RE: Subject: [Harp-L] Echo Harp

["Steve Shaw" <moorcot@xxxxxxx>]

The main issue is  whether the comb is intact, and looking fairly pristine
> before cleaning  it...(yes, I use the alcohol on all of the wood surfaces 
> and
> haven't had  one warp yet).  If I was going to buy a possibly older Echo  
> such
> as yours, that would be my only criteria (and the pins holding the  lids on
> not having been lost).
>
> Elizabeth

I agree about the safety of using alcohol for cleaning.  The covers are 
subject to the severe build-up of corrosion underneath at the front edge, 
but you mustn't go at it too hard otherwise you wear the metal edge into a 
very thin, sharp profile.  At a pinch you can replace lost pins with ones 
you've salvaged from old Hohner chroms, the ones that hold the reedplates to 
the comb, or similar ones from old Echos.  Seasoned Hohner users know that 
you never throw those pins away.   The trouble with the double-sided Echos 
is that you only have to have the covers off once or twice for the pins to 
be very insecurely loose, and to add to the problem the folded-over ends of 
the covers through which the pins go get distorted and out of line with the 
holes in the wood.   Remedial action is soon needed.  I hope someone at 
Hohner is reading this.  Echos are very nice once you have them the way you 
want them, but the harp is clearly designed for never being dismantled.  Yet 
you do need to get inside them frequently for cleaning and maintenance.  
This is the 21st century!


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