Crackle sound

[Hardtop Harry]

Hi. I own a fairly new Hohner 'Toots' Mellow Tone. I am not an experienced CH player but I have a fair amount of experience on saxophones so I understand how to, and do, breath from my diaphragm.

On my second, and sometimes first hole, draw, I get a crackle sound similar to that of having excess saliva in the reed/mouthpiece on the saxophone. (Sorry, but I can't think of anything else to compare it to.)
Yes, it sounds like saliva in the way of the reed but I know this isn't the case.

I firmly believe that 99% of the tone problems on a wind instrument are the fault of the player and not the horn. (Speaking for myself, that is). Having said that has anyone any tips to get past this unmusical sound?

Has anyone else experienced this?

Finally, on the offchance that this falls under my 1% heading, how do I fix the instrument?

Is this a problem that will disappear with breaking in?

Thanks for reading this. At the moment, and for the foreseeable future, I am quite isolated (I am caring for my wife who is bedridden and I don't wish to put her in a home. She is only 55) and this forum may be my only access to information.

Cheers,

Harry

[SlideMeister]

95% chance its just a noisy, sticking valve. Keep playing and see. It may just go away. If not, its a simple fix.

[kvanbael]

Possible a wind saver issue. Eg. The two layers sticking together. (Which can easily be fixed with careful cleaning). To help to diagnose, you can remove the covers and play in front of a mirror.

I would bet it is the 1% after all in this case :-)

[Hardtop Harry]

Thanks for the quick replies. Before I open up my nice Hohner I want some idea of what I'm doing. So, I bought myself a cheap CH to practise on. This one cost only $30 so I won't cry if I irreparably damage it. It is almost impossible to play.
I'll keep you posted. The first course of action I intend to take is A.J. Fedor's advice; keep playing and see if it sorts itself out. I'll give it about a week.
In the meantime I'll be doing practise surgery on my cheapie.

Cheers,

Harry

[SlideMeister]

Sounds like a plan. You really should learn the "mechanics" sooner or later anyway

[hallelujahal]

Valve (windsaver) issue - make sure before you play you warm up the harmonica first - best place is stick the harp under your arm for a couple of minutes. Unlike the saxophone, which I too play, the condensation from your breath is causing the problem in all likelihood. So like I say, warm up harp, then play and see what happens.
AL