Melodica Soprano

As the title says, not really a mouthorgan, but has the same reedplate and is played by air from the mouth, although fed from one source and allowed over the individual reeds by a series of valves operated by keys.Well constructed and better quality than a lot of Hohners harps of the period. Disassembly is more difficult than a harmonica, as the reedplate is sealed by nails, screws and glue!. Care has to be taken in lifting the reedplate from the wooden body as it is glued to the plastic mouthpiece.

The lower tray is sealed with a paper gasket to the body with 14 screws. After this is removed the reedplate has a further 15 nails and 4 screws holding it sealed to the wood body.After these are removed the reedplate has to be carefully prised from the mouthpiece where it is glued. On reassembly, I removed all the glue and used a piece of thin double sided padded tape to seal the reedplate to the mouthpiece. Top right can be seen the plate after cleaning. Any deteriorated valve seals can be made from bicycle tyre patches, punched out with a round punch of the correct size, glued onto the tappets.The lower tray contains a "spit-trap", which has a release valve to blow out any liquid condensation accumulation. This should be thoroughly cleaned, and the sponges renewed as needed. This "spit-trap" valve also acts a a "soft-pedal", allowing air to be bypassed, giving a softer note. All in all, an interesting evenings work. Another for the collection and a bit more knowledge gained.