It is amazing how much R&D Böhm must have done to come out with such a great variety of chromatic harmonicas.
I have written at least three more articles about the various chromatics Böhm manufactured.
This Böhm Blue Bird improved blow chromatic with 22 holes is the widest chromatic harmonica I have ever owned. Interestingly enough, on its covers it shows the same DRGM 978090 (Deutsches Reichsgebrauchsmuster -> basically the registration to offer a basic copyright protection for design or function ) as the other Böhm Blue Bird Improved Chromatic. This DRGM was registered in 1922 which should give an indication when the instrument was manufactured.
Even though the instrument is much wider than a standard 4 octave chromatic harmonica it actually has a range of only 3 octaves, starting from f – f3. This is based on the fact that it is a blow only chromatic.
Sharps and flats can be played when pushing the slide.
This is the node order:
Unscrewed mouthpiece showing the wooden comb and channels
When I first saw the comb surface it seemed like the comb was made out of some kind of plastic.
After removing one screw of the mouth piece it was revealed that the comb mostly consists of wood.
The plastic is just a protective coat. It also gives the instrument a distinct mother-of-pearl look.
Chromatic Harmonica History 