selkentblues
47 posts
Sep 02, 2011
7:46 AM
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FOUR new harps just turned up in the mail, and thought I'd share my thoughts with you all.
Marine Band in Low E flat - WOW! great harp!...deep and gutsy sounding. I just Love Marine Bands! Do any of you use one of these regularly? I'd be interested to know what for?
Seydel Blues Soloist in C - My first Seydel, and I must say that I am VERY impressed. Nice, high-quality packaging, like they really CARE (little wallet, cloth, book etc), and a loud strong, rich tone. Bends very easy, and I am really impressed with this.
BUT!!!...What is that AWFUL SMELL!?!?!?
I think they have waterproofed this thing with the kind of stuff you put on your fence!!!
It certainly smells and looks like it.
It is really off-putting.
Hope I can get over it, cos apart form that I really rate this harp.
Next...a Hohner Big River in E - I am never disappointed by these harps and they are wihtout doubt my number one recommendation to starters if they intend to buy a Hohner MS model. I like the way the reed plates are recessed, and it is very airtight, and bends easily.
Hard to go wrong with one of these I think.
and finally...
A Hohner Highlander - Oh dear...what a mistake!
Its okay for what it is, well made, and nicely packaged, but it is just NOT ME.
Ive had a few of the Hohner Echo double sided harps before and really liked them, but this has some new flattened G (I think?!?!) for playing bagpipe/centic tunes, and it is also in reletively high A and D, and it just DIDN'T work for me.
Thats probably almost certainly due to my own lack of skill, but the more I played it, the more it annoyed me.
Gone straight back on the "For Sale" pile after two or three blows.
So if anyone wants to try one fo these...cheap...let me know.
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SELKENTBLUES
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HawkeyeKane
156 posts
Sep 02, 2011
8:35 AM
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I always was curious about that Highlander. I'm third generation out of County Donnegal, and I love doing Celtic music when the opportunity presents itself. I've done some Celtic harping on a Goliath actually, and it worked nicely. But if the Highlander is better tuned for such...I might be interested in that.
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Hawkeye Kane
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Tommy the Hat
284 posts
Sep 02, 2011
9:09 AM
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@selkentblues. I'm glad you like the Soloist pro. I'm trying real hard to like mine. It feels nice, it sounds and plays nice for the most part. It's just not quite making it on the lower holes. I'm trying though.
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Tommy
Bronx Mojo
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selkentblues
49 posts
Sep 02, 2011
9:24 AM
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@ HawkeyeKane
If you can get on better with it than me then your welcome to it. I just couldn't figure it out.
But like I say, its almost certainly my lack of understanding of the thing.
I payed £38 for it plus post, so it came to about £41.
They usually retail for about £60-70, but I got a special deal.
You can have it for £35 if you want it, and that includes signed-for post/shipping to the U.S (which probably swallows up about £8).
That probably still cheaper than you can buy it for new in the states.
Pay by Paypal to my email address available on here (blandomagic at msn dot com), and I'll send it straight away.
Think it over and let me know, theres no rush.
@Tommy the Hat
Yeh, I DO like the Seydel, but what the hell is that smell?...creosote?
It looks like the wood has been burned or something, or treated with some sort of stain inside.
It plays great though.
Ive just been driving the neighbours mad with it.
I live in an apartment above a hairdressers and they all think I'm nuts.
Mind you all I hear from them all day as I'm trying to work is them gassing away talking about make up and shoes and stuff.
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SELKENTBLUES
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Tommy the Hat
285 posts
Sep 02, 2011
11:07 AM
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Mine didn't smell bad. Actually, I got mine through David Payne and he treats them with mint oil. Mine was minty fresh! That comb is a work of art if you ask me. Like I said, a really nice harp, the whole thing is beautiful. It just doesn't have that light touch that my other harps have. When i first got it my first impression was good. But as the hours wore by, then the next day, last night, and then this morning.
It isn't comparing as nicely.
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Tommy
Bronx Mojo
Last Edited by on Sep 02, 2011 11:09 AM
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HawkeyeKane
161 posts
Sep 02, 2011
12:21 PM
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@selkent
The only possibility I can think of as to the smell of your Seydel is that it may have been improperly packaged or stored. Did it have any kind of plastic wrapping inside of the box?
