[Shannon M]

MM,

Did you drill the pinhole for the wire? I have not seen a way to drill a hole so small, especially through round stock. That would certainly improve the ability to wind these springs without injury- that fine wire can slice you open before you know it!

[Shannon M]

MM,

Thanks for sharing that. Nice tensioning jig! What size core did you wind on- then same as your pin size? Did you have much issue with spring tension consistency? What drill bits did you use for the acrylic? Any issues with working the acrylic?

I must say I am quite impressed with the quality of your work. What do think was the biggest challenge with this build? And which diamanté do you prefer? Or is that like asking which is your favorite child? 8^)

Shannon

[Shannon M]

Hi, Dave. That mouthpiece came with the Hohner piano 36 melodica, which he is playing. It also came with the Hohner professional. You can frequently find them on ebay. However, not sure if it will fit the Hohner student-I haven’t tried it, but you may be able to adapt it.

Shannon

[Shannon M]

Thanks Daren. As soon as I finalize my initial design, I plan to document my build here on Melodica World. I would love to have your comments, as well as from our other builders here (MM and Tatu come to mind immediately). I think the melodica provides a great foundation for experimentation and look forward to sharing my experiences, knowing that I will learn a lot from everybody’s input.

MM- I would love to see some of your jigs documented here, especially your spring jig. Small springs are not hard to find, but it can get expensive trying a bunch of different spring strengths, since I have to order everything. Would love to see what you came up with. What size wire did you end up using?

Shannon

[Shannon M]

MM-= thanks for the photos. I love your jigs! Have you noticed any significant differences in the sound of the two Diamantes? How do you like playing the sax mouthpiece? Also, noted a “new project” posted-any discussion of that?

Daren- the new instrument is stalled in the design phase. I am moving away from a Janko keyboard-not quite the solution I am looking for. Now reworking the design for a uniform or balanced keyboard-I think this will do what I want to do. It will also greatly simplify construction. Hopefully start building soon-starting to gather supplies now. I don’t have the fabulous workroom that you an MM have, so have to simplify some of the construction. But I think it will work out well.

Shannon

[Shannon M]

Any chance of construction images? I learned a lot from Tatu’s building methods. I am sure we could all learn a lot from yours as well. You do beautiful work!

Shannon

[Shannon M]

Beautiful instrument. Interesting that you chose a clarinet mouthpiece. Are you using a reed with it? Any other design changes you made with this instrument, other than the obvious change of materials? Looking forward to hearing it.

Shannon

[Shannon M]

Daren,

Other than the reeds that are not sounding, do you notice a significant difference in sound compared with the old reeds?

It is interesting that in comparing multiple air chambers, I have not seen one yet that does not route the air to the high notes first. They are also very shallow. Hard to tell from the pictures, but your adapter appears quite deep, which would significantly increase the volume of the air chamber. Higher volume, slower movement of air with a given input. Maybe not enough to activate the reeds. In other words, I think I agree with Brendan, although I have no idea what the dreaded Helmholtz Resonance Coupling issue is. I wouldn’t think the volume would be anywhere near what would be necessary to generate Helmholtz resonance. 8^)

Regards

Shannon

[Shannon M]

No, I don’t have one, but am considering getting one. Your insights about the tilting table are very helpful. I have grown rather fond of my fingers, and would like to keep them around. Would definitely prefer either a tilting blade or a table that tilted down-either one would be far safer. But I sure like the rest of the design.

Shannon

[Shannon M]

Very nicely done, Daren. Thanks for sharing the process. You make it look easy, although I know from experience that getting the angles can be a little tough. I like the idea of using the computer for that. Did your Byrnes saw have any problems with cutting the ebony? Which blade did you find worked best?

Regards,

Shannon

[Shannon M]

I’m embarrassed-just took a quick look and thought it was a Superforce. I should have known better! Did you make the keys from scratch, or overlay the P37 keys? Any photos of the process? I really like the look.

Regards,

Shannon

[Shannon M]

Very Cool, Daren! Which instrument(s) did you use? After all, it is the instrument that makes all the difference…;^P

Shannon

[Shannon M]

Which melodica keys are you interested in? Each make and model is different. Also, how many rows are you planning?

Thanks

Shannon

[Shannon M]

Hi MM,

Thanks for sharing. Hope to see more construction videos. Which mini lathe did you go with, and are you happy with it’s performance?

Shannon M

[Shannon M]

Not sure which of the three posts to reply to, but welcome aboard, Joshua. 8^) Nice rig-I am going to have to check out that effects pedal. Nice case as well. What kind was it before your modifications?

Looking forward to hearing some of your music.

Shannon

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