Single note mystery

Viewing 10 posts - 1 through 10 (of 10 total)
  • Author
    Posts
  • #9384
    Dean Mermell
    Participant

    Last night I was playing a gig and the G3 on my Hammond 44 started behaving strangely. First, it started playing an F. Then it went down to E. Today it’s silent (no air passing, reed apparently not opening). I opened it up carefully and after careful inspection found nothing out of the ordinary with that reed, exactly like the others. Reassembled hoping I’d dislodged something but the problem remained. Does this resonate with anyone, or do I need to buy a new reed plate (or set of them) and replace it? Thanks.

    #9385
    Melodica-Me
    Participant

    Hello Dean, you have a cracked reed. not visible to the naked eye, but those are the all signs. EBay has them, this is for the 44H if you have the HP the same seller has them.

    Melodica-Me

    https://www.ebay.com/itm/New-Hammond-Pro-44H-Melodica-Replacement-Reed-Plates-MP-252-/152721377966?epid=2255298728&hash=item238ee74aae:g:yNIAAOSwE0JY8k67

    #9386
    Dean Mermell
    Participant

    Thank you!!

    #9389
    Daren
    Keymaster

    alway good to have some spare reed plates (and a screwdriver) handy anyway…

    #9405
    Dean Mermell
    Participant

    So, between the ebay dealer (liberty bellows) and the Japanese company that sells the reeds, it seems the reeds are get-able. However, the difficult part seems to be the gaskets. Having taken the thing apart, it doesn’t seem that those fragile gaskets could stand anything but the most delicate surgery, and Hammond does not list them as a buy-able item. Does anyone have a connection for those, and/or a technique for preserving the old ones already installed?

    #9406
    Alan Brinton
    Participant

    When you take the Hammond apart, the gaskets will not normally be damaged. This is generally true with current models of melodicas. The gasket may be displaced, but then needs simply to be carefully fitted back in place. But if a gasket has in fact been damaged, search the forums here for “gasket” or “gasket material” and you will find quite a few comments by several of us about gasket materials that can be used to create a replacement gasket. You will also find photos and descriptions of laying down new gasket material. I have had a lot of success with gasket tape, such as this type, which is sticky on one side:

    #9407
    Dean Mermell
    Participant

    Wonderful, Alan Brinton, thank you.

    #9410
    Melodica-Me
    Participant

    Dean, you can get the gasket from these guys in Japan. The order is small so they may have a minimum.

    Hope this helps
    Melodica-Me

    westmusic_2@shop.rakuten.co.jp
    Att: Go Kawamoto
    Website
    http:/www.rakuten.co.jp/westmusic/

    #9413
    Dean Mermell
    Participant

    So, to those following: I ordered the reeds for my 44H from westmusic in Japan, and wrote an email asking about the gaskets, which are not included with the reeds. Go Kawamoto kept up excellent correspondence with me, as we realized the webpage had a mistake about the model number, which he corrected. He instructed me to order the reeds and when I’d done that he would add the gaskets to the order. The entire order was under $100, including shipping to San Francisco. It’s considerably less than just getting the reeds from the eBay seller, who doesn’t carry the gaskets. So this seems to be the way to replace the reeds (and gaskets if desired) in a 44H or 44HP, which he also carries. Here are the links:

    HAMMOND SUZUKI:MP253 for PRO44HP
    https://global.rakuten.com/en/store/westmusic/item/suzuki_mp-253/

    HAMMOND SUZUKI:MP252 for PRO44H
    https://global.rakuten.com/en/store/westmusic/item/suzuki_mp-252/

    #9414
    Alan Brinton
    Participant

    Thanks for reporting back on this valuable information, Dean.

Viewing 10 posts - 1 through 10 (of 10 total)
  • You must be logged in to reply to this topic.
Back to top button