Hohner centennial
Wed, 11/11/2015 - 15:30
Hi Winslow,
While touring around a collectibles store I came across a 1957 Hohner Centennial in C. It was in its original box and in excellent shape so I bought it for $10. I'm not sure about the claimed date of it but perhaps you know something about this Harp? It does play fine although very low volume and holes 9-10 won't blow bend. What are your thoughts on this harp??
John
Hi, John.
I've never run across one of these except in a museum display case, so I can't comment as a player. These are fairly rare, though.
There have been at least two Hohner Centennial diatonics. The 1957 model looks like a Golden Melody and commemorates Hohner's 100th year in business. There was also a US Civil War Centennial model from the 1960s that looks like a Blues Harp; the guts are probably the same as the Marine Band and Blues Harps of the period.
The problems with blow bends could probably repaired by better comb-to-reedplate seal, though I'd also check the gapping.