Restoring a WWII German Trophy ECHO Harmonica

Restoring a WWII German Trophy ECHO Harmonica
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[@tanmayshekhawat]

This was so satisfying to watch! Thank you!

[@mybuildz6989]

thank you for watching!

[@gargyi]

What a great tracklist, and great job also

[@mybuildz6989]

thanks!

[@TheGodsrighthandman]

Very nice. It is, as mentioned below, an Echo harmonica in 2 keys, C & G. Note the small red circular sticker on the box. It's an interesting group, and probably from 2 different dates. The Harmonica itself is for the German domestic market, as all script on it is in German, and it could date anywhen up to the moment your Pa picked it up. The box, however, is an EXPORT market box. It's in English and quite clearly states 'Made in Germany' on it. The supplied harmonica would also have had English script. The 'Made in Germany' was usually a UK requirement, but may also have been for the American market (I ain't certain on that though), and very definitely dates the box pre-War. As far as I can tell, Britain stopped trading with Hitler's Germany shortly after March 15th 1939, when Germany annexed Czechoslovakia.

[@TremoloHarmonica]

That is a double sided Echo Harp. It is two harmonicas in one. Usually the harmonicas are a musical 5th apart which means you can flip it over to get extra chords related to the other side. It is a tremolo harp, which means there are two rows of notes that are tuned slightly apart. As the notes go in and out of sync it makes a wavering tone like an accordion. It is better to only take the reed plates off one side at a time. The old wood comb can fall apart otherwise. The reed plates being nailed in place actually help hold the wood together. The wood is usually maple on these. Here is a new old Echo Harp m.kzbin.info/www/bejne/o3PIZYyghN58rbc

[@mybuildz6989]

Thanks for the insight on this instrument, very interesting video. Since and had no way to re-adjust it and re-tune it (if needed to be), I did mark each plate before taking it apart, and put it back in the same order. I'm sure it still needs to tuned, but luckily no one around me knows how to play it, so it remains to be a decor piece, valuing it more for it's history rather than its musical abilities :)

[@TremoloHarmonica]

@@mybuildz6989 People do collect and display these oldies. If someone wants to play a tremolo harp they usually buy a new one. Nice job on the restoration. Collectors like it when a harp has the original box or case, so yours is even nicer because of that.

[@MGLcantero]

Good ~~👍

[@Crumbcat4life]

That is a double echo harp made by the harmonica company Hohner im not sure if that type stopped producing

[@miguelangelcolon1345]

Hi, read the whole commet of Rex G and watch his video.

[@JP-lf5tp]

So I have a harmonica where the wood is snapped in the same place, what wood did you use and does it have to be the same as the original. I’m gonna play mine since it’s easy to take with me, I bought it on eBay in bad condition because I want to try a wood one and it was cheap, I’ll get it tuned but I’m wondering if I should clean it up first or let a professional clean it. It’s also a double sided M. Hohner but a different model. It’s a pretty fun instrument if you ever get the urge to play even if you don’t want to play a piece of history

[@leosztlak]

what is the white paste you add at 4:35

[@mybuildz6989]

it's about 1/3 flour, 1/3 salt and 1/3 white vinegar. a couple of hours should do the trick

[@kl0an]

Great video except for you might want to turn off the music and talk about what you're doing, what you're using chemical wide, that kind of thing. It's amazing someone could build an instrument of that precision over 75 years ago and most of it cleans right up with a little elbow great and your favorite rust remover.

[@mybuildz6989]

thanks for the feedback. i have a couple of vids with voiceover, and some with tracks - trying to see which viewers like more

[@GeoffsPhilsInfo]

Nice video, but what substances did you use for cleaning the brass plates, and what was that substance you used for coating the wooden combs? Also I'm allergic to nickel so I'd have to get my old echo re-chromed

[@mybuildz6989]

i believe i used 1/3 vinegar, 1/3 salt and 1/3 flour (to make it pasty). vinegar, in general, is a very good cleaning acid, works well on all kinds of metals. but i would suggest looking up videos specifically targeting brass cleaning techniques. i used bees wax and mineral oil mix (melt), which is one of the best coatings for wood, furniture and what have you, especially when in contact with moisture. as for nickel, you can easily "de-nickelize" metal by electroplating, reversing polarities, thus moving nickel away from the desired object to the nickel rod. good luck!

[@GeoffsPhilsInfo]

@@mybuildz6989 thank you, I'll try that when I strip my old Echo, a bit more difficult as the cover plates are attached to the wood at each end by two pins or tacks.

[@henriqueluisoliveirarodrig7277]

Relíquia tem que ser especial gaitistas que ama as gaita

[@meherbaba-godman7483]

💕💕❤❤💘💘

[@AsadAli-jc5tg]

What you did to the reeds and reed plates, I believe it's unplayable now. You should've cleaned them the way you cleaned cover plates by unnailing the reeds from reed plates.

[@mybuildz6989]

thanks for the tip. it's my first time restoring a harmonica, however i assure you that it's much more playable now than it used to be. of course, as it was all rusty inside. of course, it may need to be tuned by a professional, but since it's more of a showpiece on the shelf rather than a "usable" playing instrument, i'll let my kids do the rest, if they decide to actually play it :)

[@boblambert8985]

That's not true at all! Careful cleaning (as was shown in the video) is absolutely fine. Removal and replacement of reeds should be left to professional harmonica tuners and repairers, because it's a specialist skill.

[@mybuildz6989]

@@boblambert8985 Absolutely agree. And it definitely needs tuning, but not because of the restoration (or lack of the skill), but because it's a hundred-year-old piece, and for the past 60 years of it my grandfather had in his possession (plus my 20), it's never been played or tuned for sure.