Matzen
124 posts
Mar 31, 2011
5:40 PM
|
Lately I've been looking to try and find my new favorite harp. I've tried a few, but always seem to come back to the Special 20! I have yet to try a Manji or a crossover. Does anyone have any suggestions for a Special 20 lover?
Thanks!
I should add that I am pretty much a full time T-blocker, even when bending (if that matters at all!).
----------
Last Edited by on Mar 31, 2011 5:41 PM
|
ReedSqueal
112 posts
Mar 31, 2011
5:43 PM
|
Yes - Stay with the Special 20's! :-)
----------
Go ahead and play the blues if it'll make you happy.
-Dan Castellaneta
|
Matzen
125 posts
Mar 31, 2011
6:29 PM
|
I was thinking that! But since my b-day is in two days and people have been asking me what I'd like, I thought I'd try something new like a Manji, a Crossover or something else!
Maybe I'll ask for a tool kit, and mess up a few of my harps!
----------
Last Edited by on Mar 31, 2011 6:35 PM
|
Swezey8
67 posts
Mar 31, 2011
6:35 PM
|
Try out a new comb on one and see what you think. harpcombs.com has bamboo, dymonwood, and a few natural woods to try out. Chris Reynolds has acrylic, woods, dymondwood, and fantasy marble. It will give you a different feel as the harp will become a sandwich style setup opposed to the recessed reeds of a stock Sp20. For the most part will be less than a new harp and if you like it you don't need to change over to new harps! I'm a Sp20 fan but have begun swapping out combs on most of my gigging harps that I setup myself.
I really like the bamboo combs on SP20, and it will compromise spending 60 bucks on a crossover with 25 on a new bamboo comb....just my two cents
|
Matzen
126 posts
Mar 31, 2011
6:47 PM
|
@Swezey8: What makes you like the bamboo more than the ABS?
----------
|
Icemaster
27 posts
Mar 31, 2011
6:52 PM
|
A Special 20 was the first harp I liked. Then I got some Crossovers and I liked them even more. My favorite harp is a Suzuki Hammond in D. And I have been playing Golden Melodies with custom combs lately and loving em. This is turning into a ramble. Get a Crossover, you'll like it.
----------
"A harmonica is not just a souped up kazoo" -Mo Rocca
|
eharp
1256 posts
Mar 31, 2011
8:28 PM
|
unless you have enough money to buy a complete set of harps, why would you want to try a different harp than the one you keep coming back to?
keep on this course and i guarantee you will find a new "favorite", have to buy a whole set of them, go back to the sp20 and then end up repeating the whole cycle again.
|
Kyzer Sosa
961 posts
Mar 31, 2011
8:53 PM
|
I started on 20's also. I tried one of each of every harp i could get my hands on. still a few i havent played but i settled on seydels. to each his own
----------
Kyzer's Travels
Kyzer's Artwork
"Music in the soul can be heard by the universe." - Lao Tzu
|
HarpNinja
1280 posts
Mar 31, 2011
9:00 PM
|
I don't like non-SP20 combs with SP20's as the coverplates never sit flush without a workout in bending them.
If you are going to go that route, do a MB with SP20 covers.
----------
Mike
Quicksilver Custom Harmonicas
Updated 3/23/11
|
Joe_L
1175 posts
Mar 31, 2011
9:04 PM
|
Maybe you should ask for the gift of music in the form of CD's. Special 20's are good harmonicas, so why not find some new music to play on them.
----------
The Blues Photo Gallery
|
Matzen
130 posts
Mar 31, 2011
9:25 PM
|
@Joe_L: That's not a bad idea... It just got me thinking that Rick Estrin is coming to Chicago in April, maybe I could ask for some tix!
----------
|
Joe_L
1176 posts
Mar 31, 2011
10:01 PM
|
That's a great idea! If you're in Chicago, go see Billy Branch. He puts on a harp clinic every time out.
----------
The Blues Photo Gallery
Last Edited by on Mar 31, 2011 10:04 PM
|
tbirdflier
23 posts
Mar 31, 2011
10:40 PM
|
Matzen,
Happy Birthday for starters, I too am a Special 20 fan, and I recently bought several Suzuki Bluesmaster's just to see how they play.
Nice substitute for a SP20 but they a a little longer so they take a little getting use to vs. the smaller SP20's. Nice tone, bend easily and seem to be very durable. Slightly more expensive than a SP20, but I think worth the few extra bucks.
Try one out, I think you'll be pleasantly surprised.
|
groyster1
968 posts
Mar 31, 2011
10:53 PM
|
I am a devout special 20 player have far more of them than any other harp manjis are 10 or 12 dollars more but worth it I dont think crossovers are worth the price of 2 sp20s btw there are customizers in this forum that can supercharge your sp20s
Last Edited by on Apr 01, 2011 10:56 PM
|
Ant138
867 posts
Mar 31, 2011
11:24 PM
|
Try a Seydel Solist Pro, you wont regret it:o)
----------
http://www.youtube.com/user/fiendant?feature=mhum
|
Matzen
132 posts
Mar 31, 2011
11:27 PM
|
Does anyone know if Seydel & Suzuki are distributed through Midco at all, or does a store have to be a dealer? I have a Harris Teller catalog, and they only do Hohner & Lee Oscar.
*Midco & Harris Teller are catalogs that every music store has and are able to order out of.
