Yeomanthefirst
13 posts
Feb 13, 2012
12:57 PM
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I've played diatonic for decades and fooled around a bit with the chromatic. However, I want to get into it further and have an old 12 hole Hohner Larry Adler. I've had it from new and it's been very little played. However, I'm finding it very unresponsive and often hit notes where the reed just jams. Now I do know that a chromatic plays differently to a diatonic and requires a lighter touch as it were but is still seems to me that I should be able to get a reasonable attack with it if I'm careful. Does anyone know of or can recommend a chromatic harmonica that is much easier and more airtight and generally less likely to jam up on me than the one I have? I play almost exclusively blues and love the and am trying to emulate the Rod Piazza sound. Any help form those in the know would be greatly appreciated.
Anthony
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jbone
779 posts
Feb 13, 2012
3:59 PM
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believe it or not, my first couple of chromatics that i actually got to work well were the hohner chromettas, an 8 hole and a 12. a l0ot of people consider them to be toys and trash but to me they were much easier to get good sound out of. big square holes and all. not a bad buy for the price considering that most bottom to mid range chromatics got for at least $50 to $75 more.
now these days i have inmy case a hering baritono in C which is a lower register, which i love. i have also a suzuki chromatix in G, and other one i love. i also have 2 more in the case which i am revisiting. one is a hohner 270 in C, which a guy GAVE me, new, because he was just not getting 3rd position, which to me is where a chromatic is supposed to be played in blues and jazz. it's a bit tight and i have yet to do much with it live but it's in the case, "just in case". i also have a bushman free jazz, which i think isessentially a suzuki chromatix with engraved covers. it's also in C and so far seems to be a bit tight for my liking. possibly with time it will loosen a bit or i'll get used to it.
i've never played a real high end chromatic. don't know if i'll ever get where i could do a really nice one justice. i play blues, swing, jazz on mine. i'm very basic and don't even go for half notes with the slide as yet, but then neither did at least one of my heroes, Carey Bell.
so it seems that i've had most of my experience with either cheap ones or asian-built. it's been very productive though. that's my 2 cents, hope it helps a bit!
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jbone
780 posts
Feb 14, 2012
4:36 AM
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someth9ing i didn't get into earlier was that your harp may just need a careful cleaning. saliva builds up around the reeds and in the slots and can be a blockage as can any foreign matter like bits of food or pieces of hair or lint. you may want to disassemble the harp down to reed plates and run a very thin piece of flat metal around the reed slots to remove any debris there.
another issue this harp may have is the windsavers sticking. they are the small plastic strips positioned over a lot of the reeds. they increase efficiency of the air going over the reed. care must be taken not to remove them or alter them in any way except to make sure they are not stuck. moisture in a chromatic's windsavers can be a major issue in how well it plays.
of course technique is all important, as i realize every time i pick up a chromatic after playing a diatonic!
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Yeomanthefirst
14 posts
Feb 15, 2012
8:49 AM
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Thanks jbone for your intereste and advise. I've actually only recently had the harmonica returned from having it serviced with Michael Marino at Free Reed Foolery. I'm finding that the 7 draw is a particular pain. I think I'm just going to have to bite the bullet and buy a new one but was really interested to see if anyone else had had similar problems or could recommend one that had a really light touch and good response. It's a particular problem when playing live, one tends not to be so subtle on stage and that's where a sticky reed is most likely to occur. And as for technique, well, yes, I keep working on that like we all do!
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lumpy wafflesquirt
527 posts
Feb 15, 2012
2:11 PM
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I don't use the chrom for blues, but I play a Cx12 tenor tuned for other stuff.
The biggest issue I have is with condensation on the windsavers. I always try to put it in my shirt pocket or in my jacket sleeve if I don't have a pocket in my shirt when I arrive at an open mics to warm it up. that seems to stop the windsavers sticking :^)
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"Come on Brackett let's get changed"
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Sausagescoffer
50 posts
Feb 15, 2012
2:52 PM
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Sit on it (between your legs) for 5 minutes before you play it and it will be warm enough to ensure the valves don't give you any grief!
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Aussiesucker
1021 posts
Feb 15, 2012
4:21 PM
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Same as Lumpy I have problems with my SCX48 with the windsavers. I stick the chrom in an old soft sunglass case and hang it around my neck under a layer of clothing. When it warms up it is ok. Initially I had real problems with it being totally unresponsive & on advice from Brendan Power I trimmed the windsavers & it sort of fixed the problem. I don't really like windsavers as I live in a hot humid climate + with a moist breath there is lots of popping,stalling etc. I also have a Hohner Super Chromonica 270 which is over 50 years old & is in as new condition & is visibly indistinguishable from the current model. I could never play it as it has lots of nickel in it to which I am allergic.
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HARPOLDIE’S YOUTUBE
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Yeomanthefirst
15 posts
Feb 16, 2012
10:21 AM
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Many thanks Guys. It seems I'm just not allowing it time to warm up. I still have some sticky reeds but nothing like as bad since I've been leaving it near a radioator to warm up before playing it. I'll leave it on top of my nice warm, valve driven, Marble Harwood at gigs in future!
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jbone
782 posts
Feb 16, 2012
8:25 PM
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that is a very good point which i sort of overlooked. often i have had a chro in a pocket when i got on stage and i "saved" it for a song or two so it would be warm.
i also try and make sure i have some extra volume available if i'm playing electric since you can't just haul down on a chromatic and get any more volume like is somewhat possible with a diatonic. the mic and amp or p.a. has to do the real sound reinforcement with a chro in a louder setting.
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