Question about chromatic harp
Hello Winslow!
I've got the following chromatic harmonica
It plays great on holes 1–9, but starting from hole 10 and above, it's really hard to play because of air leakage. Here is a sample recording: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1vG6pW2uax59UGzc1_532Ermt6HRMd-1J/view?usp=sharing
Is this fixable, or is it just a bad harmonica that's not worth repairing? What could be the causes of the air leakage?
Thank you in advance for your help!
Those faux-alligator plastic pouches were in use in the 1960s=70s, and the mouthpiece and button shape and pinned-on reedplates are consistent with that period.
The Hohner 64 os the granddaddy of a ll 16-hole chromatics. It's what Little Walter played. So it's not a bad model.
I hear the airiness in the top octave, not so much in the third octave.
Air leakage can be caused by a number of things:
My money's on either a loose mouthpiece or loose reedpaltes.