nacoran
19 posts
May 22, 2009
11:37 AM
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OK, don't ask me why, but I've made a list of a bunch of brands of harmonicas. When I get bored, I make lists. I couldn't think of anyone else who might be mildly interested aside from other harp players, so I decided I'd post it here. I haven't included any customized harps (feel free to add some.) If you have any experience with some of the more exotic brands, feel free to let me know what you think of them. My first harmonica was a Blessing Tremolo that my grandmother brought back from China for me. I'm probably missing tons of Soviet Bloc brands.
Harmonica Brands
Ace
American Ace
Albert Sys.
Atom
Bee
Blessing
Blue Danube
Blues Bayou
Blues Buddy
Blue Star
Boomerang
Bushman
Butterfly
Canary
College Band
Contest
Doerfel
Excalibur
FB Hotz/FR Hotz?
Feinste Sileck Stimmen
Flying Eagle
Golden Bird
Golden Cup
Guo Guang
Hadson
Hero
Herring
Hohner
Hot House
Huang
Huricaine Harps
The Indian Elephant
Jailhouse Blues
Jambone
Johnson
Kaptain Kool & the Kongs
Kay
Koch
Lee Oskar
Loduca Bros.
Longhorns
Merano
Minyata Eagle
Mississippi Harmonica Co.
M Spranger
Music Master
Nippon Gakki Seizo Kabushiki Kaisha
Olympic
Opera
Orion
Parot
Pee Wee
Pinochio
Popular Delicia
Planetone
Serenata
Seydel
Sonara
Star Band
Suzuki
Swan-Vitory
Swing Band
Suasa
Tatiri
Thorens
Tombo
Toy Star (Star?)
Tower
Turbo
US Blues
Vermona
Violin King
Weiss
Weltmeister
WK Kratt
Yamaha
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jonsparrow
328 posts
May 22, 2009
11:41 AM
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i like hohner.
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Honkin On Bobo
73 posts
May 22, 2009
12:22 PM
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I think I would get a Nippon Gaki Seizo Kabushiki Kaisha just to see the look on someones face when they asked me what kind of harp I played.
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MrVerylongusername
317 posts
May 22, 2009
12:56 PM
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Wow!
2 more for you...
I didn't see Bends in there. A new S.American company (Brazil I think).
You should add harmonix too, they make an electric harmonica in the UK.
(BTW Hering only has 1 'r')
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snakes
237 posts
May 22, 2009
12:58 PM
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Holy cats nacoran! What a list. How many of those brands do you own?
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Preston
369 posts
May 22, 2009
1:42 PM
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Doesn't Adam have a video where he plays a Hoosier Boy?
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tookatooka
231 posts
May 22, 2009
2:05 PM
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Two more for you.
Puretone
The Blues
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When I'm not blowing, I'm drawing.
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nacoran
20 posts
May 22, 2009
2:24 PM
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I only own a few myself. I have a C Blessing Tremolo, a pair of C/C# Huang Tremolo, some Lee Oskars, and a bunch of Hohners.
I don't know how I missed Harmonix. I know I saw their site when I was making the list.
I looked up Hoosier Boy and it seems to be a Hohner. Obviously, some of these brands are pretty small. The pictures I've seen of several of them look like Hohner Piedmonts, complete with the carrying case, only with different color covers. Bee seems to have a complete line, with Tremolo, Chromatics and Diatonics and pretty colors!
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Hollistonharper
90 posts
May 22, 2009
7:58 PM
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Blue Steel, a cheap brand distributed by Bushman. Got one in C.
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harpinonfire
7 posts
Aug 07, 2009
11:06 AM
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Here are two more for your list, I think. The first is Aria (they also make guitars). The second is Stagg. I think they make both diatonic and chromatics, but don't quote me on that. Huge list and then all the models within each. So whose confused about buying a harmonica. Think I'll just simplify and save and get a custom for my next one. Uh-Oh which custom? The never ending question...
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Buzadero
118 posts
Aug 07, 2009
11:55 AM
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I've got a goofy 20 hole (40 hole?) tremelo harp that I got once on an Asian job. The only english words on it are "minor scale" on the top cover and "Dragon Fly Harmonica" on the bottom.
For whatever that's worth......
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~Buzadero
Underwater Janitor, Patriot
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mickil
430 posts
Aug 07, 2009
12:13 PM
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If you have the patience to do that kind of of research, I think you should write a book about the history of harps or something. The rest is just typing. I've thought about doing it, but it's a helluva job: the research, not the typing.
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'If it sounds GOOD to you, it's bitchen; if it sounds BAD to YOU, it's shitty' - Frank Zappa
http://www.youtube.com/user/SlimHarpMick
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snakes
320 posts
Aug 07, 2009
12:24 PM
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The book has already been written. It is called Harmonicas, Harps, and Heavy Breathers and was written by Kim Field of Seattle.
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nacoran
147 posts
Aug 07, 2009
1:02 PM
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I'll check it against my updated list! Added. And here is the updated list with a bunch more names...
Harmonica Brands
Information Sources:
http://www.musicaviva.com
http://www.harp-l.com/pipermail/harp-l/2007-February/msg00916.html
Ebay
Ace
American Ace
Albert Sys.
