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Dirty-South Blues Harp forum: wail on! >
Manji Sky
Manji Sky
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the_happy_honker
357 posts
Mar 27, 2025
1:40 PM
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Anyone tried this harp and have an opinion they can share? I played the standard Manji for a few years, but then went back to Marine Bands for the JI-ish tuning.
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HappyJ
13 posts
Mar 28, 2025
7:11 AM
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The Maji Sky Is a very good one
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RobDawg
22 posts
Mar 28, 2025
7:55 AM
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The Sky sounds like a cool concept and I am interested in trying one in low F. I hate to complain, but the stock manji tuning and the composite combs don't inspire me. my favorite manjis are custom from blue moon with brass combs. Tom retuned them to a what he calls modern compromise tuning - they're loud. I have a feeling the sky will shut down when anyone uses too much breath - I had issues with a suzuki hammond when stage volumes went up I was playing too hard and choking the reeds - plus tight gaps and too much moisture could do it. it's a trade off having those tight gaps
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bandini
29 posts
Mar 30, 2025
9:55 AM
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My current feeling is that for folks like me who really like Marine Bands, prefer JI tuning, are frustrated by Hohner's inconsistencies, aren't adept enough yet at tuning/customizing their own harps and don't always want to shell out the bucks/get on the waiting list for a custom harp, the Seydell Lightning is the best choice out there.
To my ears, the Lightning is the closest in sound to the Marine Band, and in fact is slightly fatter/deeper sounding. It plays virtually flawlessly out of the box, stays in tune, lasts forever and is available in JI. In fact, Seydell's default "compromised" tuning is very close to JI and is in fact exactly the same on the first 4 holes.
It took me awhile to figure this out because I wasn't terribly impressed with Seydell's other harps. But once I tried the Lightning I replaced all my harps with those and have never looked back. To me it's the best harp out there by a mile.
I'm not affiliated with Seydell in any way and don't mean to hijack this - I just spent a bunch of time a couple years ago hassling around with trying to find the right harp and it was such a relief to settle that issue and get on with the business of PLAYING.:)
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dougharps
2371 posts
Mar 30, 2025
12:34 PM
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I was intrigued last winter and bought a Low F Sky. It does not seem to play any more easily than my two Low F Olives. I have not tried other keys of Sky. The standard Manji compromise tuning is not as smooth as Hohner or Seydel compromise.
My Seydel Low Tuned harps play just as easily as Manji or Olives, but chords do sound slightly smoother.
I play Seydel Session Steels and 1847s, but never tried a Lightning. The price on the Lightning has made me hesitate (much as the Thunderbird price.) The 1847s already seem pricey.
When I want the smooth chords of compromise tuning for recording or playing live in a low volume situation I usually go to Hohner Special 20s, Rockets, or Marine Band Deluxes for the sound and the control that Hohner reeds and compromise tuning brings.
In loud live playing I find that Hohners can more easily be damaged by hard playing, so in loud situations I often use Manji or Olives, or sometimes Seydels.
Maybe I will spring for a Lightening sometime, just to see if there is a big difference.
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Doug S.
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bandini
30 posts
Mar 30, 2025
2:14 PM
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"In loud live playing I find that Hohners can more easily be damaged by hard playing, so in loud situations I often use Manji or Olives, or sometimes Seydels."
Yeah, my harp needs have really changed drastically as I've gone from largely playing in my house to playing on the street again.
This means I gotta play harder and louder than typically I'd prefer, plus the intense Mississippi humidity (combined with my propensity for sweating my ass off when I play anyway) means I was just burning through Marine Bands way too fast.
The Lightnings seem kinda indestructible so far. The one major drawback is their weight. Not that I mind it for playing - I actually dig how solid and heavy it is. But occasionally I'll bring the harp to my mouth too quickly and accidentally rap my teeth on it, which is basically like smacking yourself with a solid bar of stainless steel.:) You could put your teeth out with these things if you're not careful...