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Hawkeye Kane
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Fingers
80 posts
Sep 02, 2011
12:46 PM
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I have just got a Manji in D to compare with my soloist pro! and i have to say the Seydel harp is a better harp i have never had to open and gap a soloist pro! but both Manjis i own needed gapping! i have to say soloist pro is my ideal harp smooth easy bends and a top quality build and finish! i took one to work and one comment was !!that is a real instrument!.
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Tommy the Hat
286 posts
Sep 02, 2011
2:16 PM
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See, now on my Soloist Pro I can actually hear the air blow through holes 1,2 and 3. And I'm not blowing or sucking. I'm just breathing through using my diaphragm like a bellows. The sound there is weak.
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Tommy
Bronx Mojo
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selkentblues
51 posts
Sep 02, 2011
2:16 PM
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@Fingers
Well I dont know about the Manji, but I have a Suzuki Harpmaster and a Bluemaster and I would put the Seydel on a par (probably) with the Harpmaster as the best harp I have, out of over 30.
But at a push, if I was going to a desert island and could only take one harp, it would be the Suzuki.
I just think that they (Suzuki) have a total understanding of what it takes to make the perfect harmonica.
Suzuki do it (like all the Jap stuff) by SCIENCE, whereas with the Germans, high-quality that they are, you always feel that it has reached a particular stage in developement, through trial and error.
I mean...
WHO would purposely design a harmonica that cuts your lips?!?!?! (Marine Band/Blues Harp)
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SELKENTBLUES
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mandowhacker
83 posts
Sep 02, 2011
7:25 PM
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I don't know what causes the smell on the Seydel's........something oozing from the plastic, I guess.
My Session Steel stunk REAL bad.
Just set them out in the air for a while. The smell goes away.
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Just when I got a paddle, they added more water to the creek.
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logansays
41 posts
Sep 02, 2011
8:07 PM
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about the wood comb solist pro, Imo, the smell is of the charred wood , since the combs are laser cut!
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selkentblues
54 posts
Sep 03, 2011
3:36 AM
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Thanks Logan...thats it!
Its a kind of burnt smell!
Its fading slowly and I love the harp...
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SELKENTBLUES
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Tommy the Hat
289 posts
Sep 03, 2011
4:48 AM
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I've been playing around with my Soloist Pro. I got it to play a little better by changing the way I draw notes on the first three holes. I guess I'm just not used to wooden combs and my breath is too light. By putting a little more work into it I've been playing a little more successfully with the harp. I spent the whole day with it at work. The blow notes are fine, it's just the draw on those 3 holes. It really is a nice harp and it sounds nice, but I guess I'm just very used to plastic combs.
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Tommy
Bronx Mojo
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selkentblues
55 posts
Sep 03, 2011
5:38 AM
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Yeh Tom, thats a perfect example of WHY I put down the thread when I first got on here about the SP20 NOT being a good beginners instrument, cos it it so easy to play, TOO EASY, and players get used to it, then they try and play a Marine Band or Blues Harp or Seydel and they just can't.
A harp player should be able to play ANY harp.
Thats why I have hardly any duplicates in my collection and a different harp for each key.
I did it that way purposefully so I could learn to play them all.
My first harp was a Marine band that my daughter bought for me for xmas and so I got used to wooden combs, and small holes, first.
Then later, when I bought an SP20, It felt really weird and odd, and I was all over the place with it, sounding terrible.
I have to say that I personally just love my Seydel Blues Solo, and am on the virge of buying a whole set I like them so much, or at least A, G, and D to add to my C.
Its a toss up between them and a set of Marine Bands.
Get used to a wooden comb and theres no turning back!
...and your in good company.
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SELKENTBLUES
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KingoBad
890 posts
Sep 03, 2011
6:15 AM
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The problem with the Hohner Highlander is "there can be only one..."
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Danny
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Tommy the Hat
292 posts
Sep 03, 2011
7:06 AM
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I had no problems with the Seydel this morning. I even played through Help Me without a hitch. Ok...as much as without a hitch that I can do. lo
Unfortunately, in about an hour I will be away from my harps for a week :(
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Tommy
Bronx Mojo
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Fingers
83 posts
Sep 03, 2011
11:20 AM
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@Selkentblues! dont get me wrong i like the Manjis and the pro master great harps! but after 15 years playing mostly wooden combed harps (marine bands)and the odd pro harp i find the soloist pro the best harp for me and the way i play!! also it fits my big ham fists nicely and the quality way outshines them all in this price range! i also have a 1847 also top quality.
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