Atom
Bandmaster
Bee*
Bell Brand
Bends
Blessing*
Blue Danube
Blues Bayou
Blues Buddy
Blue Star
Bohm (F.A. Bohm)
Boomerang
Brunnbauer (Ph. Brunnbauer)
Bushman (Buckeye Trading)
Butterfly
Canary
Carmento
Clover
Chase
ChengGong
Chordet
Cid
College Band
Contest
Doerfel (Dorfel?)
Dompfaff
Down Souther
Dulcet
Duretta
Dragon Fly Harmonica
Emmet
Empress
Ergo
Essenbach (Carl Essbach)
Estrella
Excalibur
Excelsior
Feinste Sileck Stimmen
Fischer (Joseph Fischer)
Flying Eagle
Friedel (Emil Friedel)
Glass (Franz Glass)
Golden Bird
Golden Butterfly
Golden Cup (Leo Shi)*
Gretsch
Guo Guang
Hadson
Hardwood Harmonicas
Harmonic Reed
haRmonic Solutions
Harmonix*
Hero
Hering
Hess#
Hilaria
Hohner
Hot House
Hotz (F.R. Hotz)
Huang
Huricaine Harps
H.S.G.
The Indian Elephant
Jailhouse Blues
Jambone*
Johnson
Kaptain Kool & the Kongs
Kalbe
Kay
Klingenthal
Koch (Ands. Koch)
Koch (Wilhelm Koch)
Koch-Harmonica Werke
Koestler
Kratt (WK Kratt)
Kruse
Langhamer
Lark
LaVoie Harmonicas
Loduca Bros.
Lombardi
Longhorns
Ludwig (Gebr. Ludwig)
Magnus
Martinelli
Merano
Messner (Christian Messner & Co.) (Ch. Messner)
Minyata Eagle
Mississippi Harmonica Co.
Miwha
Miyata Brand
Mondial
Monzino
Music Master
Musima*
My Chum
Nippon Gakki Seizo Kabushiki Kaisha
Olympic
Opera
Orion
Oskar (Lee Oskar)*
Parot
Pee Wee
Phonix
Pinochio
Pohl (Peter Pohl) (P. Pohl)
Popular Delicia
Planetone (Tribal Planet)
Puretone
Radiotone
Rauner (F.A. Rauner)
Rennesance
Rheinperle
Richter (Anton Richter)
Richter (Joseph Richter)
Robert Dolling
Romel (William C. Romel)
Rolz (Hans Rolz Co.)
Sanita
Saxonia
Schlossmeinel
Schlott (A.S. Schlott)
Schunk (Johann Schunk)
Schylling
Serenata
Seydel (C.A. Seydel Söhne)*
Skylark*
Sonara
Spranger (M Spranger)
Star Band
Strauss
Suasa
Suzuki*
Swan-Victory*
Swaine & Adeney
Sweet Music
Swing Band
Tatiri
The Blues
Thorens
Tombo*
Torahachi Machino
Toy Star (Star?)
Tower
Turbo*
US Blues
Vermona
Vinetta
Violin King
Weiss (Ch. Weiss)
Weltmeister*
Weydlich (Carl Weydlich)
Wurtt (Württ. Harmonikafabrik)
Yamaha#
#Fairly Contemporary
*Still Made
Bold Major Brand
Still Need to be Alphabetized and Checked for Duplicates:
A.A. Schlott Dompfaff
Brunnbaur and Sohn
Carl Essbach Weidersehn
Unsere Lieblinge
Thomas Rosenkavalier
Thomas Zigeunerbaran
William (Anton)Thie / Friedrich Wilhelm Thie
Carl (A.) Essbach
Matth. Hohner A.G.
Royal (Emmet) (Richter)
T. Meinhold
C.H. Meinel (Meinel)
Edmund Paulus
P.H. Brunbrauer
Carl Essbach
Richter (Meinel & Herold)
Meinel & Herold
Blue Bird (Bohm?)
Johannes Adler
Borrah Minnevitch
C.H. Messner (Ch. Messner)
Tomba* typo?
Migma?*
Kostler*
Wm. Kratt (U.S. made)
Kain Z.
Valencia (Kostler Co.)
Carl Pitsch
Cupid Brand Hockey
Mississippi Harmonica by Regal
BBB
ELA
Gebr. Meinel, Klingenthal
VEB Klingenthaler Harmonikawerke
Gebr. Gündel, Klingenthal
Aria
Stagg
Hoosier Boy
Notes:
I've tried to eliminate names that are just models for a bigger company, but I haven't been able to vet them all. If you see one that looks like a Hohner model, well, it may be now. Hohner bought out a lot of their competitors and kept them as model names. A lot of brands that got stuck on the wrong side of the iron curtain got consolidated too. I've alphabetized by last name, even if the brand is known as, say, Lee Oskar.
Last Edited by on Aug 07, 2009 1:21 PM
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LIP RIPPER
111 posts
Aug 07, 2009
1:18 PM
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Thank you Preston for mentioning the "Hoosier Boy".
Hey, I'm from Indiana what the heck?
I did just realize that the Bushman harps are from Brown county Indiana. The town of Nashville is a little village of artists, pottery makers etc. A bunch of old hippies for the most part. Nothin against old hippies.
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