Old Harp

["Keith Freeman" <keith.freeman@xxxxxxxxxx>]

> I have a Hohner Chromatic that I played when I was a teenager, 20
> years ago. It has a wood comb. It works fine but it tastes musty, the
> way a damp basement smells. Is there any way to clean it? It was never
> played by anyone but me (I don't buy used harps!) so it is not a
> "germs" issue, juts a musty taste/smell.
I had that problem and cleaned the comb with a toothbrush and warm water with 
washing up liquid. It helped a bit but didn't get rid of the smell entirely. I then sanded the 
comb (with sandpaper on a flat surface) down to the fresh wood and that helped a bit 
more. (To get rid of the smell entirely I would imagine would require sealing with 
polyurethane varnish, which I haven't tried.) I noticed that some of the smell/taste was 
on the reedplates. Cleaning those with soapy water didn't help much at all.

- -Keith