Subject: [Harp-L] chromonica



Oh! ..I was just about to fire off a 'PLEASE don't dip any wood-combed  
chromatic into water'...when I read your post, Winslow :)
 
First, Steve..did you make sure there were no cracks in the comb?  If  not, 
then you did get a great buy. It's a wonderful little chromatic.
 
 Again. Do not remove both reed  plates simultaneously...that's the MOST 
important fact constantly  reiterated on both this list and Slidemeister to 
new people to chromaticss in re  disassembly of the instruments...since it's 
well-nigh impossible to re-align the  holes again once both plates are off an 
older wood comb for even  a brief time. As Winslow says: VERY small nails. 
So do one reed plate at a  time.  
 
I differ with Winslow's take on it in only 2 small ways: 1)running water  
over the comb 'can' loosen some windsavers DePENDing on the age/previous  
location of the harmonica, and how brittle those valves are...how dry the  glue 
holding them on has become. But then, if they're that loose, they  might 
very well come off anyway. You might want to clean and reglue or  replace 
them...to my mind (and that of most chrom players)...the valves can  retain 
other people's saliva/old germs...and just plain stickiness. They'll play  
better if cleaned ...gently.  I wipe them down extremely carefully with a  very 
soft brush ...there's tons of info as to what to use...but you must dry  them 
after. You might need to replace a few: I know Dave Payne (ElkRiver) had a  
video on YouTube showing his method of sliding a dampened piece of paper 
between  the double layers of valves to clean them..repeating until clean and 
dry.
 
However, I just read somewhere (probably on Slidemeister)...that Betty  
Romel IS still selling Bill's packages of valves! How cool is that? They're  
not expensive...self-stick (you clean off the old glue, put a dab of acetone  
(nail polish remover) and then press the new valve into place and trim to 
fit  with sharp scissors or exacto blade...very easily done. Ta-da!   
Perfection.  I don't have the address on hand right now, but I'm sure  someone else 
here will, or it'll be found in the archives.
 
2) to look for those cobwebs he mentions (and yes, they're quite often  
found in old harmonicas..a truly ughggy moment) ..use a good, very bright -  
preferably halogen flashlight to examine the innards. You'd be amazed by  
what'll show up compared to a regular light. 
 
As Winslow's said..alcohol to clean the holes of the mouthpiece works..but  
I don't spritz deep inside since that can leave puddles..unless you're  
being careful just to catch the comb at an angle...then use a brush or another  
long implement to scour out the inside. So, instead, nowadays I dip a long, 
 thin, spiral brush into the product (either alcohol or Anywhere spray) and 
turn  it inside each opening...using a likewise wetted orange stick or tiny 
 screwdriver to remove any 'stuff' from areas which might need  more 
scraping.  These tiny brushes can be bought very inexpensively in  the baking area 
of stores such as Michael's), but I also reuse (after  cleaning and soaking 
them thoroughly in dish detergent and hot water), my old  mascara 
brushes...which last a long while.  
 
SmoJoe's theory of making use of whatever one has at hand.;) 
 
This does the same job while not drenching the comb...and removes any  
biological contaminants.  Anywhere  Spray has a tiny amount of bleach,  is made 
for most hard surfaces...I routinely wipe down all the hard  surfaces of my 
harmonicas (cellphone, home phone, etc) with it after polishing  the metal 
and/or cleaning with alcohol. It's a sanitizing spray made for  children's 
high chair eating surfaces...cutting boards, etc., is safe around  children 
and pets...so I'm not concerned about using it for my last  wipe-down.
 
I'm also in complete agreement with Winslow about the 'smell' test. If it  
doesn't pass that, I won't play a used instrument despite how much cleaning 
I've  done.
 
Good luck with your new G chromatic. 
 
Elizabeth
PS: a G chromonica was my main chromatic ...slide held in most often, when  
I first joined Buckeye and Spah. I still really like the sound.
 
"Message: 10
Date: Sun, 4 Apr 2010 01:48:32 -0700 (PDT)
From: Winslow  Yerxa <winslowyerxa@xxxxxxxxx>
Subject: Re: [Harp-L] chromonica
To:  harp-l@xxxxxxxxxx

The comb is wood, so running water through it could  cause the wood to 
swell, warp, and crack. It wouldn't harm the  windsavers.

The 260 is held together with nails, so taking the reedplates  off the 
clean it isn't practical unless you're very handy with removing and  
reinstalling small (and I do meal small) nails.

You could unscrew the  mouthpiece and slide assembly and clean those. If 
the holes don't smell bad and  you don't any cocoons in them, you may not want 
to bother trying to get at them.  most harmful germs won't survive long on 
mom-moist surfaces that offer nothing  to eat.

You could perhaps spritz some alcohol into the holes if you're in  doubt. 
However, alcohol dries out surfaces and human tissues

Winslow  Yerxa

Author, Harmonica For Dummies ISBN  978-0-470-33729-5

Resident expert at bluesharmonica.com

Harmonica  instructor, jazzschool.com

Columnist, harmonicasessions.com

--- On  Sat, 4/3/10, steve@xxxxxxxxxxxx <swebb@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

From:  steve@xxxxxxxxxxxx <swebb@xxxxxxxxxxx>
Subject: [Harp-L]  chromonica
To: harp-l@xxxxxxxxxx
Date: Saturday, April 3, 2010, 10:25  PM


I bought a 10-hole chromatic off EBay last week. It says The  "Chromonica" 
on the top cover plate.  It's in excellent condition, but I  wanted to get 
some advice on how to clean and/or santize the inside before I  play it. I 
don't know much about chromatic harps, but this one is in the key of  G and I 
figured I can use it for some hymns and Christmas music,  etc.   I have an 
old 12-hole Chromonica in the key of C that I  can play just a little, so 
this should work out much the same, I hope.
Do I dare just run it under the faucet like a diatonic? Or would this mess 
up  windsavers?
Any advice would be helpful.  On the surface it looks like I  got a decent 
bargain at $15.
Steve Webb in Minnesota





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