Ive just taken delivery of a Suzuki Harpmaster and a Hohner Blues Harp.
My feelings so far...
The Suzuki is a very nice piece of work, and feels absolutely "spot-on" to me.
They obviously have made this with a lot of attention to detail. It also sounds really good too, with a better tone than an SP20. It is similar in design in as far as it has the bigger holes on a plastic comb, but that is where the similarity ends, because whereas I find the SP20 uncontrolable, the Suzuki is a breeze to play.
If your a technical perfectionist about your playing, and are looking for the harp that is going to do everything that is asked of it, then look no further.
Undoubtedly the best harp that I have tried in terms of "ability", and I would recommend that all died-in-the-wool SP20 players give one a go.
However...
...that does not necessarily mean that the Suzuki Harpmaster has that indefinable "soul" which wooden combed Hohners have.
Which brings me to the Blues Harp.
When I first played it straight away after the Suzuki I thought...
"I'm going to expire here trying to get my breath back..."
It felt SO leaky and un-airtight (if there is such a term).
However, after a while I really started to warm to this harp a great deal to the point where it is now one of my favourites.
I understand that a lot of people have a "downer" on the Blues Harp, but if its good enough for Steve Tyler (he plays one on the intro to Aerosmiths "Pink"...see the video on You Tube), then its good enough for me.
However, they need work before they can be played in anger.
The first thing I did with it was to file down the edges and the corners on the comb, which like the Marine band (but UNLIKE the Big River?!?!?...why?) were razor sharp.
Once this was done, I played it HARD, for a good hour or so, and once it started to loosen up, it really sang, and I begun to like it a lot.
It just has that same "Woody-Hohner" tone that none of the plastic combed, or Asian harps, can seem to replicate.
It sounds like a "PROPER" harmonica.
A "REAL" harmonica.
The kind that I heard as a kid a thousand times from my old man kicking up a storm as some last minute get-together or party.
It just has that genuine, old-time, harmonica tone, which I just can't get enough of when it sounds right, and which the plastic combed harps try to copy, but cannot do right.
Ive just ordered a Tombo Folk Blues, a Suzuki Bluesmaster, and a "Sonnyboyblues" Pro special, so will get back with my feelings about all of these later.
I am particularly interested to try the last of these as it is a CHINESE-made harp, but apparently has been made to a British harp importer specialist companies specifications, and it has received very good reviews.
There is a review of these "Sonnyboy" Pro harps on You Tube by Ben Hewlitt, a British harp player of some repute, and he really thinks they are good.
So for price of a Big River I thought I would try one of them out.
I suspect that it is made by Swan or Huang, but made to higher specification.
Last month I spent $125 on SP 20's to round out the rest of my initial 7 keys. I just bought a Seydel Blues session for the car, which I like. I also have a Seydel Soloist Pro (optimized) on order. I want another key for the car also but don't really have the money (well I shouldn't spend it, really) but now my finger is itching to hit up Rockin' Ron's once again. An order today will have a Bb Harpmaster in my car by Monday.
No no no....can't do it. next month Tommy....next month.
I'm having trouble finding any info about the "Sonnyboyblues" harp. I'm gonna guess it's made by Huang. They seem to be the only company that doesn't have a website of their own. ---------- Hawkeye Kane
Hohner claims that the blue plastic they use on the Blue Midnight brightens the tone a bit. Is this just marketing bull$h!+ on their part then? Or are you just meaning between wood, plastic, and metal?
---------- Hawkeye Kane
Last Edited by on Aug 26, 2011 1:36 PM
Ha Ha!..thats the problem with harps!...you can never have too many.
I pay for mine by selling off stuff on ebay.
I could never afford to do this with just a monthly paycheck.
Antique bits and pieces which I buy at junk sales for next to nothing and then someone somewhere in the world will be a "collector" of whatever, and then I use this money to buy more harps.
Most are in the £20-£30 ($30-$40) range, though I'm thinking about pushing the boat out and trying one of the even more expensive models if I have a good sale on evil-bay.
A Manji or a Crossharp perhaps something like that?
All recommendations enthusiastically listened to!
When I started buying all these harps, my intention was too build up a set so that each key was a different make, or model, and then when I got to the "end" get rid of the ones that didn't flick my switch and spend the money on getting a set of the one I DID like (if that makes sense?!?).
But...
Ive ended up liking them all!
I'm even warming to the SP20 in a weird kind of way.
The mouth-cutters (MB and BH) were filed down and smoothed and that only took 10 minutes. Now they are great instruments and feel really "real" like the great amount of effort involved in getting a sound out of them is worth every huff and puff.
I really like the Big River. A humble offering, but really very good all the same I think. Build a set of these and you can't go far wrong. They are comfortable to play, airtight, and feel solid and reassuring in the hand, with a good mid-range tone.
The Hohner 150th Anniversary model I have is a collectable, but despite this I still use it all the time, and it sounds and plays great with that clear acrylic comb.
The Lee Oskar A natural Minor is weird, and definitely NOT a blues harp (despite what rhe blurb says), but it IS good for English folk/Morris tunes in a minor key.
The the Special 20 I hated at first, but perseverance, and appreciation of the larger hole brought about by the wonderful Suzuki Harpmaster caused me to go back and give it another try, and I'm glad I did, as I am slowly working out how to play this harp correctly.
