Rockin Daddy
19 posts
Jan 06, 2017
5:22 AM
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I have a Hohner 64 chromatic that I am trying to get more seasoned with playing as I love the sound of one. Here's my situation and question. The outer mouthpiece (with the round holes) will sometimes loosen up and will slide side to side. If I tighten it up too tight, the slide will not slide in and out. So I back the screw out nearest the slide a bit and it plays great for a bit, then I'll notice the mouthpiece becomes loose again after playing it. Are the mouthpiece screws stripped or is there a way to keep this from happening again? Any advice or help is greatly appreciated.
Brian
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Gnarly
2083 posts
Jan 06, 2017
7:55 AM
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Seems to me that if you can get it tight for a while, they aren't stripped.
Is it a wooden comb?
What model Hohner is it?
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Rockin Daddy
20 posts
Jan 06, 2017
8:20 AM
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it's the 280/64 Chromonica with the plastic comb.
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barbequebob
3340 posts
Jan 06, 2017
8:37 AM
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This tends to happen whenever you play with a very wet mouth, ESPECIALLY when you're one who has a tendency to play with too much breath force and what is happening is that it's a build up of layers of dead skin and dried up saliva happening. Chromatics will require much more maintenance than a diatonic and they don't respond well to being played hard at all.
If you need to turn the screws, turn them in VERY TINY INCREMENTS and avoid over tightening because both the slide won't move at all plus you'll strip the screws badly.
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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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dougharps
1328 posts
Jan 06, 2017
8:41 AM
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I have occasionally encountered this on 270s and my 12 and 16 hole Herings. While the hole *could* be stripped it also could be an issue of the assembly being out of whack. It is not uncommon for there to be a "zone" of tightening between the slide being too loose and the slide binding, but sometimes adjusting it doesn't quite fix it.
What has worked for me when this keeps occurring (unless the hole really IS stripped and needs some repair) is to totally take off the mouthpiece, gently clean all the parts (why not, if you have already taken it apart?), then carefully reassemble. I use toothpaste on my finger while supporting each piece, then rinsing. The slide will bind easier if it has dried saliva on it.
Sometimes the parts are not properly aligned even if it looks right, and you will have the difficulty you describe. Taking it apart and reassembling it will usually work... for a while. Gentle cleaning can only help. Once it is free of gluey saliva there is a range between too loose and binding that will work.
I believe it is a difficulty related to the design of the slide assembly on Hohners and Herings, and in my experience you just learn to adjust the assembly and occasionally deal with it as described above. Taking it apart to reassemble properly can help.
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Doug S.
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Killa_Hertz
2073 posts
Jan 06, 2017
10:30 AM
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Im not very knowledgeable on chromatics, but, seems to me .....some locktite on the screws could help them stay put in the optimum tightness. Might be worth a shot.
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tomaxe
83 posts
Jan 06, 2017
11:09 AM
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I'm not super familiar with that model but I have some Hering and Hohner chromatic harps, encountering this issue.
The mouthpiece needs to on tight enough so that it will not move for an extended period of time and the slide needs to work, obviously. I would always tighten both screws equally, don't just loosen one side. You are already asking for misalignement problems there. Your comb is plastic so it's probably not perfectly straight or flat but not the culprit. It's your mouthpiece/slide assembly out of whack.
Clean the mouthpiece and slide parts well as has been said and dab a tiny bit of mineral oil on the slide so that it's a bit slippery. If it can't slide easily without the mouthpiece screws being way too loose than something is bent or warped in the offending metal pieces. Proceed from there.
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WinslowYerxa
1248 posts
Jan 06, 2017
11:30 AM
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The square nut that receives each mouthpiece screw is mounted in a tiny slot inside the comb. It's usually held in place with a bit of spongy material stuffed in the slot above the nut.
If the nut won't stay put, that could account for the loosening. It could have rotated and gouged out the corners of the slot, allowing it to keep spinning, and the spongy stuff could have fallen out during a previous servicing or rotted away. You could check on this by removing the reedplates. The slots for the mouthpiece nuts will be just below the upper reedplate.
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Winslow
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Last Edited by WinslowYerxa on Jan 06, 2017 11:31 AM
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Thievin' Heathen
900 posts
Jan 06, 2017
1:51 PM
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You might be missing the plastic tube spacers that go on those screws. Little pieces of plastic tube about the diameter of I.V. (medical) tubing about 3/16" long, slipped over those screws act as spacers to keep from binding the slide when you tighten those screws.
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WinslowYerxa
1250 posts
Jan 06, 2017
6:12 PM
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The bumpers, as those bits of plastic tubing are often called, would not cause the mouthpiece screws to loosen over time. And they will not prevent over-tightening of the mouthpiece screws. Their primary function is to keep the metal slide from banging into the mouthpiece screws and damaging the screw threads. Secondary effect is to prevent clicking noise of the slide against the screws.
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Winslow
Check out my blog and other goodies at winslowyerxa.com
Harmonica For Dummies, Second Edition with tons of new stuff
Join us in 2017 for SPAH in Tulsa!
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Brendan Power
560 posts
Jan 07, 2017
2:25 PM
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@Rockin Daddy: It's a common complaint of the Hohner 64 series. It's happening because the screw is a sloppy fit in the nut.
Extra friction is required to stop the lossening. Killa Hertz is on the right track. Lightly apply some Superglue to the lower part of the screw and let it dry, then screw in. The extra bulk in the thread grooves should stop the screw loosening.
A more permanent solution would be to find a 2mm screw that is slightly thicker than the Hohner one.
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