How to make your own harmonica valves at home easily, cheaply, and effectively

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In this tutorial video, I show you how to make your own harmonica valves at home from easily sourcable materials. I walk you through each step, from making the valves to attaching them to your harp. EDIT: See extra info below.
You need:
Gaffers tape (very important to use real gaffers tape, and NOT duct tape)
Scissors (large and small)
Small metal pin or wire tool (to wrap the valves around)
Please feel free to PM me with any questions!
If you found this video helpful, consider leaving me a tip! You can do so easily at the following site: gotip.it/oneharp
See my next video for tips on how to play valved harp!
EDIT: EXTRA INFO!!!
1) I've had one harp with these valves in it for approximately 3 months now. The adhesive is still going strong. This tape is different from other tapes in that regard. The properties of the adhesive used in gaffers is a very important part of why these valves work as well as they do...
2) In the three or so months since I've been using these type of valves I have had not ONE sticking valve, even after an hour of play (including TB and chording, with a reasonable amount of saliva getting into the harp)
3) The ONLY problem I've had with these valves are from not curling them properly (ie., that one or two valves I made curled up away from the plate). That problem is solved by curling them tightly around a piece of wire (like a paperclip) BEFORE applying them. Rolling them from the adhesive edge outwards produces a better curvature, and largely prevents "curl away".
4) The exact product I'm using is JVCC brand Gaffers tape, available at Amazon for a little more than $12: www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000...
I chose this brand based on the results of this survey: www.findtape.com/product321/F..., and from other comments around the 'net that suggest it a) has a better adhesive than most (doesn't leave residue), and b) has a better cloth like "hand" to the tape material.

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2 авг 2024

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Комментарии : 52

@dippingbird 4 года назад

You are some kind of genius! I'm open-mouthed in astonishment! ;-) The gaffer tape followed up with the blu-tack were like a double whammy!

@OneHarp 4 года назад

Aw shucks! Thanks!

@andreyfrantov1 11 месяцев назад

This is actually insane! Thank you! I've already ordered my pack of gafer tape. Will be able to try ths method shortly.

@vitaliarmonica 6 лет назад

It worked perfect for my Seydel Saxony chromatic harmonica!! Thank you so much!!

@elmerseiscientos Год назад

Glad to hear this. I have a Seydel with 2 valves missing. If this system works, it's great.

@OneHarp 11 лет назад

Thanks Ray! I'm glad you enjoyed it! The next video is now posted!!

@chrisrobertson4649 10 лет назад

Thank you very much for this great tutorial. Seeing everything in real time is very helpful.

@OneHarp 10 лет назад

Glad to have been of service! :)

@OldWailer 11 лет назад

Very good idea, Isaac! Thanks for posting this--I'll be looking forward to the one on playing with valves. . .

@josepiccioni2717 11 лет назад

this is so good! Thanks man! Awesome work!!!

@OneHarp 11 лет назад

Thanks! I hope you guys are doing well back in sunny AZ! I have to say that I'm really missing it about now!

@DiggerT 8 лет назад

Thanx for the tip .

@user-vb5fs1sf2y 7 лет назад

Thanks for a great video. I was panicking a bit as I opened my 12 hole Hohner Chromatic for cleaning and wrecked one of the valves. It still serms to play ok but after watching this I'm confidendent I'll be able to fix it if problems occur.

@user-md8yg7yc3q 7 лет назад

Thank you

@OneHarp 11 лет назад

Happy to be of service! I too, am going to be buying a cutting wheel (as soon as we get our next Michaels mailer with a 50% off coupon!). I'm sure I'll find MANY uses for it! :) I'll pass on your complement to my cat in the form of extra skritches! I'm sure he'll appreciate that very much! :)

@arizonaharp794 11 лет назад

Great video!!

@TheBrokenHead Год назад

Gran video es lo que estaba buscando 👀👀👍👍👏👏

@ElizabethGS 11 лет назад

Thanks, Isaac! Like Ken, I think your idea is excellent (and want to try it on my chromatics). First I need some gaffer's tape. Then a cutting mat--have wanted one for a long while for my other projects so will put that on my list. I too thought of using an Xacto blade --so am glad you covered it. Now I know I'll try a rotary blade instead--good tools to have for various projects. Great info all around. Any guy who skritches his cat during a video is aces in my book. ;) Gorgeous cat, btw.

