Subject: [Harp-L] re: Death rattle from a chromatic

[EGS1217@xxxxxxx]

I was going to chime in with my own cleaning methods but Winslow and David  
had it all covered.
 
 
That one valve was clearly the 'death rattle' cause, but all of them do  
require periodic upkeep.
 
 
I clean my cx-12's shells (outside as well) with a dedicated toothbrush and 
 dishwashing soap under warm running water, then rinse thoroughly. Likewise 
the  slide piece and the back spring, then holding the comb holes down and 
carefully  swabbing up into the mouthpiece trying to avoid hitting any 
valves. I don't use  the toothbrush (a soft one) on the valves, but will switch 
over to a toothpick  or orange stick dipped in water to separate the layers 
of each exterior valve  while I have it at the sink. 
 
Everything gets tapped out and allowed to drain for a half hour on paper  
towels before being dried thoroughly before reassembly (which as you  know 
with a CX-12 is ridiculously easy and quick). This is the 'fast'  
after-playing cleaning not involving any polishing of the reed plates or valve  removal. 
That's another whole cleaning/polishing ritual.
 
 
Now that you've experienced a full dismantling (including the reed plates), 
 why now just take off all the valves --as long as you have a full set of  
replacements on hand? You'll find out once and for all if the instrument's 
too  airy for you and can put back interior valves first..then exterior (or 
vice  versa, or half half --to experiment with what works best for you?
 
 
IMHO, though - at best it'd be similar to a Koch which I  personally don't 
like at all, but some people seem to really enjoy  playing.
 
Elizabeth
 
"Message: 8
Date: Mon, 16 Apr 2012 10:37:10 -0700 (PDT)
From: martin  oldsberg <martinoldsberg@xxxxxxxxx>
Subject: [Harp-L] re: Death rattle  from a chromatic
To: "harp-l@xxxxxxxxxx" _harp-l@xxxxxxxxxxx (mailto:harp-l@xxxxxxxxxx) 

Many thanks to Winslow Yerxa and David Payne for input on how to clean an  
CX-12. Interestingly, some diverging views on the use of water.
Being a lazy  as well as impractical SOB I followed the first 
recommendation: rinse w/ light  soapy water, while also observing that Gothenburg, Sweden 
probably not now --  probably never -- reach the humidity levels of W 
Virginia.
This took care of  all but one valve. Had to take the dreaded step of 
disassembling the instrument.  Rather easy -, it turned out -- with a Youtube 
video at hand. Now things have  shaped up, at least for the time being. 
But I must confess to a strong urge  to rip off those valves when I had 
them, or at least some of them,  exposed.

Question: Would this have a considerably negative impact on the  chromatic? 
As in "much to leaky to play w/ satisfaction"?
I know some players  use them without the valves, but perhaps they do other 
adjustments as  well?

Cheers,
Martin"
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