Glue-Free Windsavers (Valves)

Hello Harp Techs.  Chromatic harmonica players know that the instrument’s windsavers (a.k.a. one-way check valves) are all things good--allowing us to play angelic notes that will make the sun shine brighter and people smile. On the other hand, when the windsaver fails, the note you were playing will come to an embarrassing stop. Naturally, dark clouds will appear, and people will start crying.

In the workshop, more tears would flow when it came time to replace the faulty windsaver. The operation requires using glue to secure the new windsaver. This is a recipe for creating a sticky mess.

Don “Dee” Makowski from Dee’s Finely Tuned Instruments www.deesfti.com worked tirelessly for 5 years to develop a glue-free windsaver with moisture wicking properties. I decided to bench and stage test Dee’s windsaver on the lower octave of my KongSheng Lyra #SC-12 Chromatic harmonica:

Measurement Overall Length (M.O.L.) = 1 ⅛”

Width = ⅛” 

Peeling away the protective strip will expose the adhesive. You will also see the mylar strip on the opposite side. Acting like a spring, this strip will facilitate the closing movement of the windsaver, allowing the air to pass through the neighboring reed slot (sharing the same chamber) and vibrate the reed.

A novel idea to use 100% polyester felt as a mostly “stay-dry” material

After removing the cover plates, and reed plates from the comb, pull off the old windsavers

The reed tool works great for reaching into the nooks and crannies and removing glue residue

The plinking side of the reed tool works well for scraping

Clean the glue residue away with a cotton swab soaked with rubbing alcohol

Here, I am “practicing” by positioning the windsaver over a backlit reed slot. Warning: the adhesive on this windsaver behaves like contact cement--once it makes contact with the reedplate, you will not be able to wiggle jiggle the windsaver into place! If your placement is crooked, you will have to pull off the windsaver and discard--the adhesive strip will stay on the reed plate and separate itself from the felt windsaver. You will have to use your reed tool to scrape off the adhesive strip.

Until I became more fluent with this Dee’s Windsaver, I found it helpful to temporarily tack the windsaver in place with Blue painters tape

Lift the the opposite end of the windsaver up enough to expose and pop off the protective adhesive strip

I was experimenting with the ½” adhesive and later decided the ⅛” would have been a better choice. Notice the unnecessary excess when comparing it to neighboring windsavers. Note: the purple guide line was laid by me to inform me of the edge of the reed slot. 

When installing the windsavers on the opposite “comb side” of the reed plate, be mindful that any excessive tail pieces of the windsaver will prevent the reed plate from sealing properly against the comb. The top purple line represents where the comb makes contact with the reed plate. You want to be above the line.

Note: unlike the solid feel of the attachment point of a glued-in-place windsaver, this glue free and thicker windsaver’s attachment point will feel loose in comparison. Almost as if you will be able to pivot the windsaver (don’t do this!). Reminds me of coupling my Delay pedal to the top of my amplifier with Velcro--secure, but not solid.

My Thoughts

1. Initially I found no discernible difference in the playability of my Chromatic harmonica after installing the Dee Windsaver from a standard windsaver (e.g. Hohner, Seydel). I am looking forward to long term playing to test the non-stick feature of the Dee Windsaver

2. If you are already proficient and comfortable with gluing windsavers in place, then I would recommend you stay with what you know. However, if you experience sticking windsavers, then I would recommend you replace those repeat offenders with Dee's Windsaver

3. If you are away from your bench and have to perform an emergency windsaver procedure, having glue-free windsavers in your gig bag would be an awesome and affordable solution. 

4. If you are new to windsavers, I would recommend you start with Dee’s Windsavers.

As of May 29, 2020, available direct at https://www.deesfti.com/self-adhesive-windsavers-1 Sold in packs of 12 for $10 ($0.83 each)

Your Harpsmith, Kinya