@deserenados8089 2 года назад

I’ll give it a try with my chromatic Hohner

@OneHarp 11 лет назад

Thanks!

@OneHarp 11 лет назад

Hi airmojo! Thanks! I'm glad you found it useful! Yes, I too found some "microsuede" in a local fabric store, but it wasn't what PT uses either. Terrible stuff, actually... It got all frayed and jammed up the reeds! Lol! I haven't used a cutting wheel, but I do have a cutting matt with grids on it (or more accurately, my wife has a board like that!). I tried cutting these valves on that mat with a normal X-acto knife, but the material was too thick to do it accurately (or safely) that way...

@Djankgoman 8 месяцев назад

👌 nice

@airmojo 11 лет назад

Excellent Isaac! I bought some ultra-suede, but it wasn't the same stuff like PT Gazell uses, and it did not work well... I later ordered the pre-cut ultra-suede (Gazell method) from Seydel, and they worked... but I never put enough time to get comfortable playing a valved harp. I'm going to give it another try with the gaffers tape. Have you tried using a cutting mat and rotary cutting tool (used for cutting fabric) ? The cutting mat has a variety of guide lines and come in various sizes.

@borisfogelson5225 5 лет назад

It's very interesting tape, It's black with white opposite surface. I am not sure you can see it when it's new in store. Great video though, thank you.

@javierkim6198 4 года назад

Hi OneHarp, This video was posted several years ago, but perhaps you could share your experience from your home-made wind-saver valve? I might follow your lead if this was indeed an acceptable solution for the pesky valves issues for the harps. How long these valves have lasted for you? Do they work well? Could you please update your experience? I have several vintage chromatics that could use some new valves. Thanks. Stay safe.

@OneHarp 3 года назад

Hi Javier, I've a bit veered away from half valved playing all that much in recent years, but the harps I valved with this method are still going strong.

@center77 10 лет назад

Awesome video, thanks. I went and got the gaffer's tape and tried it on a Hohner Blues Bender. It seems to work great. A few notes have squeals and various issues but I don't think that is the valves' fault. This modified Blues Bender is at least as good as my Suzuki MR-350 valved. I wanted to try this as an alternative to trying to get all the overblows and overdraws working, not easy for me. Can you land on a blow bend while playing, or do you have to hit the normal note first and then bend it down ? Thanks.

@OneHarp 10 лет назад

Hey there! Glad you found it useful, and glad to hear you were able to use this method on a Blues Bender! Yes, you can indeed land directly on a "valved bent" note, but it's definitely more touchy than doing so on a regular bent note. The valved bends have a very abrupt "floor" to them that means if you try to bend them past a certain pitch, the note will suddenly no longer sound. This means that if you want to land directly on the bent pitch, you have to hit it pretty exactly, or there's a chance that you'll end up going for the note and only getting a squeal or no sound at all. It's not that hard though, and if you've got all your three-hole draw bends down, and can land on any one of them on command, then you can land on a valve bent note too.

@santumaiti2701 Год назад

Putting a valve in draw reed of 7th whole in a "c" diatonic harmonica would I get Bb tune ?

@ToadCruncher 11 лет назад

have you tried this on a chromatic harp?

@cstuartcook9390 3 года назад

I would say cut the tape in half then stick face to face with the overlap, Cut the overlap off and use it to stick onto the the other overlap, back to sticky front. This then becomes the sticky surface you put onto the reed plate. this will let the valve lay flatter.

@OneHarp 3 года назад

Not sure I follow, but give it a try and let me know if it works better!

@OneHarp 11 лет назад

@isaacullah ves though, so i will eventually put some of this type of valve on that. tjere's no reason why it won't work!

@donmakowski71 8 лет назад

Isaac, I appreciate all you do by sharing on You Tube but I tried this and the valves always curl away from the reed plate. This is why they make them from stiffer material. I wish the gaffers tape worked and I tried a couple different things but no matter what they always lifted up. Don M. in Erie,PA.

