atty1chgo
816 posts
Jan 31, 2014
5:27 AM
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A cousin of mine gave me a box of harps that her husband got from his late father, who was into polka. Problem is, they were in a basement or something, and have a musty odor. To break it down, I'll list them here:
One (1) Hohner XB-40 - key of G (plastic comb)
excellent condition
One (1) Hohner Pro Harp MS - C (plastic comb)
One (1) Hohner Special 20 - C (plastic comb)
Four (4) Hohner Blues Harp MS - G (wooden comb)
Two (2) Hohner Blues Harp MS - C (wooden comb)
One (1) Hohner "American Ace" - C (plastic comb)
One (1) Hohner "Pocket Pal" - C (plastic comb)
Four (4) Hohner "Blues Band" - C (plastic comb)
One (1) Suzuki Folkmaster - C (wooden comb)
One (1) Suzuki Folkmaster - E (wooden comb)
One (1) Suzuki Folkmaster - G (wooden comb)
One (1) Hohner Big River Harp - C (plastic comb)
One (1) Hohner Marine Band 14 hole diatonic - C
One (1) Hohner Super Chromonica 12 hole chromatic - C
(four piece steel mouthpiece and slide - wooden comb is shot)
Notes:
All reed plates appear to be intact
The Folkmasters are older vintage, nice boxes
The Blues Harp combs are intact but stink
Very little if any rust throughout
Super Chromonica is in VG condition except for the comb
If I could get some advice as to what is salvageable, it would be appreciated.
Is it worth getting new combs for the Blues Harps, or do I have the old ones cleaned up?
Where do I get a 12 hole Chromonica comb?
Thank you very much in advance.
Last Edited by atty1chgo on Jan 31, 2014 5:38 AM
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arzajac
1275 posts
Jan 31, 2014
5:57 AM
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Here's my 2 cents:
Soak in water with dish soap to get rid of the odour:
One (1) Hohner XB-40 - key of G (plastic comb)
excellent condition
One (1) Hohner Special 20 - C (plastic comb)
Soak everything but the wooden combs. Replace the plastic combs to improve performance. Replace the wooden combs or completely sand and seal them to get rid of most of the odour:
One (1) Hohner Pro Harp MS - C (plastic comb)
Four (4) Hohner Blues Harp MS - G (wooden comb)
Two (2) Hohner Blues Harp MS - C (wooden comb)
One (1) Hohner Big River Harp - C (plastic comb)
One (1) Hohner Marine Band 14 hole diatonic - C
Not worth any effort whatsoever:
One (1) Suzuki Folkmaster - C (wooden comb)
One (1) Suzuki Folkmaster - E (wooden comb)
One (1) Suzuki Folkmaster - G (wooden comb)
One (1) Hohner "American Ace" - C (plastic comb)
One (1) Hohner "Pocket Pal" - C (plastic comb)
Four (4) Hohner "Blues Band" - C (plastic comb)
I dunno:
One (1) Hohner Super Chromonica 12 hole chromatic - C
(four piece steel mouthpiece and slide - wooden comb is shot)
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Custom overblow harps. Harmonica service and repair.
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HawkeyeKane
2293 posts
Jan 31, 2014
7:48 AM
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"Not worth any effort whatsoever:
One (1) Suzuki Folkmaster - C (wooden comb)
One (1) Suzuki Folkmaster - E (wooden comb)
One (1) Suzuki Folkmaster - G (wooden comb)"
Gotta disagree with you there. If he's got some of the old Folkmasters, then IMO they're most certainly worth at least a little effort. Current production Folkmasters are crap ever since they outsourced those from China. The Japanese ones weren't the greatest harps of all time, but they were very good practice harps, and ones with wood combs are relatively rare these days.
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Hawkeye Kane
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arzajac
1276 posts
Jan 31, 2014
8:06 AM
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Hawkeye Kayne: Very interesting. I learn something every day!
Were those vintage Folkmasters made in China?
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Custom overblow harps. Harmonica service and repair.
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Barley Nectar
264 posts
Jan 31, 2014
8:36 AM
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Andrew, Don't know about the dish soap thing. I quite using soap many years ago. I tried dish soap and various other soaps to clean harps. The problem for me was that I could never get the soap taste out of the harps. I rinsed the heck out of them and could still taste soap for a long time. These were Lee Oskars, plastic comb. I only use warm water now. I soak the harps for about an hour then hit them with a tooth brush to remove any gunk, rinse, then shake, play briefly, towel dry and set out to dry. My few wooden comb harps get the same treatment but only stay in the water about 10 min or so. I do this every couple of months.
atty1chgo: I have never tried this but for your wooden harps, bakeing soda comes to mind to remove odor. Mix some in water and put one of those stinky harps in there for a little while. Can't hurt to try.
If you took those apart and sand/seal the odor would surly be gone as Andrew said. Let us know how you make out...BN
Last Edited by Barley Nectar on Jan 31, 2014 8:41 AM
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dougharps
526 posts
Jan 31, 2014
8:42 AM
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I recall past postings on Slidemeister about some of the new Hering Chromatics having shipped with a musty odor. The suggested remedy was sealing them in a plastic bag with baking soda, all dry, not getting any in the harp, just sharing the bag. Never tried it myself. Water could mess up windsavers on any chromatic or other harp, and would ruin a wooden chromatic comb. The mouthpiece of a chrome can be removed and gently cleaned.
