[Harp-L] Re: Old Old Standbys

["Dave Payne Sr." <payneoutdoors@xxxxxxxxx>]

Hi,
I just got four old Hohner Old Standbys.  They are a little rusty but
 sound wonderful.  They have a 6 pointed star in the middle of the
 trademark.  Does this mean that they are before the war or whenever Hohner
 quit using the star on Marine Bands?  I think that these are Just tuned.
  They tuning sounds like my Hering Vintage 1923.  Anyone have an
 opinion on these?

Colby

   
  I LOVE old Old Standbys. Could I get some more description? The original old stanby had coverplate with a really narrow chamber inside that if you hit the 1 draw hard, it'd smack every time. Most of those I've seen were five star, but you can't always date by the points of the star every time. I've got four or five of those around here. I think mine date to  around WOrld War I to 1920.. 
  Or are the coverplates more like a Marine Band? If it is, I'd say it's in the 30s, but before 1937. They are wonderful. I think they are beautiful harps and I've loved them for a lot of years. Inside, they are pretty much the same as a Marine Band. If you look at a lot of prewar Marine Band plates, there are six holes for coverplate nails, yet the MB uses four on the corners. The ones in the center were put there so it would fit on the old standby, which originally had two coverplate nails on the left side and one in the center on the right. Inside, they are all the same. The coverplates give the Old Standby a slightly different tone, it's a bit softer, I think. 
  The tuning is 7-limit Just Intonation tuned a little flatter than today's harps. 
  
Every one I get has rust and/or that black tarnish on it. I take off the covers and work some brasso on it with a rag, work it in with a second rag  (polyester)  and buff if with a third rag (cotton). That takes that stuff off very well and I get a mirror finish. If it doesn't come off with one application, or maybe two, I quit. I don't want to polish my way through the nickel plating. Do that with the covers off, you don't want that stuff inside your harp and be sure to clean the covers well afterwards to get all the brasso off. I've also used Turtle wax polish, but that doesn't work as well as Brasso. 
   
   
  Dave Payne


__________________________________________________________________
Dave Payne Sr. 
Journalist and writer
1114 Charles St. 
Parkersburg, WV 26101
       
---------------------------------
Shape Yahoo! in your own image.  Join our Network Research Panel today!