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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