Hering chromatic issues

Slides can stick from foreign matter, as you already know, and also for a couple of other reasons.

The mouthpiece may be screwed down too tightly.

The slide spring may have become disengaged from the slider.

You can clean the slide assembly without disassembling the harmonica by this method:

1) Pour about a half-inch of warm water into a flat-bottoms pan big enough for the full length of the harmonica.

2) Hold the harmonica with the holes facing down, and place it in the water only to the depth of the mouthpiece. (This is for wooden combs to prevent any moisture for swelling or otherwise damaging the wood. It's not important for plastic-combed harmonicas.)

3) wiggle the slide in and out several times.

4) Remove the harmonica from the water, tap any remaining moisture out of the holes, and play random blow and draw notes up and down the length of the harmonica, vigorously moving the slide in and out as you play. This helps distribute moisture, and to dispel any moisture that might have gotten into windsavers or other places.

You can repeat this procedure a few times if you don't get an improvement the first time.

If this doesn't help, it's time to get out a screwdriver that matches the slot shape and size of the two screws at either end of the mouthpiece. You still don't have to take the harmonica apart; you're just going to loosen and re-tighten two screws.

1) Loosen both screws one half-turn (180 degrees). Press the slide in and release it. Does it go in freely? Does it spring back freely, sluggishly, or not at all?

2) If it springs back freely, things are in good shape, and it's time to carefully re-tighten the screws. Tighten the left-side screw (the one farthest from the slide button) a half-turn. Does the slide still move freely? Tighten it a little more until the slide no longer moves. Then back off a quarter turn and see whether the slide moves freely. Loosen it in tiny increments until it moves freely. Then, do the same procedure for the screw at the right, near the button.

When both screws are as tight as you can get them while still allowing free slide movement, check the overal air tightness of the mouthpiece by playing the harp and by visual inspection. If the harp feels or looks leaky, maybe you need to clean the whole assembly, either by the fully assembled method above, or by dissasembing and cleaning each part.

3) If the slide moves but it's sluggish, try the dipping procedure for cleaning, then try the procedure in 2) above. If you still can't get it airtight and moving freely, then it's time for nno. 4) below.

4) If the slide does not move freely when you press it it, or grinds, or if it does not spring back after you press it in, then it's time to take apart the slide/mouthpiece assembly.

Unscrew the mouthpiece over a table. One or both screws will have little plastic sleeves 9called bumpers) wrapped around them on the inside of the mouthpiece. Save these along with the screws in a jar lid or other safe place.

Now you will have the following parts:

A. Mouthpiece

B. Slider

C: Slide Cage (one some models) between the mouthpiece ans slider. It's flat with raised sides, sort of like a flattened U-shape (it's also known as the U-channel). It has a pattern of holes in the flat part. The slides may have tabs that lock it in place with the Backing Plate 9see below).

D: Backing Plate (on most models) between the slider and the comb. This is a flat piece of metal with a pattern of holes amd also a slit for the slide spring.

So now you have the mouthpiece assembly apart, what do you do?

First check the slide spring. This is a stiff piece of wire that protrudes from the body of the harmonica at the left side, and fits into a pinhole in the slide, near the button. If these become disengaged, or if the slide spring breaks, then the slider won't spring back when you release the button. If the slide spring seems OK, leave it alone. If the protruding end is not present, the spring is broken and you need to contact the manufacturer or a service company and get a replacement.

Now it's time to clean all the parts. You can use soap, toothpaste, or a gentle metal cleaner such as Maas metal polish. DO NOT USE abrasives such as sandpaper or grinding tools unless you have experience and a very good reason. I generally use hand soap. If you really need to you might use a wire brush or steel wool, but these usually are not needed.

Lay each part flat on a countertop or other flat surface. For the slider, let the button hang over the edge so that the slider can lie flat on the surface without bending or flexing. Scrub each side of each flat surface with the toothbrush, then rinse thoroughly with water and then dry gently with a lint-free cloth.

When you reinstall the slider assembly, lay the backing plate on the comb, and make sure it lines up with the area it's supposed to cover.

Then play the slider on the backing plate. Make sure to thread the slide spring into the pinhole on the slider.

Then lay the slide cage on the slider, making sure to lock tabs into the notches on the backing plate (Herings don't have these tabs, which makes the job a bit more fiddly).

Now thread the screws into the holes in the mouthpiece, and slide the bumpers over the screw shafts. Carefully turn the mouthpiece over so that the screws face down, but don;' let the bumpers fall off.

Insert the left-side screw through the holes in the slide cage, slider (if it extends that far) and backing plate and into the hole in the comb.

Next, you have to thread the right-side screw into its hole. The difficulty here is that the slide spring often pulls the slider partially over the screw hole, so you have to insert the screw (and not lose the bumper) while pressing the slide in gently to get it out of the way. Having the slide cage in place helps keep it from jumping away in an unknown direction.

Once the screws are threaded, give them a few turned to get them engaged. Visually inspect the assembly to make sure that the backing plate isn't out of place - not too high or low or too far to the left or right, that the slide cage tabs are locked into the notches in the backing plate, and that the mouthpiece is centered on the slide cage.

Now, holding the harp so that you exert some finger pressure on the middle of the mouthpiece (around Holes 5,6, 7 on a 12-hole chromatic). tighten both screws. Follow the procedure in 2) above to determine optimal screw pressure while still allowing free slide movement.