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Doug S.
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arzajac
1277 posts
Jan 31, 2014
9:12 AM
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Barley Nectar: I would think that's part of the process of getting rid of the odor. I clean every harp that leaves my bench with soap and water (often using an ultrasonic cleaner, too). I don't have that much of a problem with smell. I want the harp to smell clean when the customer first opens the case.
Never had a problem with taste. There should be no disk soap residue on plastic.
Dougharps: I forgot to mention the valves! I'm worried about the valves in the XB-40 having been played and then left inactive for so long. I guess I am suggesting to give them a good wash and see. If the valves are stuck, I can't think of a gentler way to get them unstuck. If they are already damaged, the water won't make it worse.
If washing them with water makes them come off, I would argue they needed to be replaced anyway.
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Custom overblow harps. Harmonica service and repair.
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Kingley
3420 posts
Jan 31, 2014
9:37 AM
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Chris Reynolds was making replacement combs for the 270 Chromonica. Although I don't know if he still is. Might be worth shooting him an email and asking.
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florida-trader
426 posts
Jan 31, 2014
10:32 AM
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atty1chgo. Lots of good advice here. I tend to agree with what Andrew said about which harps are worth fixing. But Hawkeye might know a little more about the Folkmasters than the rest of us.
It seems to me, if you are so inclined, that this is a perfect opportunity for you to go through the learning curve that those of who work on harp all went through. That is, the only way to learn how to work on harps is by working on harps. First of all, although reeds are fairly delicate they aren't butterfly wings. You really have to be pretty careless to destroy them. So let's eliminate some of the fear of taking them apart.
That said, why not cut your teeth on some of the lower quality harps? If you ruin one of them you haven't lost much. I would suggest starting with the American Pie, Pocket Pal and Blues Bands. Take them apart. Try different ways to clean them. Maybe even try to do some basic reed work. See what happens.
Within 2 or 3 harps, you'll have a pretty good idea of what you are doing and you can then apply that knowledge to the other harps. All the MS-Harps, the Special 20 and the 365 are good foundations to build some quality harps. You can try flat sanding and sealing the wood combs. You can also get combs from Andrew or me if you want to replace some of them. For sure I would recommend replacing the plastic combs on the Big River and the Pro Harp. A solid milled comb makes a big difference on those.
I say, have some fun with this. And welcome to the club!
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Tom Halchak
www.BlueMoonHarmonicas.com
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atty1chgo
819 posts
Jan 31, 2014
10:34 AM
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Thanks for the tips so far.
Correction: one of the Folkmaster boxes had an old Marine Band in it. The other two DID have Folkmasters, both Made In Japan. The harps smell a little, and the combs are NOT wood but red plastic, it appears, but in excellent condition.
The XB-40 valves are fine, the harp was lightly played.
I already took a reed plate from the Special 20 to make whole one that I had.
I will certainly replace the combs on some of these within the next few months. Also need a reed replacement and tune-up on a Firebreath in C.
Thanks again.
Last Edited by atty1chgo on Jan 31, 2014 10:41 AM
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florida-trader
427 posts
Jan 31, 2014
10:38 AM
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Sounds like a nice little treasure trove. We should all be so lucky!
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Tom Halchak
www.BlueMoonHarmonicas.com
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Gnarly
891 posts
Jan 31, 2014
11:48 AM
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Tom wrote:
That is, the only way to learn how to work on harps is by working on harps.
Yes, and always begin your journey by working on harps you do not hope to recover, so that you can make your biggest mistakes on the least important items.
I recently stumbled on to one of those "Made in Japan" Folkmasters, not my favorite.
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dougharps
530 posts
Jan 31, 2014
12:13 PM
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I have a few of the older Folk Masters with red plastic. I used them as a cheap way to fill in gaps in my set a long time ago. At that time I saw them as OK low end beginner harps on a par with Big Rivers. I don't play the ones that are left or my Big Rivers I also bought to fill gaps.
They might be good to use as backups, or to experiment with alternate tunings. This morning I tuned one of my many remaining unused Lee Oskars to Todd Parrott's tuning with the flat 7 draw. It is cool! I might like the tuning better than using the 6 overblow.
Just because a harp isn't your favorite doesn't mean you can't put it to good use.
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Doug S.
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Gnarly
892 posts
Jan 31, 2014
12:35 PM
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Right, the Folkmaster is probably a great harp to practice your customizing!
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Shaganappi
82 posts
Jan 31, 2014
1:00 PM
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Baking Soda - obvious but not thought of. And the mention that I should be using my old harps instead of just letting them sit in the bone pile. Life is busy but certainly I should make more attempts at repair and tweaking. Flat 7 draw a great idea to try on an old harp? Thanks Doug. Thanks Gnarly.
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groyster1
2521 posts
Jan 31, 2014
1:35 PM
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reconditioning old harps is all about being cost effective....sending out pre war&hicksville marine bands has been very cost effective thanks to MP,arzajac,harveyharp,greg jones,mike peace....they give you a better product than you had before
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Philosofy
509 posts
Jan 31, 2014
2:41 PM
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Plenty of people have given suggestions to get rid of odors, but if its mold in those harps, you want to kill those spores. I suggest a mouthwash like Listerine. Something that has alcohol in it. If you don't want a minty odor, try vodka.
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