[Harp-L] Compare Older vs Newer 64 Chromonica
eben ross
Which parts are interchangeable between 60's and 90's Hohner 64 Chromonica's.
I have had one for many years which I got after meeting Steve Wonder in 1964,( at Spartan Atlantic Thrift Center in Inkster, Michigan)Button now lost At the time I hacked through a version of Finger Tips....and let it rest until I heard All Aboard on Fathers and Sons.,...(Who is playing the Chromatic on that?).
Now I am re-exploring the "64" and got a new to me edition which is old and is an exact replica of the one from 1964...l also 'won' another ebay version which is a bit different...the cover plates are not the same....and the newer one is cracked....still seems to work,yet tone is not there.
Is anyone up on the history of theHohner 64 Chromonica? Still feels like
Happy New Year Ben Ross aka WBjr
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Winslow Yerxa
The 1960s version of the Hohner 280 Chromonica (aka 64) is pretty much the same as the current version as far as slide and mouthpiece parts fitting together and reeds being interchangeable.
The combs in the 1960s and much (most?) of the 1950s were made of a peachy-pink-ish plastic with a faux-wood finish on the back and sides, while the modern version uses a black ABS comb. The pink plastic tends to become brittle and crumbly over time.
One significant difference is that the reedplates in the 1950s and '60s plastic-combed 64s were held on with long pins that went through both reedplates and the comb. Modern versions are held together with machine screws. I'm not sure whether the nail holes in the pink combs match the placement of the screw holes on the modern version.
The original design of the 64 was different, and those instruments are out there on Ebay, often touted as "pre-war" even though that term is rather imprecise. The 64s that were made up until, perhaps, the early 1950s had wood combs. Reedplates were held on with shallow nails similar to what you'd find on a modern 270 or 260 chromatic.
The original 64s, like the existing 270 model, were straight tuned - all the notes of the C major scale were on the top reedplate and all the notes of C# were on the bottom reedplate. If you look at the square slider holes insode the round mouthpiece holes, you'll see all the top square holes open when the slide is out (giving access to the notes of C), and all the bottom slide holes open when the slide is pressed (giving access to the scale of C#).
With the move to plastic combs, the tuning was changed to cross tuning, where in Hole 1 the notes of C are on the top reedplate, while in Hole 2 they're on the bottom, alternating hole by hole. The corresponding hole pattern in the slider also alternates in a top-bottom zigzag fashion, making it east to spot a cross-tuned instrument. The slider and slide button are also subtly difference in appearance, which can help in determining the tuning scheme of an instrument when you can't see inside the mouthpiece holes.
Over time the design of the mouthpiece/slider assembly also changed.
The earliest cross-tuned instruments continued the 4-part assembly used in straight-tuned instruments:
1) a metal backing plate laid against the front of the comb, with
2) the slide on top of that, then
3) a U-shaped cage (or U-channel) in top of that to house the slider and let it move, and
4) the mouthpiece on top of that. The mouthpiece remained narrow as in the older straight-tuned instruments.
The later cross-tuned instruments (including those made in the 1960s) used a three-part design. The U-channel (or cage) was eliminated, and the mouthpiece itself was made fatter so that it spread outwards more to meet the coverplates, while the underside of the mouthpiece served the function of the U-Channel.
Different generations of 64s have characteristic boxes, though it's not uncommon for the instrument and the box to be mismatched. Generally speaking, if you have an instrument with a black plastic box or a soft brown pouch, it's the cross-tuned design with a 3-part slide assembly. If you have one with a hard red box (or silver for the Larry Alder version) It could be cross-tuned with the 4-part mouthpiece, or might be an older straight-tuned instrument. The wooden box with the faux burl finish and the high rounded top goes with the older straight-tuned designs.
I don't know all details of this history; the above is based on the instruments I've actually encountered and things I've heard over time.
There may be more knowledgeable people on this subject at slidemeister.com, a chromatic-only discussion group.
Winslow
Winslow Yerxa
Author, Harmonica For Dummies ISBN 978-0-470-33729-5
joe leone
smo-joe (slidemeister)
Winslow Yerxa
Winslow
Winslow Yerxa
Author, Harmonica For Dummies ISBN 978-0-470-33729-5
> The 1960s version of the Hohner 280 Chromonica (aka 64) is pretty much the same as the current version as far as slide and mouthpiece parts fitting together and reeds being interchangeable.
fjm
used in the 64. One is wedge shaped and the more common version is
flat. I've only seen the wedge shaped comb on the aluminium plate 64's
but my sample size is small. I think you could use the flat comb as a
replacement for the wedge shaped comb because the mouthpiece side is the
same width as the flat comb version but I've never tried to do this. fjm