[Harp-L] Re: Blu-Tack: I Deserve All the Credit

[Brendan Power]

I'm going to come out boldly and claim that I was the FIRST to adopt
Blu-Tak for retuning harmonica reeds. If I'm remembered for nothing else, I
wish to be known as "The Man who Brought Harmonicas and Blu-Tak Together"!
Forget numerous CDs, half-valving and innovative special tunings (even being
invited to play at The Old Neptune pub in Whitstable!) - I consider the
BLU-TAK TRICK to be the true summit of my modest contribution to the
harmonica community - and I won't have anyone else steal my thunder ;)

Rick Epping has showed me many of his nifty tools and tricks for harmonica
tweaking - he's great like that :) But I showed HIM the Blu-Tak Trick, as
I'm sure he would attest. I've been doing it since the mid-80s (to tune the
custom 11 hole harps I used at the time). I've imparted this precious
knowledge to many others over the years, without even asking for a cent!

It allows you to have one harp that can be quickly and reversibly changed to
alternate tunings.

For example, the 5 draw can be tuned up to the major 7th in 2nd Position (F#
on a C harp), then lowered with the right amount of Blu-Tak to the F. When
you want the F#, simply remove the Blu-Tak and stick it on the rivet pad.
Then reapply when you want the F again. Since it is the right amount, the
tuning will be dead-on every time. It's a bit like a Scruggs tuning peg for
the harmonica!

It takes less than a minute, and most of that time is in removing/rescrewing
the coverplates (with a Turbolid the job would be done in 20 seconds or
less). Good for trying out new tunings quickly and reversibly too. The stuff
sticks like you wouldn't believe and stays there for decades of violent reed
vibration. Just make sure the reed is clean and free of dust and grease
before applying.

A real money saver in these tough economic times... No need to buy lots of
harps in different tunings, just "Blob on Some Blu-Tak"! (but if Lee Oskar
goes bust, I never told you, right! ;)

---------------

For Americans, with their unfortunate irony deficiency, I feel boringly
obliged to point out there is a certain tongue-in-cheek element to this
post. (If I didn't, they'd probably take me at my word and I WOULD only be
remembered for Blu-Tak :)

Cheers,

Brendan Power
WEBSITE: http://www.brendan-power.com
YOUTUBE: http://www.youtube.com/BrendanPowerMusic

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[Mox GOWLAND]

Blu-Tak Bren wrote

>(even being invited to play at The Old Neptune pub in Whitstable!) <

& they even invited you back - the second time to apolagize !

(An té a chaillfeas a chlú, caillfidh sé a náire)

Joking aside
& later;

>Just make sure the reed is clean and free of dust and grease
before applying.

de-greasing brass -
suitable product(s)?
best technique(s)?

Polishing the underside of a reed without removing it -
any advise?
Thanks in advance

Mox

http://www.youtube.com/user/hokumsheik

[jcolb...@juno.com]

Brendan Power says "For Americans, with their unfortunate irony deficiency, I feel boringly

obliged to point out there is a certain tongue-in-cheek element to this
post"

This American says "that is pretty funny." We do have other excellent qualities. If stepped away from our computers and TVs and spent more time playing with actual humans, our sense of humor would regain so sophistication. I think that this economic hard time will be good for our cultural depth and thus we will see some new things in the world o harp playing.

By the way Brendan, I really enjoy your Youtube videos. Even you advertisements for Suzuki. (I always have a Harpmaster in my pocket even though my favorites are wood Seydels and Hohners.)

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[Chesper Nevins]

> For Americans, with their unfortunate irony deficiency, I feel boringly
obliged to point out there is a certain tongue-in-cheek element to this

post. (If I didn't, they'd probably take me at my word and I WOULD only be
remembered for Blu-Tak :)

Hmm, I thought my daily multi-vitamin provided that, but now looking
at the bottle....

Truth is, Brendan inhaled a bit of blue-tack once, and it firmly stuck
his tongue to his left cheek.

He hasn't had a decent conversation with an American since!

:-P lol

[Rick Dempster]

Brendan,
Perhaps you could turn this into a market opportunity: I can foresee kits of pre-weighed blobs of Blu-Tak; 'The C Richter to Paddy Richter Kit'; the 'G Richter to Melody Maker Kit' and so forth.
Perhaps a Blu-Tak syringe that could deliver metered blobs; perhaps the Bostik (I believe they are the manufacturers) might be interested in doing a deal with you.
Anyway, when your boat comes in, just remember that it was suggested to you by your pal across the Tasman,
Your's Sincerely,
RD

PS I may have been overdoing the Irony Supplement pills lately....

>>> "Brendan Power" <br...@brendan-power.com> 24/03/2009 20:21 >>>

[Rick Epping]

Sorry for coming in late on this. I did indeed get the Blu-Tak trick from
Brendan. Up til then I used a mixture of beeswax and powdered brass,
inspired by the mixture of beeswax and powdered lead used to tune shengs.
Blu-Tak is fine for lowering a reed's pitch by a semitone, though I find
that using it to lower the pitch a wholetone or more can sometimes tend to
dull the tone. Blu-Tak sticks much better than beeswax and can be fine
tuned by shifting it forward or back a little from the reed's tip. I always
keep a bit of the stuff in my toolbox. Thanks Brendan!