@OneHarp 8 лет назад

+Don Makowski Hi Don! Thanks for your comments here. I'm sorry that this method hasn't worked for you. Did you use the same brand of gaffers tape that I used? Not sure if that might affect it... Also, when sticking the two halves of tape together, was there any "curl" to pieces? In other words, did they seem to lay flat after being laminated together? Also, did you twirl the tape around a tooth pick (or something) so that it curled "downwards" against the reedplate? I found that last step to be pretty key. It's now three years after I made this video, and the valves I made back then are still going strong in several harmonicas... There's a little bit of "up lift" when I haven't played them in a while, but they always lay back down when I start to play them... But, this is just one way to make valves, with the main benefit of being cheap and relatively easy, while still being pretty effective. There are other valve materials that work better, but the trade off is in the complexity of constructing and attaching them. If you need absolutely high performance valves, then you are certainly better off using a higher-performance material! Best luck! ~Isaac

@donmakowski71 8 лет назад

+OneHarp Thanks Isaac for your response! I did use the same gaffers tape that you recommend and it's great stuff. in order to more easily handle the first piece I taped it down to a flat surface on the edges lengthwise. Then I would apply the second piece as you show in the video. I really like the simplicity and the fact that you don't need glue, plus you can take them off without leaving residue. I did curl the valve before assembling and laid the reedplate valves down overnight to get them to lay flat. They still curl up pretty badly. I also tried some cellophane to see if that would work better because it seems like the double thickness on the gaffers tape near the small sticky end was keeping the valve from laying flat. The cellophane didn't help this. I am going to keep experimenting with this. I'll let you know if I have any success. Later! Don

@OneHarp 8 лет назад

Thanks for the extra info! Do keep experimenting and let me know what you discover. I've recently experimented with "engineering" a downward curl into the valves. This is done in a similar method to what you describe about holding the tape down, only I do so over a curved surface (a piece of 2" PVC pipe) while laminating the two pieces together. I've not got it totally worked out, but the idea is that the "engineered' downward curl should be retained better over time than the curl introduced by rolling it around a toothpick after the fact. Haven't really been able to do a real test of the efficacy of that idea, and I just recently used up the last of that first roll of gaffers tape! Need to order a new roll, and start experimenting again! :)

@donmakowski71 8 лет назад

+OneHarp I was thinking the exact same thing so I tried it last night. I taped the first piece on the edges to a 1" diameter acrylic tube sticky side out and put the second piece over it. I made sure they were nice and tight against each other and peeled it off. Then I cut the strips and put them on my harp. The curl seems to be keeping the valves down on most but a couple still pushed away and stayed up after playing for a little bit. I am going to try to find a thin slightly stiff material to use to see if I can get the valves to be more cooperative. I still think this is a good idea Aaron. Thanks buddy!

@OneHarp 8 лет назад

Nice! If you are thinking about having another layer of something to hold the valves down, try a stiff bristle from like a shaving brush. Or even a cat whisker (if you've got cats, they shed these from time to time). Tape it at the base of the valve so it projects over the top of the valve. I've fool with this, and it seems to work, but it's fiddly, so I don't do it often.

@TomMilleyMusic 9 лет назад

would this work for replacing wind savers on a chromatic harmonica?

@OneHarp 9 лет назад

This should work just fine to replace windsavers in a Chro. I've not done so, but I don't see why it wouldn't work. good luck!

@tracygittins6343 9 лет назад

OneHarp The windsavers in a chromatic that I've disassembled is a two-layered affair. Compared to $100-300 Hohner repair kits, the gaffer tape is definitely worth a try.

@OneHarp 9 лет назад

Thanks Tracy Gittins. Yes, most Chromatic windsavers use a plastic or teflon-coated plastic piece for the actual valve, and then a stiffer piece over that to keep the valve flush against the reedslot when the valve is not in use. I have experimented with making those "double layer" style valves, but found that the gaffers-tape valves generally tend to "stay down" if they are "curled" like I show at the end of the video. I learned that "curl" technique from a post (and accompanying photos) to Harp-l made by Rick Epping about how he made leather harmonica valves.

@tracygittins6343 9 лет назад

OneHarp Thanks for the response. I'm off to buy gaffer's tape. One roll to rule them all! :)

@OneHarp 11 лет назад

@75ironhead603 Hi there! I have not yet tried it on a chro... i do have one that needs some new val