I appreciate that chromatics have come a long way but I have a bad memory of my first and only.
It did not bend but I still had a ton of fun with it, playing Broadway tunes and others that I made up. A piano in my mouth. The button was magic but I was never right with it. I finally wore it out and did an autopsy.
I'm talking the 50s but some of my memories are solid. My first impression, upon removing the covers, was that there was felt and see thru plastic pieces scattered throughout. In other words they were not aligned with anything in particular. Very messy.
But then I removed the mouthpiece. It was bowed with maybe twice the diameter of a basketball. So it was assembled under pressure from the factory. I was probably 10 years old but that was problematic to me at the time and I gave up on chromatics forever.
I like what you do and I am particularly impressed with your non-spring loaded double diatonic. Especially with the bend capability. I think a harmonica is worthless without a bend.
What say you to my horrible first impression on chromatics? Is it simply a childhood nightmare that I should get over?
I wish there was a forum like this for chrome. I predict the chromatic will experience the same rise in popularity over the next 5 years, as the diatonic has over the past 5 years.
Last Edited by A440 on Jan 30, 2015 7:16 PM
I'm pretty sure there is a forum for chromatics actually... the name escapes me at the moment though
I love chromatics and I can even live without bending, but the valves really get on my nerves most of the time
Last Edited by TmickyD1 on Jan 30, 2015 10:51 PM
JustFuya, I've bought a few second-hand chromatics from Ebay (mostly out of curiosity), and have had to learn basic maintenance for the purpose of sanitising. No real issues in that regard, the only item under any kind of pressure is the spring for the slide. Difficult for a child of 10, perhaps, but I'm sure you'd have no problem now. The glue for the windsavers can dry out and they become dislodged, but it's inexpensive and not too hard to replace/re-glue them.
You can get models without windsavers too. I own a Chrometta which is certainly not as airtight as it could be, but is still fun to play.
You can bend on chromatics, but the blow and draw reeds are closely tuned, so it would be just for subtle expression.
I'd say give them another chance - if nothing else, you might get some closure on your initial experience.
Brendan, thanks for the tips. I heard that you're not supposed to use any lubricant on the slide because over time it will become viscous and attract dust, making the slide stick. Is this not the case?
Also, I take it you're not a big fan of out-of-the-box scissors..? :)
Last Edited by Harmlessonica on Jan 31, 2015 3:23 AM
Lubricant on the slider is good and actually necessary in most cases. As long as you keep you harp in a box there is no need to be concerned about grit ow whatever.
On this model I was applying Vaseline very liberally as the slider on Herings is pretty sloppy in the channel. Same with other well known models, like the Hohner CX-12 and 270, which have noisy, leaky sliders too.
But on a chrom with a well-fitted slider such as the Suzuki chroms or the Hohner Meisterklasse and Amadeus, any amount of Vaseline would slow the slider to the point it doesn't work properly. In that case you can avoid lubricant, or use Suzuki's excellent Slide Oil lubricant.
I should add that I don't work for Suzuki and have no interest in promoting their products, just stating facts ;-)
I saw this video on Harp-L and immediately posted a link on Slidemeister. I noted that in addition to being about the fixes it is an excellent intro to disassembling and reassembling parts of a chromatic for those who are afraid to open one up.
Good video, Brendon!
Also, very smart to use your Slide Diatonics in the video... ----------
Doug S.
Last Edited by dougharps on Jan 31, 2015 6:39 AM
I would be remiss if I let this thread go by without recommending everyone catch Dennis Gruenling's show whenever he comes to your town. I can't think of anyone else(right now) who is so accessible and is playing blues so well on chromatics.
Suggestions are welcome.
Thanks Brendan for taking some of the mystery out of chromatic maintenance. Watching you let the 4 pc. mouthpiece components fall where they may as you removed screws gave me butterflies.
Last Edited by Thievin' Heathen on Jan 31, 2015 12:51 PM
Some good tips. Thanks. I never thought of trimming the valve excess off. I have a 270 & a 260 that I'll add some Vaseline to. I had always heard that it was a no, no also. But since I keep mine stored in a case, I'll need not worry about the dust. ----------
And just to keep useful chromatic info in one place: the Hohner website has a bunch of videos discussing and demonstrating gapping, tuning, cleaning, assembling, replacing reeds, etc. They're at
I always defer to Brendan because he is so experienced, both as a player and a technician/developer. I do, however, have an opinion. Anything you put on the outside of your harmonica can wind up inside, so be prepared to clean it yourself if you use lubricant for the slide. I resist the use of oils on slides, and advise others not to use it except in case of emergency. As the guy who has to clean other people's harps to fix them, I have seen large accumulations of petroleum products clogging reeds and valves. Not my favorite part of the job--ask about the soup. Suzuki makes Slide Oil, but Suzuki US does not sell it--it's not in our catalog, and no amount of pleading will get Daron to make it available. The Suzuki chromatics are pretty airtight, but keeping them clean will keep the slide smooth. I even worry about lip balm--NAMM was pretty brutal, I starting getting chapped lips and so I applied some Burt's Bees and it was gunk city on the mouthpiece-- And while we are on the subject, there is stuff in your breath, piece of you probably, that will get deposited and snared by the jelly--just take your cover plates off and look at the inside, also on the reed plates, fine fine stuff that normally doesn't cause much of a problem but can accumulate if you give it the right medium. My big beef is, how do I keep the chromatic harmonica hot while playing so that condensation doesn't form?
