Re: [Harp-L] Strange Little Chromatic

["Winslow Yerxa" <winslowyerxa@xxxxxxxxx>]

This sounds like an early-ish No. 260 Chromonica, which is still 
made, with the word "Chromonica" emblazoned on the cover, but in solo 
tuning. The earliest ones used German Major (aka Richter) tuning.

The "hard to blow and draw" probably means it's leaky. The wood may 
have shrunk or have a crack. AAs this is held together with nails 
(unless it's been altered) you may want to either send it to a 
service tech or carefully pry off the reedplates, fill cracks, 
carefully sand flat, etc., and re-assemble. Or it could just be a 
loose slide/mouthpiece assembly.

Does it have the outside spring - the ribbon of metal screwed to the 
size of the comb and snaked around behind the button, in lieu of the 
internal wire spring now used? That would make it a really early one. 
Also, check for leather valves (though it could have been re-valved).

Winslow

--- In harp-l-archives@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx, "Mike and Beverly Rogers" 
<mbrogers@...> wrote:

I'm in the process of buying a very old, ten-hole chromatic.  It's 
called The"Chromonica" and is pre-WW2, as it has the star Of David.  
It is tuned like a diatonic.  When you use the slide on the first 
octave, you get a minor scale of sorts, as there is no A note and the 
G and Ab is repeated withthe slide.  It needs to be worked on, but 
all notes worke.  It just sounds tired and hard to draw and blow some 
of the notes.  I'm paying $40 for it.  Any ideas about this critter.  
It sounds like it might be like the CX.  

Bullfrog

**************************************************
www.harmonicaworkshops.com
www.roundhouseblues.com
_______________________________________________
Harp-L is sponsored by SPAH, http://www.spah.org
Harp-L@...
http://harp-l.org/mailman/listinfo/harp-l

--- End forwarded message ---