Thank you so much for this video. I have a bunch of old harps my dad owned. I wanted to learn to play and I wanted to clean them up a bit. Much appreciated brother.
Thanks Steve, Great tip on not over tightening reed plate as I've done before. My Hohner Steve Baker Special is now tuned to a minor which has become my favorite big blues machine. One tip that might be added is to back tread the plate screws, (counter clockwise), when reinstalling, until a very slight click is felt to prevent any cross threading. Keep on blowing and sharing. Cheers,
Thanks for the info. Sheesh, my Hohner key of G stamped 11/97 blew a reed. it went totally flat. I took it apart cleaned it and put together perfectly and it's got a sour flat between the 7 and 8.... I'm gonna purchase the Hohner Golden Melody Porgressive. Any thoughts on those?
I like using craft picks (slightly thicker than toothpicks, the sticks modelers use to put glue on models). Because the wood is softer than than the harmonica parts (or at worst, only as hard as) you can scrape crud off pretty well. I like sonic cleaners for everything but the wood parts, and I'm a klutz, so I don't like toothbrushes (snagged a reed once), but still, fundamentally, this is more or less what I do. The craft picks are also really good for getting the crud that builds up in the holes- as long as you hold the harmonica so the stuff falls out, not in. And in addition to not playing wet, don't play sticky. Rinse your mouth before playing if you've just had a sugary drink or food. I wipe my harps down after playing. A microfiber cloth works great, but even just wiping the covers off keeps dried spit from accumulating. I guess what I'm saying is I can clean my harmonicas as well as Steve Baker can. I just wish I could play as well as he can!
Never use vinegar or any - other acid agent for that matter. Brass will disolve slowly in cold vinegar and rather fast in warm vinegar. Better is to add a few drops of green dish washing detergent (dreft) that has a high pH in luke warm water. The detergent will decrease the surface tension of the water so it will soak better without causing damage.
Not really 1959Berre, Vinegar is not a powerful dissolving agent (contains just about 5¬20% acetic acid) and soaking for a few minutes will only clean the reed plates and loosen and remove all gunk deposited by the players saliva. I've been using it for years and never had any harmonica 'dissolve' in the solution ! Vinegar is extensively used as a cooking ingredient and had it been that corrosive, it would have been banned from being used for cooking. So, don't worry about any harm being done to the harmonica. And as Grace Jimmy says, you can use IPA, but that would not clean the plates thoroughly. IPA, though, can be used as a disinfectant and can be used to clean the mouthpiece.
Thank you for your comment. I would also like to bring into your attention about making a paste of vinegar and baking soda and then using a tooth brush to clean reeds.. followed by a quick soak in vinegar that felt unnecessary but anyways i soaked them for a quick dip to remove paste.. The paste works well and the acidic nature is neutralized by baking soda.. so all safe I suppose.. I did that recently and I have had great results..
Also, although vinegar is a gentle acid Don’t use it with steel reeds (Seydel’s). Acetic acid will attack the steel fairly quickly. One time probably won’t harm them, but as a regular cleaning rigor, not a good idea.
Great video. Specially if you have customized or expensive harmonicas, you just don't replace them as easily (a Seydel Noble can be around 100 euros and a custom work on any harp is a work of art by the luthier). If you want to play overdraws and overblows, you need to adjust the gap on the reeds to your way of playing, as many harmonicas do not suit one's way of playing out of the box. Even though you can replace your harp, you should clean them periodically (3-6 months max depending on how much you play and how you play). Luckily here in Argentina we have some of the best harmonica customizers.
Thank you for the detailed explanation! However, the biggest problem is when reed plate is affixed to the comb by nails. How to remove the reed plate that is nailed to a wooden comb, and attach it back air-tight after cleaning?
Are you using a specific took kit, like one made by Hohner or Lee Oskar? Are all those tools included in the kit? If you put the set of tools together yourself.. what tools are you using (what screwdrivers specifically) and where did you buy the tools? If I practice for an hour a day, how often do I need to clean my harmonica? I've ordered a Hohner Crossover (I chose that one partly because of your Crossover video here on youtube), and want to figure out how to clean it, and what tools I'll need. Thanks!
Could I use a sonic cleaner on the reed plates and cover plates? I'm referring to these little machines that hold water for the item to cleaned and use high-frequency sound in the water bath to remove dirt and other particles.
For plastic comb harps I soak them in Cola and rinse with water. The downside of this approach is that once you realize how effective Cola is at shifting crud you'll never drink the stuff again !
I had a car washing business when I was in high school (MANY decades ago...) and Coke worked very well to remove rust from metal surfaces. A bit of Coke and an energetically applied tooth brush would clean up bumpers to beautiful shine! I didn't drink a lot of Coke after that but I cleaned a lot of cars in high school!!
