Power Gasket-Valves

Hello Harp Techs, our friend and mad scientist, Brendan Power developed and now makes available at https://www.brendan-power.com/GasketValves.php his new Gasket-Valve product for diatonic harmonicas. 

For those readers not familiar with the feature/benefit of Gaskets and Valves, I will list a couple:

• Gaskets close up gaps left behind by corrosion, and/or imperfections found with the mating surfaces of the comb and reed plates--ensuring an airtightness that will improve playability of the instrument

• Valves (aka: windsavers) found on all Chromatic harmonics. Brendan pioneered the concept and methodology of installing valves over the first six (to seven) draw reed plate slots, and 7 through 10 blow reed slots; of the diatonic harmonica--enabling players to blow bend notes 1 through 6, with greater volume and expression. Notable artists who rely on half valved diatonic harmonicas include Brendan Power and PT Gazell

Hohner Special 20-Low D harmonica

SP20 ready for surgery. Tip: Don’t forget to cut away the comb sprues (removed before the photo shoot). Those horizontal “braces” once held the comb in place during the cooling process of the ABS injection molding. You’ll thank me later when it comes time for maintenance/tuning.

Lay the Blow Gasket onto the Blow side of the comb. I found the plastic Gasket has the characteristics of Mylar, but Brendan responded to my query that it was a secret formula. The surface has a non-stick “privacy glass” look to it. This is a huge benefit, because when our breath causes moisture buildup on the reeds and plates, the micro-stibbles of this material will mitigate the valves from sticking to the reed plate (capillary action). 

The thickness of the Gasket-Valve is .004” (.12mm). 

LEGEND stamped on each Gasket-Valve: 

HL = Hohner Lipped (for indexed combs; SP20, Rocket)

H = Hohner Sandwich (for flat combs; Marine Band, Crossover)

Z = Suzuki Manji

The valves are perfectly positioned over the slots--no gluing required!

Reinstall both reed plates and secure them with original reed plate machine screws. Note: as a result of passing through the Gasket material, the reed plate screws will be slightly tighter to turn, . Replace cover plates and fasteners. Tip: to avoid confusion, the TOP Blow reed plate has the larger clearance holes for the reed plate machine screws (fasteners). The BOTTOM Draw plate will have “threaded” holes to receive the fasteners.

Remove the white colored adhesive protector strip (black strip faces towards you), then apply the blow reed Valves over reed plate slots #7 through #10. Tip: This will enable the player to add expression to the 7 draw note.

Next subject; the Hohner Crossover-Eb. Essentially, installation will be the same process as the Special 20, but because this harmonica comb (i.e. Marine Band, Crossover, Thunderbird) does not have any nesting walls and guides, it is a tad bit trickier. Temporarily, use your reed plate machine screws as index posts to properly align the Gasket-Valves.

Remove the white colored adhesive protector strip (black strip faces towards you), then apply the blow reed Valves over reed plate slots #7 through #10.

IMPRESSIONS:

Super close tolerance Gaskets-Valves allow for a perfect fit. The small footprint of the valves mitigates the traditional windsaver flapping noise. With no adhesives required--it is relatively simple for all Harp Techs to achieve professional results. 

Hohner Special 20-Low D 

For the out-of-the-box Hohner Special 20-Low D harmonica, the improvements were remarkable. The blow notes were noticeably louder, and allowed me to pepper those blow reeds with convincing and expressive vibrato. Lower and upper registers were considerably easier to bend. In general, the Gasket-Valve upgrade made this out-of-the-box harmonica a more capable instrument and a real pleasure to play.

Hohner Crossover-Eb

Although the 9 draw vibrato sounds pretty amazing now, for this “already-customized” Hohner Crossover-Eb harmonica, the benefits were less obvious. One stand out, for better or worse (depending on your tastes), was that this harmonica now has a slightly dampened voicing (muted).

FINAL WORDS:

I urge you to try the Brendan Power Gasket-Valve. Available at: https://www.brendan-power.com/GasketValves.php

Your Harpsmith, Kinya 

p.s. with the global Covid 19 pandemic, allow an extra 3-4 weeks for your delivery from the UK to the US