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From: "William R. Epping" <104124.33~ompuServe.COM>
Date: 18 Oct 96 15:06:11 EDT
Subject: Re: Reed Valves

Regarding reed valves:

The lower layer of the Hohner plastic windsaver valve is flexible and coated
with talc on the side facing the reedplate, to help prevent sticking. The upper
layer is stiffer, to keep the valve from opening too far. If the valve should
open too far it would take longer to close, thus affecting response, and could
also cause excess noise. The top layer is shorter than the thinner, bottom
layer, allowing the tip of the thin layer to open and the reed to play at low
volume. The cup valves used on the lowest reeds of the 4-octave models are
designed to accomodate the deep swing of these heavy reeds. Cup valves are used
on the outside only as there is insufficient room for them on the inside of a
reed cell. Fortunately, inside valves generally cause less trouble than outside
valves.

A while back I mentioned that we were testing plastic valves with a surface
roughened by sandpaper, designed to prevent sticking. Sorry to say they were
too noisy and didn't help with the sticking. Leather, the original valve
material, is not without its own merits. When supple and properly adjusted it
is very quiet, and will not become stuck to the reedplate by moisture or
sediment, though it can get stiff and noisy if wetted too much. Less reflective
on its surface than plastic, leather imparts a softer, warmer tone than plastic
windsavers. This may be seen as an advantage or disadvantage, depending on
one's preference. Leather valves, by the way, should only be applied to
reedplates with shellac. Any other glue will clog the nap, making any later
re-curling and re-setting difficult. Dry shellac, on the other hand, will turn
to powder when scraped, leaving the nap undamaged.


Regards,

Rick Epping
Hohner, Inc.