Re: [Harp-L] CX 12s and their sticky notes.

[Slim Heilpern <slim@xxxxxxxxxx>]

Hi John -

There are endless discussions on this subject on the slidemeister forum (http://www.slidemeister.com/forums) so you might want to poke around there.

In short, there are many problems with windsaver valves on chromatics in general, and some folks have an especially hard time with the CX12s. There are also more solutions than problems, but not every solution works for everyone or every axe.

I am _not_ a harmonica tech, just a player. But here's the simplest thing I can recommend for starters, I've been using this simple technique for a while now with great results:

Remove the slide and cover (easy to do with a CX12) and using a tiny dab of water on your finger, run your finger across a bar of hand soap. Then _carefully_ lift each of the exposed windsavers (using a small shim of some sort) and apply (using your finger) a tiny bit of the soapy water to the underside of each valve _and_ do the same between the valve layers (there are two layers to each valve). Re-coat your finger with the soapy water after every few valves. 

The whole process takes a minute or two once you get the hang of it.

This will likely help, if not solve, your problem until the next time the valves get dirty.

Chances are that the inside valves are OK, so you shouldn't need to remove the reed plates.

A slightly more drastic approach is to replace the windsavers on all the funky notes. That's not all that hard to do, and Hohner does sell packs of windsavers. 

Finally, you might consider hiring one of the many harp techs to do a full maintenance on the harp, but that will cost you a bit.

That's just my 2 cents. There are many other tricks / solutions out there.

- Slim.

www.SlideManSlim.com


On Dec 14, 2013, at 8:08 AM, john coster wrote:

> Hi,
> 
> I have one CX12 in D. The tone is very good; seems like these are very nice
> reeds. It got banged up and was refurbished by Hohner. I play various kinds
> of harps in song arrangements and devote much of my harmonica time to
> Celtic based traditional tunes, jigs reels etc., for which I prefer
> tremolos when the tune is diatonic or its timing allows for a fast switch
> of keys. I'd like to be able to use the CX 12 for some of this work, but it
> is not now nor ever has been a reliable enough instrument to play publicly.
> There is simply no way of predicting when notes will stick, so the best
> playing will usually be marred by the sound of grossly out of time notes.
> I've never explored harmonica repairs...probably should start...but I'm
> wondering if anyone has solved this problem.  Hohner....AHHRG...
> Of the two harps they have that I'd like to use, one doesn't work right,
> the CX12, and the other, the XB40, which I think is a great instrument, has
> been discontinued.
> 
> John Coster
> johncostermusic.com