I only have limited experience but so far I really like Suzuki harmonicas. The Bluesmaster and Harpmaster are comfortable to hold, comfortable to play and responsive. They have a brighter sound than the Hohners I've tried (at least to my ears) but aren't shrill.
As for Hohners, I quite like the Pro Harp. Its black cover plates look cool too. You could also try a different key in the Special 20 if you like it.
Sp20 is a good work horse harp. I used them for years.
Marine band has a big following. But personally I prefer a harp with replacement reed plates available. I had to face the fact that I was going to blow out reeds here and there even after much work on eliminating bad playing habits.
Lee Oskar was the first to offer this feature. I found his harps a bit shrill though. Hohner has or had the MS series. Suzuki has several models you can buy reed plates for, among them is the Manji, which I like a whole lot.
For me personally, I was either going to keep buying new harps all the time, or I was going to go higher quality/cost and just replace reed plates.
The really cool thin g about this era in the harmonica world is, you have so many options! ---------- http://www.reverbnation.com/jawboneandjolene
Sp 20's are good harps. Stick with them for a while and explore other keys. This will keep things from getting complicated. A,D,F will give you a lot of options, music wise. Good Luck with your playing...BN
I work for Suzuki as their repair guy, so I am biased. But if you looked into my harp gig box, you would see more SP20s than anything else--it's what I played before I got this job, and I still like them! So now that I rooted for the other side, it's time for the other shoe. Hohner harps have a 60 day warranty, Suzukis are one year, and include reed failure. If that little SP20 in C is your first harp, you might benefit from getting a Bluesmaster or Harpmaster in A--similar build to a SP20. Use that as your practice harp, and see if you can wear it out within a year! Edit: I think the Bluesmaster is marginally less expensive than the SP20.
Last Edited by Gnarly on Apr 15, 2015 8:51 AM
I think it's important to try other models and brands just to find out what's out there. At the end of your trip you may find you like Sp20s best, or maybe MBs, Golden Melodies, Pro-Harps, Crossovers, or Seydel Blues Sessions, Blues Favorites, 1847s, or Lee Oskars, or something by Suzuki. But each time you try something different you'll get a better idea of what you like.
Personally, all things equal, I like a harp with a slightly closed back (most people prefer open I think), full length covers, recessed reedplates (unless they are custom, where the plates have been sanded not to be jagged), fully sealed combs or plastic, and a mix of ET and Compromise Temperament harps in my bag. I haven't tried a Suzuki yet, but for value I like the Sp20s and Lee Oskars. For just great quality, I like Seydels.
Most of those things are subjective though, and, in my opinion, the best way to figure out what you like is to try different options.
Manji is not a bad choice, but the Bluesmaster resembles the SP20. I actually like the Hammond Promaster even more, but it's not cheap. I think A is a good choice for key, seems to be popular!
I feel pretty strongly that a new player should not experiment with all the brands out there, especially if s/he already is using a Special 20, which is a world-class harp used by many world-class players.
The question should be which is the next key, and the answer to that for a blues harper surely is A.
Michelle
---------- SilverWingLeather.com email: mlefree@silverwingleather.com
Last Edited by mlefree on Apr 18, 2015 9:51 AM
Interesting recommendation Michelle. I would expect the general wisdom to promote an A harp as the next, but perhaps that is what you meant, for playing in E. I do tend to agree with the advice that sp20 is just dandy. But that's a mindset which has taken me a long time to achieve. I tried to deny it for at least a decade, but they are the most popular model for solid reasons. No one will go wrong with A as their second or even first harp. But a Bb will get a player in tune with a lot of Gussow YouTube lessons. And some songs with cool horn parts.
One more thought- Eventually a lot of harp players get to the point where they are asking themselves- 'Well, how do I get my own band?' One of the best ways is to sing as well as play harp. Some people swear they can't sing, but if you aren't tone deaf you can, with work, get something musical out of just about every voice, but for some of us it takes more work, and the sooner you work on that, the sooner you will get there. Towards that end, find out what your vocal range is and find some songs in a key you can sing in to practice to. I've got a pretty good vocal range (not great quality, but good range!), but for me, singing along with a Bb harp happens to be ideal. It gives me the perfect balance of being able to go up or go down without straining. (I can pick a couple keys, major or minor based on that). Find your vocal range and pick a harp that fits with it. Here is a handy video that will help you find your range in just a couple minutes.
When I first started playing I went through a crazy harp buying spree where I figured I had to find the best out of the box harp to help me improve. I don't regret it and I have a lot of harps now, but what I ended up finding out after trying many harps is that most descent harps are pretty good, but not always great right out of the box.
