this guy says a total mouthful. skill wise he may play above my usual stuff but i do believe that a superior harp can help a guy like me play better. the ease of playing from low to high is such a huge plus. the higher volume is also real handy esp for all acoustic stuff like busking.
i've been working with manjis for over 6 months now. A,C,E, low F, and G are in my case always and they are what i reach for the most. as yet i have had no issues with blown reeds at all, but i am noticing some lowering of pitch on the low end of the D, and doing high blow notes on the A is getting a little iffy sometimes. one big challenge with a harp this good is to keep the air volume lower than with most other harps; more air does no good and will probably flat out reeds more quickly.
when held up to a custom mb say, the manji holds its own in my book. i'll get to test this out soon as i have a couple of mb's getting worked up right now. it will be an interesting taste test! but for my $$ the manji makes so much more sense. an otb harp that sounds this good is worth a lot to me just in terms of economics, but it's also about aesthetics.
Everybody has their own definition of what a perfect out of the box harmonica is, which is based on their needs. For me, there is no out of the box harmonica that will meet my needs 100%. The closest thing I've tried is the B-Radical, but I even had Joe Spiers customize it for me, though it did play better than anything else right out of the box. If you want a harp that is "perfect" for you, a custom harp is the way to go. I really like the Suzuki line and have a lot of respect for their desire to create better instruments, but the Manji out of the box didn't meet my needs as an overblow/overdraw player.
However, I think we as harmonica players are too hung up on finding that perfect harp right out of the box. I listen for the tone more than anything. If the tone is there, then it doesn't matter how well or how poorly the harp plays out of the box - it can be set up to play better. Even guitar players have their guitars customized or worked on. Why should we expect the harmonica to be any different?
I take my playing and my tone seriously, and I'm willing to pay what it takes to get a great harp. I don't have extra cash just lying around to spend $350.00 on a custom harp all the time, but I find a way to make it happen when I have a need for great instruments. I've grown weary of wasting money on wild goose chases through the years trying to find a harmonica that plays like a custom harmonica out of the box. It just doesn't exist.
There will always be a need for custom harps in my opinion. We as human beings have a need for custom everything; guitars, furniture, cars, clothing, etc. We even have the sleep number bed! The harmonica is no different. Every good player should either try a custom harp or learn to customize their own harps, at least a little bit. There's nothing like having and playing a harp that is set up specifically for you.
good points todd. yet for a guy like me with limited income to spend, a $350 harp is far out of reach. even a $100 version of a custom mb is pricey.
in kim fields' book "harmonicas, harps, and heavy breathers" there are several references to the vaudeville guys working on their own instruments out of necessity. and how many players have flatted a reed and just gone and gotten another harp? i for one. it may not be the cheaper option in the long run but expedience counts for something too.
the manji represents everyman's ideal harp. it's the best starting point instrument i've ever seen. but i'm the guy who buys a used car and just drives it. forget 22 inch wheels and cool paint, i want transportation.
one reason i dig the idea of the manji is, i don't HAVE to tweak anything. it's right for my needs from the git-go. i suspect if i played guitar i'd do my best to adapt to whatever guitar i had in my hands as well.
The Manji is a very good harp, but it has a specific sound that doesn't match with any kind of playing or tune. If you compare with a MB Deluxe, it's a completely different sound. I feel the MB Deluxe is better for old time kind of playing.
In the short time I've been at this, I believe I've heard just about every harp made called the 'best' harp at one point or another. Some of it's just luck-of-the-draw. And, everybody has different tastes or needs. None of this is scientific though.
It's interesting to see Harrison, Suzuki and Seydel raising the bar with their innovations. I'll even give Hohner some credit for theirs, but I'd consider them more evolutionary than revolutionary.
Regardless, there will *always* be room for the top customizers, because there is always the need to reach just a leetle bit further and get it just right.
Back to the Manji: I like mine for a number of reasons, but one of the biggest is the high quality for the price. ----------
I have one Manji, a low F, and I like it. To me it is very like a Marine Band in size and sound. But it eliminates the need to seal the comb and open up the back, change nails for screws, etc. All that may be needed is a little gapping. I will probably buy some more, over time, since the price seems to be coming down a bit (I can get one for under CAN$45 now), and to me the incremental price difference over the MB is worth it.
I almost have a full set of manjis as well as a full set of SP20's. After trying many I feel these are the best for me. I did not try a crossover yet.
