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[Bill Z]

Have a 50 year old Chromonica III I'd like to resurrect. Perfect condition, not played since I was a kid. Always in box. Always worked fine.

Virtually all sucking notes won't play, no draw. Blown notes all okay. Clean as a whistle inside. All sucking and blowing reeds look identical and in good condition. Must be something common to all the suck reeds, both on top and underneath.

Anyone seen this before?

[Burning Thunder]

Hold the reed plates up to the light and make sure that the reed is DEAD center in the hole....even amount of light on both sides.

--BT

[Super President]

I would have to seriously doubt that ALL the reeds on the draw are mis-aligned in the reed slot, the windsavers wouldn't allow any light thru to see anyway.  Sounds like the wind savers have dried to the reeds and have stopped them from activating. At fifty years old the harmonica is L  O  N  G overdue for a tune up, maintenance is paramount to keeping a chromatic in playable condition. At fifty the harmonica could contain leather windsavers as that was the material used before mylar. If the wind savers have dried and jammed the slot the reed won't/can't oscillate as no air is reaching it, or the material is blocking it. Without seeing the harmonica it is difficult to correctly diagnose. If you treasure the instrument and feel it is worth reconditioning there are reputable repairers/cutomizers available on the web.

[Burning Thunder]

I would have to seriously doubt that ALL the reeds on the draw are mis-aligned in the reed slot, the windsavers wouldn't allow any light thru to see anyway.  Sounds like the wind savers have dried to the reeds and have stopped them from activating. At fifty years old the harmonica is L  O  N  G overdue for a tune up, maintenance is paramount to keeping a chromatic in playable condition. At fifty the harmonica could contain leather windsavers as that was the material used before mylar. If the wind savers have dried and jammed the slot the reed won't/can't oscillate as no air is reaching it, or the material is blocking it. Without seeing the harmonica it is difficult to correctly diagnose. If you treasure the instrument and feel it is worth reconditioning there are reputable repairers/cutomizers available on the web.

You darn right!

Listen to SP, not BT! lol

--BT