Sticky Windsavers - Part 1

Let's first be clear on what wind savers do and how they're installed on the chromatic harmonica. The chromatic harmonica has many more parts than a diatonic harmonica, including a side assembly that can have up to five parts. All of this equals an instrument that has issues with air leakage. This is helped by the use of windsavers. When playing the draw reed of a given hole, a valve (windsaver) closes over the blow reed slot to stop air from bleeding in. When playing the blow reed of a given hole, a valve closes over the draw reed slot.

The valve commonly consists of two pieces of plastic, the lower piece which is the largest and is what closes the reed slot, and the upper which is shorter and stiffer, which helps to make sure that the lower piece is close enough to do it's job of being a valve... ready to close with light pressure.

For more information, go to the Equipment Page and watch "Sissi Jones Interview – Hohner Chromatic Service Tech"