The most Iever do to the Manjis is gap a few holes and they respond nicely. OB and OD work on a few keys but that is hit or miss. Some squeal some dont....I am not big into OB'ing yet so it is not an issue but it you OB or OD then I would say some more tweaking would proabably be necessary but that is what you will hafve to do with most OOTB harps anyway. The SP20's after gapping will OB for me without issues in any key.
I also found that if you cup the manjis and close off those cutouts you can get a darker tone which Ilike at times but I need to change the way I learned to hold the Harp. I learned to hold it traditionally with thumb on the bottom. I now am starting to like the thumbs on the sides/front area. Can get a better cup and closes those cutouts if I want them closed.
I have the B-Radical and have tried several Manjis at SPAH and other conventions. The B-Radical is 10 times better, but at $180.00 it should be. Joe customized mine for 2 reasons; he wanted to check it out for himself, and because it needed a little work, mainly for the overdraws on 7, 9 & 10. The overdraws were easy to hit, but squealed a little bit when I tried to bend them upward. Not a big deal, but it did need adjusting. Brad also offered to adjust it for me free of charge, but I'd already promised Joe I'd send it to him. Brad was also aware and was cool with me sending it to Joe. If you want a more technical comparison of the Manji vs. the B-Radical, or if you want to know what Joe did to the B-Radical, you'll have to ask him.
My first Manji came in the mail about an our ago. First impression: Brilliant, responsive, loud, beautifully constructed, feels nice, and shapely covers. It doesn't sound like a marine band.
JDH> my sentiments also. I have had a C Manji close on 6 months - great harp. I had an Ab Manji on order for over 3 months when I was offered the alternative of a Crossover. I love both. Crossover was more expensive but beautiful harp. Different to a Manji ie more crunchy sound. I have a Beta (Ben Bouman) Manji in G on order which I should receive next week along with a Beta Seydel D 1847 Silver.
I do wish all harps came with a snazzy zippered small hard case like the one that comes with the Crossover. Very protective when in a pocket. Nice package.
I've been in the process of updating my Lee Oskar collection for a year or so and last week it was time for a manji in E. Yes I have to agree with the general consensus of outright playability end economics! It compares to my Seydel 1847 in A, but a little looser maybe due to phosphor bronze vs stainless (or E vs A?) However, I've picked up a few Suzukis now and I'm impressed with their tolerances. I'm learning the overbend thing and the Manji seems the best harp I have to accommodate this (although overdraws still result in godawful squeals and hisses!) with the Seydel a close second. My overall conclusion at the mo is that I need more MONEY....!
There's nothing magical in Manji. Ronnie should buy a dozen of these, not one - then we can talk about that out-of-the-box thing...
This thing has very good reed tone. The material itself sounds good. I have one in G, and it's different in sound from everything else. Not better - DIFFERENT.
As for the rest - it's total CRAP. *The body looks like a bar of technical soap from the 50's. *The covers are too fragile and can be crushed with 2 fingers. *The screws inside are made from a metal that forms a galvanic pair with the reedplates and the covers - that means you feel the electrical current as you lick it. Not all people can feel that thing, but I am quite sensitive to it. *But the worst stuff are the reeds. Yes, they are lund and have the tone. But they are also WELDED to the reedplate - that means really a lot. That means no way to center it (and proper centering is crucial for customizing, if you can't center it - you better not customize it at all). You can't replace a broken reed easily without using serious equipment.
Seriously, Manji is a Porsche engine welded to a golf cart. It has awesome reeds that are annihilated by the rest of the harmonica.
I'm not a huge fan of the current manji reeds. I played prototype reeds with different profiles that were much much better however, Suzuki opted to install the reeds that had the longest longevity. That's not a bad thing but for me, it doesn't work as the reeds will still squeal under extreme pressure. I couldn't get the other profiles to squeak under any conditions. ----------
it's not idiotic, I think it's actually a better process than the rivets. Your mindset is one of a person who likes to modify and tinker with your instruments and that simply isn't the majority of the people.
If you don't like the welds then drill the reeds and put screws in. It's really not a big deal.
I think that's the big deal. If I drill the holes, etc etc it will not be the same as a factory-made reed. Really, you know that airtightness will suck no matter what gear I will use to drill them.
Besides, if I make the smallest mistake - I will screw up the whole reedplate. When ones choose screws and nuts (b-radical, and the Seydel toolset), Suzuki are moving in the opposite direction.
I'm sure you'll agree that fixing a broken reed with a screw is one thing, but repeating the whole process of drilling reeds yourself makes it a hundred times more complicated. So the question arises - "isn't there an EASIER way to do that?" And then you look at the normal riveted models... ---------- www.truechromatic.com