----------
Last Edited by on Mar 31, 2011 11:38 PM
|
hvyj
1346 posts
Mar 31, 2011
11:29 PM
|
Suzuki Hammond.
|
eharp
1257 posts
Apr 01, 2011
5:28 AM
|
groyster has a great idea- send one of you sp20 to chromaticblues for a hotrodding of it.
|
groyster1
971 posts
Apr 01, 2011
9:15 AM
|
roger that eharp MP does good work too and also harvey harp
|
chromaticblues
740 posts
Apr 01, 2011
9:24 AM
|
@Matzen I played SP 20's for 10 years and am very familiar with them. I would suggest have one customized with a wood comb just to get an idea of what is possible. I think you will be very pleased with staying with SP 20's. You can Email me just click on my user name for info and I'd be glad to go over the different options.
|
MP
1564 posts
Apr 01, 2011
11:19 AM
|
thanks groyster! this sounds like a job for chromaticblues. i love his SP/20 upgrades. i don't give compliments easily.
----------
MP
doctor of semiotics and reed replacement.
"making the world a better place, one harmonica at a time"
|
Matzen
133 posts
Apr 01, 2011
12:55 PM
|
@chromaticblues: Thanks for the offer. I'll think it over. I don't know if I'd dig a wood comb on a 20, but maybe one that's set up nice? Do you have a pic of one of your wood comb 20's?
I was looking into new higher end harps 'cuz I have some friends that own music shops, so they could hook me up with a gift and they'd only pay cost.
----------
Last Edited by on Apr 01, 2011 1:09 PM
|
snakes
637 posts
Apr 01, 2011
2:49 PM
|
I play Fire Breath's, but would recommend you try a Manji as a cheaper alternative. I think the Manji is tuned differently as well. If you got a couple extra dollars get a Fire Breath.
----------
snakes in Seattle
|
tookatooka
2264 posts
Apr 01, 2011
3:19 PM
|
Opened up Delta Frost cover plates look and sound good on a Sp20. Only slight adjustment required to the fixing holes on the cover plates.
----------
|
didjcripey
58 posts
Apr 01, 2011
5:59 PM
|
To me the combs,finish, volume, tone and playability of the manjis are the best, and buying them directly from Japan they are no more expensive than average harps.
----------
Lucky Lester
|
groyster1
973 posts
Apr 01, 2011
10:59 PM
|
@didjcripey
I agree that manjis are not expensive you get a great harp for your money
|
Arnoud73
86 posts
Apr 02, 2011
12:17 AM
|
Same as Harpninja:
I upgraded my C D and A Special 20 by replacing the covers with old Marineband classic covers !
I also opened up the mb covers, the sound is more bright now, and they look cool.
I also embossed them, and now they are my super Special 20's !!
Something else:
There is a new harp from Seydel, it's the 'Seydel Session steelreeds'
It looks a lot like the sp20....
Check out the Seydel website if you like.
----------
www.sweetportblues.com
http://www.myspace.com/arnoudbluesharp
|
Kingley
1479 posts
Apr 02, 2011
12:28 AM
|
Matzen - My money would go on the Hohner Crossover. It's a superb out of the box harp and of course has that famous Hohner Marine Band tone.
|
Arnoud73
87 posts
Apr 02, 2011
1:32 AM
|
Another thing....I would say: be happy that the Special 20 is your favorite harp, they cost less then half of a Crossharp or a Manji !!!
----------
www.sweetportblues.com
http://www.myspace.com/arnoudbluesharp
|
chromaticblues
747 posts
Apr 02, 2011
12:55 PM
|
@matzen No I don't have a camera that takes good enough pics for you to see how nice they are. What I do is set it up with the coverplates set back a little for SP 20 players. I sand the edge smooth on both plates. The comb and reedplates are flush. I put Marine Band coverplates on the harps lower than Db and Db and above with SP covers.
There isn't a stock harmonica made that comes close to the modified SP 20's I make.
|
clyde
118 posts
Apr 02, 2011
4:06 PM
|
you might try turbo lids for the sp20. i only have a couple but when i put turbo lids on them, i feel like it made a difference.
|
Joe_L
1182 posts
Apr 02, 2011
4:20 PM
|
I guess your saying adios to the Rick Estrin show.
----------
The Blues Photo Gallery
|
Matzen
137 posts
Apr 02, 2011
8:31 PM
|
@Joe_L: No, I think I'll be going. It's next Saturday. My girlfriend is taking me (she found his instructional video to be funny, and would like to check him out)!
----------
|
colman
41 posts
Apr 03, 2011
5:03 AM
|
just remember,just about ALL that great harp playing
from chicago and below was on marine bands...
so if you are playing the blues it`s not the machine it the man...
i remember when the MB were $3.50, WOW!!!
Last Edited by on Apr 03, 2011 6:59 AM
|
jimjam
16 posts
Apr 03, 2011
3:10 PM
|
I just got a Seydel Soloist Pro and the 6 draw squeals like a pig right out of the box. Now I need to figure out how to fix it.
|
MP
1571 posts
Apr 03, 2011
6:17 PM
|
colman, my first MB cost 3.64 after 4% tax. this was in hawaii where everything is marked up too.
----------
MP
doctor of semiotics and reed replacement.
"making the world a better place, one harmonica at a time"
|