Another trick: If I'm stuck with a reed starting to go flat and I haven't
the time to replace it, I sometimes add a little super glue (the thin
variety) to the back of the reed, where it will ultimately fail. This both
raises the pitch and acts as a splint to keep the reed going, sometimes for
as much as a few weeks. Not something I ever recommended while working for
Hohner, as the safest thing to do is to replace the reed, but it does the
job.

I haven't forgotten about posting photos and info on restoring leather
windsavers, just been away much of the time. I'm off again to Denmark on
Friday but I'll keep trying to get to it.

Best,
Rick

>
>
> Message: 10
> Date: Wed, 25 Mar 2009 10:06:59 +1100
> From: "Rick Dempster" <rick.d...@rmit.edu.au>
> Subject: [Harp-L] Re: Blu-Tack: I Deserve All the Credit
> To: "Brendan Power" <br...@brendan-power.com>, "Harp-L"
> <har...@harp-l.org>
> Message-ID: <49CA0243.7...@ems.rmit.edu.au>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII

[Joe and Cass Leone]

On Mar 24, 2009, at 9:34 PM, Rick Epping wrote:

> Sorry for coming in late on this. I did indeed get the Blu-Tak
> trick from
> Brendan. Up til then I used a mixture of beeswax and powdered brass,
> inspired by the mixture of beeswax and powdered lead used to tune
> shengs.
> Blu-Tak is fine for lowering a reed's pitch by a semitone, though I
> find
> that using it to lower the pitch a wholetone or more can sometimes
> tend to
> dull the tone. Blu-Tak sticks much better than beeswax and can be
> fine
> tuned by shifting it forward or back a little from the reed's tip.
> I always
> keep a bit of the stuff in my toolbox. Thanks Brendan!
>
> Another trick: If I'm stuck with a reed starting to go flat and I
> haven't
> the time to replace it, I sometimes add a little super glue (the thin
> variety) to the back of the reed, where it will ultimately fail.
> This both
> raises the pitch and acts as a splint to keep the reed going,
> sometimes for
> as much as a few weeks.

Here comes one of my closely guarded secrets. But since I'm getting
old, I see no reason not to share it. You people writing books can
use it. I am beyond minding.

A drop of super glue into which you drop a sliver of cigarette
paper. The paper fibers will (as Rick says) 'splint' the fractured
reed, and I have gone a long time with this type repair. NO risk on a
blow reed and you WILL get a warning before the reed fractures and
lodges in your throat on a draw reed.

sMO-JOe (who would rather LeOne than LeZero)

[Brendan Power]

Rick Dempster wrote:

"Brendan, Perhaps you could turn this into a market opportunity: I can
foresee kits of pre-weighed blobs of Blu-Tak; 'The C Richter to Paddy
Richter Kit'; the 'G Richter to Melody Maker Kit' and so forth. Perhaps a
Blu-Tak syringe that could deliver metered blobs; perhaps the Bostik (I
believe they are the manufacturers) might be interested in doing a deal with
you. Anyway, when your boat comes in, just remember that it was suggested to
you by your pal across the Tasman,

PS I may have been overdoing the Irony Supplement pills lately...."

Nice idea Rick! Let's go into business together :)

[Brendan Power]

Rick Epping wrote:

"Sorry for coming in late on this. I did indeed get the Blu-Tak trick from

Brendan. Up till then I used a mixture of beeswax and powdered brass,

inspired by the mixture of beeswax and powdered lead used to tune shengs."

That's just typical! Bloody Rick Epping...!! I think I've come up with a
brilliant original idea, and then find it's just a variation of something
Rick has already thought of. Though I guess the anonymous Chinese person who
originally tuned his sheng with beeswax should really get the credit :)

As Chinese history is understood more and more in the West, it's quite
incredible how many of the inventions we thought originated in Europe were
predated by Chinese inventors (the printing press being notable amongst
them). Apparently they also 'discovered' America before Columbus (along with
the Irish, the Danes, the Polynesians, the French - not to mention the
Native Americans). Why everyone is so keen to lay claim to such a calamitous
event is beyond me (ooops, Extreme Irony Warning!!).

A similar tale unfolded with 'my' idea of using extra responder reeds in
each chamber of a diatonic to make an all-bending harp: I dreamed it up in
splendid isolation in far away New Zealand in 1989, and showed my prototype
to Suzuki in 1991 - only to discover later that Rick had already applied for
a patent to the concept that same year. DAMN!!**!!

Mind you, in that case it wasn't an anonymous Chinese person who was the
precursor: Will Scarlett deserves the credit for the original concept. He
was ahead of both of us and showed Rick his one-cell prototype which
eventually led, through Rick's clever development and hard work, to the
XB-40.

Just goes to prove that old adage: "There's nothing new under the sun".

[Joe and Cass Leone]

On Mar 25, 2009, at 3:34 AM, Brendan Power wrote:
> Apparently they also 'discovered' America before Columbus (along with
> the Irish, the Danes, the Polynesians, the French - not to mention the
> Native Americans).

> Brendan Power
>
BUT (just like me) they didn't WRITE it down.......so they loose.
sMO-JOe