Yes, I played a gig last night using my Music Man 2 12" amp and discovered it keeps the chrom pretty warm--but I only used it for a Bb blues at the end of the night. And of course, it starts to cool down as soon as you start playing.
Last Edited by Gnarly on Feb 01, 2015 12:46 PM
Nice video Brendan! I did these modifications (Vaseline) to the mouthpiece when I was playing Hering harmonicas before, but never tried the valve thing, its very smart!
I highly recommend Suzuki Slide Oil, I use it every week to the chromatics I play a lot. It really smooth things up. But its not needed to use much, 1 or 2 drops is OK.
About slide mechanism in general - if it works and there is no problem, don´t take it part. If it does not work as you like, check Brendans video or other videos to make it work. Chromatic harmonica is so dependent (at least to me) to what I eat and drink before playing... I have to stop eating anything around 15 minutes before, and only drink water or maybe coffee/tea (no milk o sugar). Food and sugarrelated products can really make a slide assembly stop working smoothly.
Another tip is to check the buffer, so that is not to long, try to trim it to the perfect length. And on some chromatic models, its not needed on the left screw, because the slider won´t hit the screw. So taking the left buffer away, you are able to tighten the mouthpiece further down.
Gnarly - to keep harmonicas warm, I suggest the heating pad way. I use it on stage, it has three levels of "heating" i first put the chromatics the pad, roll it around the harps, and on the 2nd level for about 5 minutes, then on level 1 for the rest of the gig. then I also open up the pad, so they just lay there. Also after playing for long time, let the chromatics dry outside of the boxes for a few hours, don´t just put it in a box directly. If possible. Sometimes one have to, for etc driving from the venue to the hotel after gig, but if possible, take the instrument out of the box and let it dry up by itself over night. Good luck! Filip and hope to see you at SPAH 2015!
I would agree with Gnarly on this. I probably repaired 50 Seydel chromatics last year. Half of these new players who decided disassemble and tinker with the mouthpiece assembly. There was no need and most of them were new players.
Whatever gets on that slide is going in the harp and will end up on the wind savers. I've cleaned up a lot of messes and it isn't cheap.
The official position of Seydel is to not use any lubricants on the slide but rather use regular tap water.
---------- Greg Jones 16:23 Custom Harmonicas greg@1623customharmonicas.com 1623customharmonicas.com
I like Brendan's suggestion about minimizing the surface area that comes into contact with the reed plate. I had never really thought about that and it makes sense.
Before the tinkerers in the crowd start trimming wind savers, though, they should make sure they have spares on hand. When you are messing around there, it is almost certain you will mess one up inadvertently. Happens all the time...
Wind savers are not always that easy to find or cheap, either. ---------- Greg Jones 16:23 Custom Harmonicas greg@1623customharmonicas.com 1623customharmonicas.com
I have been putting Vaseline on my sliders for about 20 years! Vaseline is only needed if your harp has one of these problems. Is it leaky? when you put it up to a mic and play can you hear the slider? First your chrom can always be more air tight! On a Hohner CX 12 take the slider out and put a piece of scotch tape on one side. then trim the tape with an exacto knife to match the shape of the slider. Then LIGHTLY apply Vaseline to both sides and carefully put the slider back in making sure not to let the tape catch on the edge of the slider hole when first getting it in. This one little trick will make your CX12 play MUCH better! OK a little common sense! Yes if you put Vaseline on your slider you will have to remove it and clean it at some point and reapply. Is that a problem. Well if your smart enough to remove a slider and apply Vaseline you'll probably be able to remove it and clean it too! If you never attempt be able to do something then you will never be able to do it!
@ chromaticblues Some of my customers are smart enough to use lubricants but not smart enough to clean the harp before they send it to me for repair! @ Gmaj7 I assume you sell the Seydel valves? @ FilipJers Your CD is fantastic! Bopweiser is particularly arresting . . . http://sonichits.com/video/Filip_Jers_Quartet/Bopweiser for a taste . . . the tune I mention starts at 1:28-- And yes, I will be in Denver in August and look forward to seeing you again. @ Frank101 That has become my solution--a reuseable hand warmer called Hotsnapz. A little bit of a hassle, so only used when necessary.
