Subject: [Harp-L] Strange Little Chromatic

[EGS1217@xxxxxxx]

Bullfrog writes:
 
"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"
 
....Actually, I've bought quite a lot of pre-war instruments, both chroms  
and diatonics.  I don't have a 10-holer specifically that's pre-war, have a  
couple probably from slightly after I paid in the teens for, but do have a  
couple of 12's with the star....(need to play more with one to make the slide  
smoother)...but honestly...I've never paid more than $20 tops for an older  Chrom, 
nor $10 for Marine Bands.  I once paid in the mid-$20 range for  Eb and Bb 
12-hole chroms that were practically brand new, as well as for some  64's.  Not 
sure I'd invest $40 for a 10-hole pre-war chromonica that had  "odd" tuning, 
especially if it's airy....most of those I've put aside to be  worked on later 
(straightening out the mouthpiece assemblies, etc.)  
 
With the pre-war jobbies, what's mostly the case is the wind-valves are on  
their last legs...and if you say it's "hard to draw/blow"...does that mean  
you've been playing it yourself...and is this after cleaning it  thoroughly?  :)  
  Once you open up the mouthpiece to remove  all the grit and grime, it does 
tend to make them a lot more airy...since that's  usually what's been holding 
the whole thing together (at least someone a lot  more expert than me posited 
that theory recently (on another strictly chromatic  list)(and I tend to 
believe him).  Does is look as though it's been exposed  to water? (rust, 
discoloration.. cracks in the comb (evident on the back as well  as once you've taken 
off the mouthpiece?)
 
...I recently queried an Ebay seller as to whether there were cracks -- he  
specified "No cracks, just the damage shown in the photos"...and kept showing  
photos of the box!  When I repeated that I wasn't remotely interested in  the 
box just the harmonica and needed to know if there were cracks in the  comb 
(EBay's rules specify that any flaws MUST be divulged if a potential bidder  
requests such)...he took more photos of the chromonica and then fessed up that  
there was a crack in the comb (a major through and through crack).  It too  was 
an older, pre-war chrom. - but a 64. 
 
 Is your sale final?  <G>
 
Elizabeth