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From: Snaru~OL.COM
Date: Thu, 12 Dec 1996 12:09:17 -0500
Subject: Comb materialism

Under 'Re: Absorption', John Frazer quoted on 12. Dez. Mike`s reply to Vern:

Vern:
> I think this is why harder materials (metal and plastic) are noted
> by many as having a "brighter" sound, whereas softer materials
> (wood) are noted by many to have a "mellower" sound. I theorize that
> the ones who note the greatest difference are those with the least
resonance.

Mike:
>"wood is mellower", has to have _something_ to it, because it's not
> just a small lunatic fringe making these claims, but a very large number of
>harmonicists. And they're all rather consistent in stating that "wood is
> mellower, plastic is brighter, and metal is brightest". While SOME of
these
>have been exposed to Hohners "propaganda", many have not and have reached
>this conclusion independently.

John:
>>That is correct. And others have verified that the wood harps sound warmer
>>or mellower to them as well when I do a sound comparison.

Siegfried, that`s me:
I have used all sorts of material to construct my chromatics and made
different compositions of the parts. Recently, I mentioned that I have
inserted a Mellow Tone (wooden comb), without the cover plates of course,
into a CX 12 covering of brass. Once again.

If the comb and above all, the comb material had a significant share of
the sounding, as asserted by lots of contributions, my CX-Mellow must
have had an almost identical sounding like my original Mellow Tone.

THIS WAS NOT THE CASE. I didn`t need any a measuring instrument to
recognize a clear difference. The CX- Mellow had a considerable other
sounding,
in this case brighter or more brilliant. Additionally, I made a test with an
audience to exclude my eventual subjectivity. Without telling that I was
using instruments only differing in their covering, the sounding difference
had been exceptionally noticed.

Because the cover plates of an original Mellow Tone consist of brass too,
it is obvious that only the different covering shape of the two test harps
caused the different sounding. Moreover, I changed then the reed plates
between a Mellow Tone and a Hard Bopper which is their only difference.
Now, the Bopper sounded mellow as a wooden comb should allegedly sound.
Reversely, the Mellow Tone had now a sound like a Super 64 (plastic comb),
anything but mellow.

Nevertheless, the comb material thread is an everlasting bestseller and we
should not delete it from the list. Interesting is only that apparently the
anti-materialists like Vern, Pat, Paul Farmer, myself and some others made
tests to verify their opion, while the materialists have mostly a 'certain'
feeling
that also the comb is remarkably participated by absorption or resonance or
whatever.

Next I shall manufacture a kind of 270 the comb of which is completely of
brass.
Then I will have a chromatic exclusively consisting of metal parts, like the
two Meisterklasse harps, but with the difference that all parts are of brass.
This
means that all parts have then the same physical qualities. Im curious about
the sound and hope it is very bright mellow.

Siegfried Naruhn