Kongsheng sent me a Soloist and I've got to say I am really impressed. The 4,5,6 overblows pop easier than any OTTB harp I've tried. It's loud and really responsive. It's funny, I was actually having a weird problem with it... I was outside and it was windy and other notes were sounding from the wind! I've only ever had one other harp do that. (It was really windy and it was easy to just turn a bit to get it to stop.)
It looks great and has a nice heft. Really nice touches. My big complaint with Hohner has always been that for the price you are paying they don't really do finishing work well- On Hohner Crossover and MB back corners of their cover plates are sharp, as are the corners of the reed plates. The Soloist seems to have spent a lot of time paying attention to details like that in addition to their reed work, and like I said, the OBs pop easily. I'm not a great overblower but I could get them and even play them enough easily that I could see actually using them musically. They were very stable.
The covers are shaped fairly similar to the Suzuki Manji's, but seem a little stiffer and harder to accidentally crush. The lettering on the back of the harp looks great. The total length from the left of hole one to the right of hole 10 seems to be just about the same as a Manji but the tines are much thinner and slightly rounded.
When I IM'd with Wang Ecki before she said the covers on the Soloist do have nickel in them, as do their reed plates, so for anyone with a contact allergy to nickel that might be an issue. They do have some recessed comb designs for people who are sensitive to nickel- only the Soloist has it in it's covers, but if you don't have the sensitivity, well, there is a reason people use nickel content. It is tough and looks great.
Kongsheng makes a great harp. It stacks up well with the other brands flagship models I've tried.
I bought a Kongsheng Sunshine and for $50 I was not impressed. I may try the soloist. ---------- Wisdom does not always come with old age. Sometimes old age arrives alone.
I’ve been seeing plenty of good reports about these, I’ve just seen a couple of negative reviews too. I don’t need any harps, if I did, I expect I’d order one or 2 of these. I always think a sample of just 1 is just too few to form much of an opinion, 2 is probably far too small as well but it’s 100% better than 1
It occurred to me that Kongsheng are having a red hot go at breaking through into the main market. It would not surprise me to find they’re making a special effort with quality control at the moment.
1 report I saw from a fellow who had blown out 2 harps and claimed the business was not responsive to his attempts to contact.
Another was showing photo of the harp which was delivered with reedplate screws EDIT: that should say “without reedplate screws”.
As demand for the product increases it will be interesting to see whether QC can keep up.
Last Edited by SuperBee on Apr 17, 2019 6:53 PM
i ordered an A and a C. prices on AliExpress show some variation. i went for the $39.20 USD seller. now i'm wondering whether that was a good idea. "full refund if product is not delivered in 60 days"
60 days! i'm not really confident i'll still be breathing in 60 days, let alone remember i ordered a couple harps. i better make a note on the calendar.
Edit: I got a message to effect my order has shipped. Now I feel better
Last Edited by SuperBee on Apr 22, 2019 3:12 AM
According to the tracking app, my harps have landed in Australia last Friday. But they haven’t moved since. Stuck somewhere in Melbourne, out by the airport.
If Rockin’ Ron was flogging these harps I’d have had them for a week already...maybe that’s why the US mail costs so much... Although, most of the last week these have just been sitting around in Australia. I wonder if they’re gonna tax me further on the importation. We have a 10% tax on imports...well, on everything but including imports in addition to any customs duty which may also apply. When our dollar was buoyant, people got into buying lots of stuff from overseas. Australia Post’s parcel service was working hard, but they weren’t applying the tax. Local retailers got their noses out of joint, understandably, because they were paying the taxes on their imported stock and their locally sourced stuff. So I don’t mind paying the tax...just bring me the goods...
The solist is really one of the best harps I have played, and I have a bit of a need to try everything, so I have a good reference point. I'm also interested to try the sunrise, which is pretty much a solist with a sandalwood comb as opposed to the aluminum. FYI, they seem to keep a good stock on amazon, if you don't feel like waiting for the shipping time with aliexpress.
Superbee, we've got that same sort of an issue with Amazon right now, internally. People have been using Amazon to bypass local sales tax and brick and mortar stores haven't been happy about it.
Australia post just notified me they’ll be delivering my parcel today.
Yeah, Amazon is a bit of a problem here now. They’ve recently commence an Australian based operation and Australian addresses are no longer dealt with by the American store. The fallout is that there are quite a few things I can no longer obtain from amazon Rather like how some folks in North America can’t get their stuff from Hohner because trade deals prevent you being able to go direct.
I did once buy a set of Marine Band through amazon. They were cheap and they were a bit substandard. I think there is a bit of product dumping takes place through amazon. Rockin’ Ron was a good supplier; I never had a bad experience and the harps were usually top quality. Unfortunately our currency is now trading around 70 cents to the dollar and the postage has gone through the roof as well so the offshore bargains are a thing of the past. Same with records. I never could get music downloads through amazon. That may have changed now. I must check!
