Georgia Blues
88 posts
Sep 02, 2013
12:54 PM
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OK, Jack an illustrator friend of mine (of advancing years) who I have known for a long time told me just recently that he was interested in playing harmonica while he sat out on the porch and looked at the river in the morning. I suggested it could be a fun way to pass the time and expand on his love for traditional southern folk music. So, after being surprised that I played, he asked me to look at his harmonicas and see if they would work OK. One was a pocket pal in semi-playable condition, and after goofing around on it bit to show him what little he could expect from it he suggested I go into his library and take out the case with his father's harmonica and try that. So I open the book case and here's what he had: a pristine post-war 64 in a pristine box. I almost fell over. Turns out his dad loved to play it... Lady of Spain and the like and listening to his dad play was a fond memory. Anyway I played Summertime for him and he flipped. Played it again for his wife Dena and she flipped. At the end of the day he wound up making me a gift of this very nice instrument. I am still floored. I will be sending him a new Hohner to replace the pocket pal, and happily care for this really beautiful Chromatic.
So, the box says Germany, Nr 280 and Fabrique en Allemagne. Interestingly, when I opened the harp up for a bit of cleaning and inspection, it has anodized aluminum reed plates, which surprised me a bit. It also has one small crack in the comb which so far has not compromised the playability. Tone is very nice and warm.
I have been looking for one of these for a while and being able to make a new connection with an old friend has made for a really nice moment in my life.
Here's a couple of photos:
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Alex
Last Edited by Georgia Blues on Sep 02, 2013 1:03 PM
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CWinter
67 posts
Sep 02, 2013
1:25 PM
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What a great story! Music is such a great thing by itself, but the things that happen because of a love for music are also amazing.
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jbone
1346 posts
Sep 02, 2013
5:39 PM
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Almost as beautiful as the instrument is the box they built for it. That is a really great bit of personal history.
At age 16 my mom handed me a box of stuff and invited me to pick something out as a legacy of my father, who had passed 12 years earlier. I chose his army medals and a 50's Marine Band in C. Probably barely played, it had been a gift from Mom's dad to my dad the year I was born. That was part of my beginning of becoming a harp player and very possibly that would not have happened without this one seemingly small event in my life. Some years earlier, after Dad had died, Gramps had put me in his lap and played harmonica to me and sang, a bit of everything. Those two things are the substance of why I finally, after many trials, became a student of harmonica.
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http://www.reverbnation.com/jawboneandjolene
https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100000386839482
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wa7La7yYYeE
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barbequebob
2329 posts
Sep 03, 2013
8:36 AM
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Those were great playing chromatics and re straight tuned, which I much prefer over the cross tuned setup they've used since the late 60's. Several chromatic customizers have said they can be hard to work on. Someone came to a gig with one and allowed me to play it and after I did, I offered to buy it from him right on the spot, but he reused to sell, as it was a fmaily heirloom for him. Damn!!!
You may want to send to to a chromatic customizer like Steve Pruitt, Michael Easton or Dick Gardner to take care of the comb. When the weather is very humid, that crack won't be a bother, but when the weather gets colder and dryer, the crack can enlarge and make it unplayable.
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Sincerely,
Barbeque Bob Maglinte
Boston, MA
http://www.barbequebob.com
CD available at http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/bbmaglinte
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WinslowYerxa
394 posts
Sep 03, 2013
9:27 AM
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My understanding is that the aluminum reedplates date from the early postwar period when brass was scarce but, apparently, aluminum was easier to get. In my experience these instruments tend to be leaky - not sure if it's because the slots are too wide or for another reason.
Also, the switch from straight to cross tuning on 64s seems to have started sometime in the 1950s.
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Winslow
Last Edited by WinslowYerxa on Sep 03, 2013 9:29 AM
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Georgia Blues
90 posts
Sep 03, 2013
9:43 AM
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Thanks Bob and Winslow, here's a question... does anybody make a replacement comb for these things? This one has a set screw in the the front of the comb in the middle to hold it all together and my sense looking at it is that the original wood comb is slightly compressed. Not in a hurry to pull it apart because I think it wouldn't go back together well using the original comb.
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Alex
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WinslowYerxa
395 posts
Sep 03, 2013
1:23 PM
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Hohner sells replacement wooden 64 combs through their C-shop online.
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Winslow
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Buzadero
1111 posts
Sep 03, 2013
6:27 PM
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Personally, I'd go after a wooden comb from Hohner as W suggested and try to keep that thing as close to stock as possible, purely for the warm historical mojo and soul of it.
But, if you want to wander into heretic country, I think I still have a couple of lucite combs from the late and great Romel the Desert Fox. I'm not home for about two weeks but I can check if you need me to.
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~Buzadero
Underwater Janitor, Patriot
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