There is value in trying other harps, but don't put too much faith in other people's opinions and don't necessarily judge a brand/model by one harp. The chances of having an absolutely terrible harp are small and at the beginning of your harp playing journey the chances are pretty good that it is technique lacking versus the instrument (assuming your using a descent harp vs a real cheapy).
Mass produced harps will always have a lemon in there from time to time.
After awhile of playing and once your determine what you like about certain harps I recommend learning how to do basic harp maintenance so that you can fix a lemon; since getting one is kind of inevitable (unless your going to pay someone to set them up for you).
I started with special 20's and then tried to avoid them for some reason (I think because so many people played them - as weird as that sounds), but eventually I ended up right back at the special 20. My go to harp after my buying is a well set up special 20. Now I will admit that I prefer a well set up marine band, but the work for me to get a marine band set up well is much more time consuming that getting a special 20 set up well; so I take the very small compromise and play the special 20 because my time is better spent practicing then working on harps at this point.
Have fun trying and good luck! We play a cool instrument that allows us to try many different models. I also play guitar and it would be very difficult for me to have as many guitars as I do harps; or to carry a guitar with me all the time!
Rack players like the Special 20 because it is long front to back. There is thus room for the rack bar and a deep embouchure on the harp and it doesn't slip around. Golden Melody is also long front to back, but in my experience doesn't sit securely.
My advice would be to try a premium harmonica, if you can afford it. The SP20, Lee Oskar, Bluesmaster are in one price range. The next price range up gets you the Premium models include the Seydel 1847, the Suzuki Manji and the Hohner Crossover. The extra money for these premium instruments is well spent. They are just easier to play than their cheaper counterparts. Maybe start with a Hohner Crossover, based on the classic Marine Band. ---------- Tony Eyers Australia www.HarmonicaAcademy.com everyone plays...
I play for about 6 years and i bought a pretty large range of harps but i always come back, eventually, to my Special 20s. Just get yourself Custom combs and your will upgrade your harps significantly.
Like several have said, I keep coming back to Sp20s. I've tried some of the others but just don't see what the fuss is about. For example, I've a half-valved Seydel 1847 built for me by PT himself. I find it far more difficult to play than my half-valved Suzuki Promasters. People say that the stainless steel reeds last longer. Maybe. I've ~never~ blown a Suzuki reed and only few on my Sp20s after a dozen years of hard play. Most of my 20s are ones that still have their original zinc plated cover plates. My main use for the 1847 is as a model for my leather harmonica cases.
Of course everyone's MMV, but that is the way I see it.
Unless you are unhappy with the SP20 for some reason, there is no need to change. It is a fine instrument. Probably you will want to buy a few more keys, and build a set of SP20s - the most commonly used keys are typically G, A, Bb, C, and D.
If at some point, you want a better harp that still has a lot of similarities to the SP20, then I recommend the Crossover.
Depending on your budget, when you are first building out your harp set may be the only chance you get to try so many options. You'll eventually have to try different keys, and to me, since you've got to buy something anyway, it's seems like a good time to experiment. Say, somewhere down the line, by the time you've gotten through your second set of harps- if you bought a variety of harps for your first set, and then picked the one you liked for your second set- now you've got a set of harps you know you like. If you stick with one harp (even one as good as the Sp20) you won't learn about what other options you have. It's more of a picking maximization strategy in my mind than something specific to harmonica. Of course, it's based on a specific set of goals, which is willing to trade a little focus for saving some money while still seeing what's out there. If saving money wasn't an objective, I'd buy one harp of every model in a specific key (or keys) and compare them. One of the great things about the forum is that we have a very diverse crowd.
All that said, I really do think the Sp20 and the Lee Oskar are the best mix of price and cost. The difference between a $5 Blues Band and a $40 Sp20, quality wise, seems to me like more than the 8-1 price difference suggests, but the 3-2 price ratio of say a Crossover, doesn't deliver as much improvement for the extra $20.
(Of course, if you play one model eventually when you have a drawer of used up harps you'll have an easier time finding replacement parts, so that's a consideration too...)
Try a suzuki... They are genuinely very good harps. Nice tone, great reeds, very responsive and they feel nice in the hand. Plus if you are wanting to go 'up' from a sp20 then they have a pretty impressive lineup of top shelf harps.
Suzuki harpmaster is about same price as sp20.....they have small open side vent and more open in back.....but sp20s are as good....its your $$$you decide