Crikey! They arrived today and I’ve just given a small test run. I’m impressed. I can’t find any thing to express reservations about. I think this is the new gold standard for factory harps. I haven’t taken a screwdriver to one yet, but that’s next. I’ve been playing a:b against my Spiers Stage 1 harps. I have keys A and C and both are very consistent. There’s nothing to adjust. I know people like Manji harps. I’ve played Manji and my thoughts were along the lines that I could probably get used to them if I stuck with it. No such half-hearted thoughts with these. I’m not gonna say they’re better than the Stage 1s, but at the moment I’m unable to find an area in which I think the stage 1s are clearly better. I have not checked the tuning yet. I believe they are ET, and that may be the one area of controversy.
Also, my stuff from Hohner just arrived. I’m building a 270-ish chromatic for a customer. It’s not a standard 270. But the format is similar. Straight-tuned 12 hole Hohner, sandwich, wooden comb, 270 slide and mouthpiece and covers. Just the reedplates are from a different model and I don’t know which. Slots are different dimensions in places, like slot 7 is narrower than the 270. Might be a Deluxe or a toots model. But I’ve just obtained the reeds. 3 weeks from Germany. Got a few other parts too, a gold mouthpiece and new slide, channel and blank, cover bolt set, and a comb for my 260. It’s like Xmas here today, for me!
Question for people who have the Solist—what shape are the holes? All the pictures I’ve seen online show square holes, but mine has oval holes. I’m not complaining, but would just like to know before ordering another one.
I ordered a Low F through AliExpress—it arrived from China. To Northeast US in about 2 weeks. I’ll second SuperBee’s comments, it plays out of the box with at least semi-custom quality. My only criticisms are it was gapped so low (a good thing) that the 1 blow jammed in the slot, so it needed a little adjustment. Also, it doesn’t overblow out of the box, which was not surprising since it is a low tuned harp. Finally, the covers aren’t stainless steel so it’s not compatible with my Farmer Footdrum harp rack (the best ever), which uses a magnet. However, there’s room enough to slide a metal slug inside the bottom cover, which works fine. It also might be the prettiest diatonic harp I’ve ever seen. I definitely want to check out a Solist in a standard key. My low F is a great harp regardless of price, and really great value for the money.
So...I don't do much harmonica stuff any more, and am late to the party.
I ordered an A Soloist on May 24. I haven't received it yet, but am anxious to try it out. I noticed that while I got a shipping notice and item #, they do not show up on my account. Hopefully, it is enroute.
I thought about getting one in C this morning since they are such a good deal, but figured I better make sure I get the first one.
From what I glean with very little research, this is eerily similar to a Manji? While I know many like the Manji, I found every one I tried to be awful OOTB. It was also difficult to sand the combs and flatten the reed plates. All of that seemed frustrating considering the welded reeds and issues they could also cause.
I can generally handle playing pretty much stock Special 20's, so if it is on par with one of those, I should like it. ---------- Mike My Website My Harmonica Effects Blog
i'll wait for rocking ron to stock them and try one out. so much drama over a diatonic on so many harmonica sites, shessh....and clearly there are some that are paid spokesmen doing the shill.
did you buy yours Nacoran or was it a free one sent to you?
Last Edited by 6SN7 on Jun 03, 2019 2:08 PM
Harpninja, ime they are similar to a Manji in some ways but not in the way they play
It’s like kongsheng have copied the Manji and the 1847 Nobel at the same time. The comb is like the Nobel as is the finish of the covers, which also seem stronger than the Manji. The reedplates reportedly are interchangeable with Manji and the reeds are phosphor bronze and welded, but to me they do not feel like the Manji to play. I found they are more like a well-adjusted Hohner. I have one customer who is a Manji fan; he told me he did not like the kongsheng Solist. I suppose that confirms my impression that they are different. I do not like any Manji I have played and I do like both the kongsheng Solist I have. I’m still not a great fan of aluminium combs but I’m getting over it. For all my thumbs up to the Solist, mine are sitting unused in my case. I am quite attached to my custom Marine Band harps, but I was curious about the kongsheng. I note that last night I was practicing, mainly bending loops with A harps and began with an old Sp20 on a blue moon aluminium comb, moved to a deak custom with a questionable 2 draw setup, and wound up with a spiers stage 1 at which point I stopped looking for another harp. The kongsheng stayed in the case but I will take it out today and use it for the same routine
It is impressive, but.....the 2 draw squeals like on Hohners a few years back. Bummer! --------- Mike My Website My Harmonica Effects Blog
Last Edited by HarpNinja on Jun 10, 2019 7:12 AM
That’s a shame. Mine isn’t like that. The 3’’’ squeals but it takes a while to start. I can lean on it in Telephone Blues for instance and it isn’t a problem but if I wanted to really hold that note it would squeal. I have a custom D MB which is like that in 2 draw.
I am actually pretty bummed about the 2 draw, as otherwise, I really like the harp. Of all the things to require tweaking, that one is very disappointing.
Had to find out too. Bought a D. Fine instrument. Very responsive. Workmanship/Quality reminds of a Miesterclass. Just excellent. But ET I do not appreciate.i chose the D because of the single note fast tunes that frequent sessions for me these days. I'll see how it responds under fire.