The Marine Band I have was given to me by my daughter for a birthday present, and I will take this to my grave. It sounds and plays exactly how most folks who dont have a harp, or have ever played one, think a "mouth organ" should sound.
It has that wonderful, perfect, woody Hohner tone and just SINGS.
The one gap in my collection is definitely a Seydel though, so thats next.
If they are made by Huang then I will be interested to see what they are like, as Todd Parrot likes their harps, and the guy who runs it designed the Golden Melody for Hohner I believe?
I have one of the new Blue Midnight MS's. I like it pretty well. I can't tell much difference in the tone with the blue plastic comb like Hohner claims it does. It's basically a blue BR comb with BH plates and so far they only offer it in C and G. But you could get whatever key plates you want for it. Maybe try one of these if you're not happy with the Blues Harp? ---------- Hawkeye Kane
Last Edited by on Aug 26, 2011 2:24 PM
I really LIKE the Blues Harp, great sound and tone, and feels like a real harmonica should do.
Just didnt like the sharp-edged reed plates, and of course its nowhere near as airtight as a plastic combed harp.
You pays yer money, you takes yer choice...
Sorry to those who say that comb material makes no difference, but...
YES IT DOES!
To my ears it makes a massive difference.
I have about a dozen harps and the wood combed ones sound richer, more soulful, and they reverberate more after the lips have been removed.
I know I'm a relative novice when it comes to harps as Ive only been playing for a couple of years, but Ive been a musician for over 35 years (guitar, mandolin, banjo, keyboards), so I'm no novice when it comes to musical sound production.
I just think the wood combed harps sound better.
That doesnt mean however I'm about to throw away all my plastic combed harps, on the contrary, they have a unique sound of there own.
It's just not a "traditional" harp sound to my ears.
Ive just bought a Seydel Blues Solist, so I'll also get back with a report about that next week along with the others I mentioned.
@selkentblues: I have to agree with RT123 and Groyster1. I think it's been just about proven that the comb material has very little if any impact on the sound. The reeds, reed plates, covers, side vents/ no side vents, tuning and comb design are what make different harps sound different. If you want to test it out, get yourself two of the same make and model harps in the same key and then swap out one of the combs! To be 100% fair, you should make sure that the combs are of the same design just made of different material.
I used to hear the same stuff about the wood guitars were made of, when I used to play a little. From what I understand that turned out to be more of a wives tale also. It reminds me of a story about SRV's #1 (his beat up Strat). They say the tone of that thing is incredible and we all know how Stevie's tone was. I read an article written by a guy who got to play it. He was so excited and couldn't wait to hear himself play with that SRV sound. The author was also a Strat player. He says he plugged in and started playing and was shocked that he sounded like "himself." He may even have been playing through Stevies rig. ---------- Tommy
With regard to guitars, I also KNOW from the over 300 guitars Ive owned over the years since 1972, that a solid bodied guitar DOES sound better than a ply or multiwood guitar.
It's just a fact.
They just DO.
Same with harps.
They just DO sound better with a wooden comb.
I'm really surprised that some of you guys can't tell the difference.
Especially between something like a Marine Band and an SP20.
Do you REALLY think those old blues guys would have sounded as good with SP's?
@selken yes they would have sounded just as good with sp20s or whatever rice miller sometimes played old standby-its all in the tuning of the harp-mb 1896s were tuned to just intonation back when he played
When you say you switched a SP20 to a wood comb, did you get it from someone or make it yourself. I'm asking because I have a buddy here in town who's gonna try making combs out of Amazonian mahogany. ---------- Hawkeye Kane
@hawkeye it is a hetrick walnut comb I got from rockin ron-as I said it did not do anything for the sound but is definitely the most attractive harp I own
@selken if you say that harps with wood combs sound better to you I believe you but I cant tell any difference in fact the sp20 I switched to a hetrick wood comb actually sounded better with the original plastic comb and there is no doubt that it did to me
@HawkeyeKane: If I remember right (I may be wrong tho)I think mahagony is poisonous. So your friend might want to make sure the comb is sealed.
Last Edited by on Aug 28, 2011 7:29 AM
@groyster1 Rice Miller aka Sonny Boy Williamson II did play Old Standbys but at that time Old Standbys had a wooden comb and were made at the Hohner factory in Germany. The Special 20 came out in the early 1970s and I think it was the first plastic comb harmonica (Somebody correct me if I'm wrong). Sonny Boy 2 died in 1965.
@DanP yes I know a friend of mines dad who only played country but actually preferred old standby to marine band 1896 when I told him about the comb swelling I had with the old mbs and blues harp he showed me how to pull out a pocket knife and shave the comb btw charlie mccoy actually liked old standbys and played them on heehaw
Selkentblues, The comb material has none to very little effect on the tone of a harmonica. The only comb material that I have ever found to make any sort of difference (and that was bearly noticable) was a aluminium comb which sounded a little brighter than normal. You will find a difference in tone between a MS Bluesharp and a suzuki harpmaster but that isn't because of the combs, it's mainly the reeds and coverplates. I know you might find it hard to believe but it really is true. Search this forum for old threads and you will find harp experts all saying the same thing. Also at the 2010 SPAH, Brendan Power performed a blind test which pointed towards the same conclusion...here's the link
I don't doubt what you say about guitars but the same is NOT true with harps. It took me a while to get my head round this too when I was first told but after a while you will realise it's true. ---------- Oisin
Last Edited by on Aug 26, 2011 4:57 PM