to improve this aspect in future models.
@ Mullett: The material we're using for the windsavers is the same on all the harps, but the colour may vary. Is yours black? Finding the right valve material was one of the biggest hurdles in making the harp, and took an awful lot of time and testing. Zombor eventually found a material with the right combination of elasticity and robustness for the very demanding level of valve performance required in the MB30. We want to keep it confidential for now.
Last Edited by Brendan Power on Mar 09, 2014 3:52 PM
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REM
241 posts
Mar 09, 2014
4:28 PM
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You said the inside surfaces of the bottom reedplates have holes for the rivet heads, but do the bottom reedplates also have areas that are countersunk in order to accommodate the square rivet pads of the reeds? If so, that's really impressive. If not, how do you get the two plates to sit flush together with the reeds attached between them?
Also, since each slot has two valves, wouldn't that make it unnecessary to have the zero offset on the X-reeds? With the two valves, there's only ever two "accessible" reeds (a blow & a draw reed) in the airstream at any given time, just like a normal diatonic.
Thanks for making these videos. I really wish it had been in my budget to get one of these. Hopefully you'll end up making more in the future. I love the X-reed concept. I play my Sub-30s all the time, once they've been set up well they're so much fun to play. And they open up all sorts of new possibilities, and they allow me to play even more expressively. I wish I had a full set.
Last Edited by REM on Mar 10, 2014 5:37 AM
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Philosofy
520 posts
Mar 09, 2014
8:45 PM
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Brendan, you mentioned in the other thread that corian machines nice, but is brittle. I have lots of contacts in the plastics industry, and I'll see if there is something else that is as easy to machine but is more durable. I have a sample of the polyurethane that makes up bowling balls in my garage, I'll see how that does on my woodworking machines.
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Brendan Power
427 posts
Mar 10, 2014
10:58 AM
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@REM:You wrote "Do the bottom reedplates also have areas that are countersunk in order to accommodate the square rivet pads of the reeds? If so, that's really impressive." Yes, they do - they have to for the reedplates to sit flush. It's pretty detailed milling alright!
"Also, since each slot has two valves, wouldn't that make it unnecessary to have the zero offset on the X-reeds? With the two valves, there's only ever two "accessible" reeds (a blow & a draw reed) in the airstream at any given time, just like a normal diatonic"
Good point, but we find the harp works best with a zero offset or just slightly raised. It's more airtight, and there is no chance of the x-reed hitting the valve above it. There is scope for the player to adjust for their preference though.
"Hopefully you'll end up making more in the future" We will be making more MB30s for sure, in a range of keys and options. At this stage we're just having a break from the months of intense R&D and making/assembling, and listening to comments from our first customers. All the feedback so far has been great, and some name players who bought one (like Lee Sankey) are loving it. We're looking forward to hearing the new stuff folks play on it.
@Philiosofy: Thanks for the suggestions! I'll pass on any ideas to Zombor.
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