@Gnarly I have not had ONE chrom that anything has gotten beyond the slider and into the harmonica. 20 years and not one! For everyone that watched the video. The reason why I have NEVER had a problem is because I have never put on as much as Brandon did. I'm not saying it can't be done, but I've always been wary of having stuff get in the harp. So I haven't really pushed the envelope on how much can be used before it becomes a problem? So I really don't understand your comment on your customers being smart enough to apply Vaseline, but not smart enough to remove the slider and clean it. It sounds like the real situation is how its being applied and harmoncia storage. Again common sense! If people have to send their harps to you for repair because of applying Vaseline, then they are applying to much! Trust me there is a happy medium.
@chromaticblues It's not the slider that needs cleaning when you apply lubricants--it's the reed plates, reeds and valves! And I don't enjoy cleaning oil off seagulls. Filip has also said that he uses lubricants, he and Brendan are far better free reed players than I am, but as a tech, dealing with goop is more revolting than normal.
Gnarly I know your talking about the inside. Think about what I'm saying. You keep using the word lubricants! Any lubricant that resembles oil is going to migrant due to gravity. Some people swear that silicon based oil works the best? I guess if you always store your harp with the mouthpiece facing down you will never have any problems. That isn't realistic though. I've tried a number of things and there are two things to keep in mind when doing this. Use something that will not spoil. Olive oil bad idea. U se something that will stay where you put it. Because of the viscosity of Vaseline it will not only act as a lube, but more importantly fill empty space inside the slider (as apposed to air) making it more air tight and not run all over the place. Now I only put it on the slider it's self not on the plate that rest on the front of comb. I have put it on the comb itself lightly then put the base part of the slider assembly on. This way there is no extra that could wind up in the harp. I stopped doing that awhile ago only because I found a permanent solution for the base plate and the plate rest against the mouthpiece. I've never cleaned oil of seagulls, but it doesn't sound like fun.
The melting point of Vaseline is 37 °C (99 °F). If you carry the harp on your person you are very close to that temperature. If you encounter a hot day with your chromatic (as is common in many parts of the US) you will likely exceed the melting point and liquid petroleum jelly may migrate in your harmonica.
If you keep your chromatic chilled to avoid this, you will encounter condensation issues. It would appear that there is a specific temperature range in which Vaseline could improve a chromatic without risking a mess or condensation. Perhaps 80 °F to 90 °F?
I would rather have a slightly leaky Hering mouthpiece (which I find to be more airtight than a Hohner 270) than deal with risking the mess. I have not in any way felt hindered by leakiness when playing Hering chromatics, but that may just be me... ----------
@dougharps I lived in Nashville for 7 years and played outside festivals and not once had an issue. I was playing CX12's and not using a lot, but never not once had a problem. Now I play 260, 270 and a 1950's 280 because I like the way they sound. There are better stock harps, but I don't play anything stock so that doesn't matter to me.
Last Edited by chromaticblues on Feb 04, 2015 2:14 PM
I was surprised to see Vaseline as a recommended lubricant. I expect it works, but I wonder if there might be a better alternative. As a trombone player I have a bit of experience with slides :-) Lubricants that work in conjunction with water seem to work best. Most trombonists keep a spray bottle to wet the slide with although condensation will wet it in short order, as it would a chrome slide.
I found this rather comprehensive list of instrument lubes There are lubes different viscosity for tight or worn instruments. There seems to be a special lube for every moving piece of metal or cork on an instrument, including the musicians lips!
I looked up a popular one "Slide-O-Mix and it claims to be Non-Toxic. I think that may be important.
Last Edited by STME58 on Feb 03, 2015 4:34 PM
Good to see this sparked off some discussion, and thanks to Doug for posting the link on Slidemeister...
There seems a lot of concern about Vaseline melting, but I've used it for decades to seal up leaky slide assemblies and its never given any problem like that. It works and it's safe - I wouldn't reccommend it otherwise. Suzuki slide oil is great too, though more for good-fitting assemblies.
It's good to demystify chromatic harmonica tweaking. Quite a few players who will happily take a diatonic apart seem to have an aversion to opening up their chromatic for fear of causing problems, instead of fixing them. Sure they are more complex beasts to work on, but once you understand how everything works and what it's supposed to be doing it's simple logic to suss out any issues and sort them out.
The Hohner CX-12 is particularly easy to work on - it pulls apart quicker than any diatonic. A truly brilliant harmonica design, unfortunately let down by a sloppy, leaky, noisy slider. But that can be fixed - I'll show how in another video soon, along with other tweaks you can do to make playing the chromatic a fun and relaxing experience.
