Gnarly
470 posts
Feb 05, 2013
12:08 PM
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Hello harmonica players,
In my duties here at Suzuki USA I routinely repair harmonicas for customers with various problems--broken reeds and the like. We have a generous one year warranty.
Today however I encountered a unique situation. The harmonicas were all out of tune by 50 cents or so. Also the chrome plating was missing from the reed plates, sort of etched off.
I contacted the customer and was told that the harmonica dealer had advised them to use denture cleaner to clean their harps.
I personally have never used denture cleaner but I understand that some harmonica players do. It's obvious to me that care must be taken if you are to use denture cleaner for this purpose.
And so I would like to go on record as the go to guy for Suzuki harmonica repairs to state that obvious use of any corrosive material to clean your harmonicas voids the warranty.
Thanks, Gary at Suzuki
1-800-854-1594
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arzajac
978 posts
Feb 05, 2013
1:39 PM
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Thanks Gary! That's useful information to know. I never have used denture cleaner (on harps or anything else...), nor had I ever planned to, but it's good to know...
I would have thought it was harmless.
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Gnarly
471 posts
Feb 05, 2013
4:32 PM
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It's hard to know what the customer used, but whatever it was, it made the harps flat across-the-board by almost a semitone.
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Chickenthief
335 posts
Feb 05, 2013
5:46 PM
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Hi Gnarly. Does that include the alka seltzer style tablets that are dissolved in water? If so, then do you have any thoughts about how this kind of damage is done by denture cleaner?
I have used the stuff before and the only comments that I've had from techs concerns a slight residue left on the plates. Thanks.
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Gnarly
473 posts
Feb 05, 2013
8:49 PM
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Yes, the reports I am getting from the community indicate that denture tablets were probably not the cause of this corrosion, which leads me to believe that the customer was not being truthful with me.
Bottom line is, if the harmonica is damaged by cleaning agents, the warranty is void.
I am pretty proud of our harps and our warranty.
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Chickenthief
336 posts
Feb 06, 2013
3:19 AM
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Yeah, my one experience with the suzuki warranty was a happy one. They promptly replaced a reed on an SCX48. Only questions being asked were date and place of purchase as I recall.
I can't say I'm 100% sure that I used the denture cleaner when I cleaned that harp before sending it in, but I probably did and there were no issues at the time.
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jiceblues
196 posts
Feb 06, 2013
4:37 AM
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All the folks i know who used denture cleaner have had issues : harp completely out of tune ( even HOHNERS) .
To clean my reedplates , i make them boil 5-7 mn in water (2/3) and white vinegar also called acohol vinegar (1/3).Never tried with phosphore- bronze reeds...
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clyde
302 posts
Feb 06, 2013
7:17 AM
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i have never understood why so many are worried about cleaning their reedplates and keeping them shinny bright like new.
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spackle20
58 posts
Feb 06, 2013
12:22 PM
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>>We have a generous one year warranty.
Sometimes.
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Great experiences with:
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