Every time I watch a video like this there’s always Some dude in the comments saying “don’t do [exactly what the video says to do]” and I never know what the hell im supposed to do I don’t wanna fuck my harmonica up what the hell
I just bought a used but good condition hohner blues harp on ebay. Maybe not ideal but was too good a deal to ignore. I'm wondering if it would be safe to soak the reed plate and covers in surgical spirit?
Someone posted saying they use Listerine to clean the reed plates (it's an Antiseptic - naturally kills germs). I would use Listerine to clean plastic harp combs. Might also use it on wood combs, but gently..... cool interesting video :)
Hey my marine band C harp just started doing this after playing fine for like 3 years and its happened with a few others in the past and I ended up buying new ones haha. So are you saying I now just have to change my technique in order to play it? Also I keep it im a holder while I play guitar like neil young so do you have any hands free suggestions?
I use the plastic body Lee Oscar Harps, rince em out in hot water,and replace them when out of tune,fitted new reeds in one once and it was like playing a 1 dollar kids harmonica
I was wondering how tight should I screw the holes of my harmonica? I watched one of your cleaning videos and I took my harmonica apart. Now that it is back together, I am wondering if I should tighten the screws all the way until they can't turn any more? Or if I should leave them a bit loose? Please help
Ive got skid marks at the corners of my mouth practicing so hard on my chromatic, 1st time i cleaned it out with Qtips, damaged high C reed, it warbles horribly :( ever had this happen to you Mr. Baker?
Years ago after I had to begin from scratch at mid-life due to paralysis - as I was developing what is now one of my multiple different styles for playing diatonic harmonicas I actually had my lips bleeding. I eventually found that style works better when playing aluminum comb harmonicas. I do have a variety of chromatic harmonicas but need to talk with some other harmonica players to find out what to put on them so my lips will slide across them easier. A couple of them have a plastic outer cover - others have metal - and my CBH 2016 I have no difficulty with.
hello there! thank you for contacting us , you can find the cleaning kit here: www.furtadosonline.com/hohner-harmonica-service-kit-instant-workshop-toolkit-mz99831-206922/206922
You don't take apart the harmonica. You shake out the sliva, tape it on the cloth and take a soft cotton or linen cloth and wipe it down. Don't put it in water. And all harmonicas come with instructions in the case on how to use it and play it. I got a folk master 10 hole diatonic harmonica for easter and it came with a case and instructions
U ruined my Hohner cause iy was my first one and it had wood comb. I wonder now ive have a 2nd harmonica but with a plastic comb can i rise it between good cleaning?
Is it safe to soak the reed plates in warm water with the windsavers attached? Better yet the entire harmonica minus the slide and covers? I have a vintage harmonica that has nails NO SCREWS. I don't relish the thought of taking it apart. I did do a general cleaning of the harmonica earlier but afterward the 6th hole blow (E) won't sound? The reeds appear to all be centered and I made a point to plink each read but E will not play?
The wood on the comb tends to expand when you soak the entire instrument and then doesn't shrink back to it's original size. I know b/c I used to do that in the 60s (i.e. before the internet) and sometimes it worked ok other times not so much.
Hello, thanks for the cleaning tips. I have a 20+ year old hohner blues harp in G. I took it apart and noticed it's got rust spots. What can I use to remove; WD40? Also, I read comments below stating not to use vinegar...what about the lemon juice? Thanks again!
First of all I can't remove the screws on my Marine Band harmonica. When making the video, you should've include all what is necessary to clean the harmonica- starting with what a screwdriver to use. Because the smallest precision tool from my local shop is not even close good for disassembling it...
I have 2 Hohner "Blues Harps" that desperately need cleaning but the screw slots are so shallow I can't get a screwdriver in to remove them. Any suggestions to get the screws out? HELP!
Hello there!, we do not have this model in stock at the moment , please write to response@furtadosonline.com or nitinc@furtadosonline.com for detailed information on all your queries. Our customer service team will reply back to you shortly. If you haven't already then kindly check out our website www.furtadosonline.com for options and availability.
Sorry... My english it's Bad... Did You say that we cant use limón juice and...?? I have 1 harminonica, i try to clean with alcohol, but i can't Put in out All the trash in The reed plates! Thank's Regards!
I have cleaned the reeds with iso propyl alcohol and I have had good results without damage.. However I make sure that everything is dry before making contact with mouth.
Can you please tell me what key the harmonica is when Huge Laurie plays it in this clip? ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-cLWEODD2dlo.html
U wash it after every play sesion with a cloth dumped in a bit of alchohol, u rub the comb and covers with it, and pick a bit of dirt out of the holes with a toothpick, if there is dirt visible, and thats it, takes 2 minutes not more.
Ketchup with clean the brass reed plates like you would not believe. Just let then sit in the ketchup for 15 minutes, wash them off and you are good to go.