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RobDawg
23 posts
Apr 02, 2025
5:19 AM
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Hey Doug,
If you already have some other 1847 sitting around to rebuild you can get the lightning reed plates at rockin rons website. I recently rebuilt a LLE bold body, with the thicker comb, with lightning Low E plates and it's really good - I may try it with normal covers and acrylic comb to see how it handles that way, too. I first got lightning in C and rebuilt that with a blue moon fancy acrylic comb. I made another one in D with a Brass comb that's a little stiffer but they are very loud harps. When I first tried lightning I realized I didn't love the steel combs but I was able to offload those to someone else to fund the bluemoon combs.
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shakeylee
773 posts
Apr 08, 2025
11:01 AM
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Speaking of plates and JI, Suzuki fabulous plates in from Rockin Ron JI fit manji nicely.
Another option for that good old JI sound,are JDR gentle monsters from bushman . They sound great!
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www.shakeylee.com
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florida-trader
1602 posts
Apr 14, 2025
10:31 AM
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This is a very long post, so I will have to chop into two separate posts. Bear with me.
Until I stumbled across this post, I had never heard of the Manji Sky, which is a little surprising since I have been a Suzuki Dealer for about 13 years. One would think that the people at Suzuki would let me know that they had come out with something new, but oh well…. At first, I just assumed that it was a regular Manji with a different colored comb – Sky Blue instead of the original wood colored comb. But as I read the comments, I sensed that there might be something else that was different about this harmonica.
It so happened that last week I had to order a handful of harmonicas from Suzuki, so I thought, while I’m at it, I will just buy a Manji Sky in the key of A and check it out. I just got it in an I will now offer my opinion and analysis of it.
In the interest of full disclosure, I would like to preface my remarks with a few thoughts. First of all, as I mentioned above, I am a Suzuki Dealer and I am personally a big fan of Suzuki harmonicas. In my opinion, they are exceptionally well-made instruments. The quality is just top notch. So, as you read my remarks, and there will be some criticisms, please do not misconstrue them as a knock on the quality of the brand. Second, I have been participating in discussions about harmonicas on Facebook (and other forums like MBH) for more than 10 years and I have been very consistent in my statements that in all my years of building custom harmonicas, I have never come across a single 10-hole diatonic harmonica that was in “perfect tune”. The Manji Sky is no exception, but that does not mean that it isn’t a good harmonica. Third, in addition to my comments about tuning, I have also stated countless times that stock harmonicas will frequently benefit from some simple adjustments – that it is impossible to build a “One-Size-Fits-All” harmonica. We all have our own unique embouchure and attack, and the ideal setup can be very different for each of us. Finally, some of what I found in my analysis of the Manji Sky mystifes me. I don’t have the answers. I can only speculate and wonder about the reasons behind the decisions that went into the design.
So, without further ado, here we go. For starters, the Sky looks exactly like the original Manji other than the blue comb. From the outward appearance, it might seem that the differences between the two models is purely cosmetic. We see Hohner offering the Rocket with different color combs and Seydel has been offering different colored combs for their Session Steel for several years. (I wonder where they came up with that idea? Hmmm….) So, why not Suzuki?
As one might imagine, the first thing I did was play the harmonica. Overall, it plays very nicely. Good tone. Very responsive. Draw Bends and Blow Bends all sound good. Not all that different from the original Manji. Then I decided to dig into the tuning a little deeper. Maybe that’s the difference. For example, the Hohner Marine Band Deluxe and the Marine Band Crossover are very similar harmonicas. The Deluxe is tuned to Modern Compromise Temperament and has a sealed pear wood comb. The Crossover features a bamboo laminate comb and a different Compromise Temperament that I believe was conceived by Steve Baker. It is much closer to Equal Temperament. Sort of like 19-Limit and sort of like the MS-Series Tuning. But definitely different from the Deluxe, the classic MB 1896 and the Special 20, which are all tuned to Modern Compromise Temperament. In addition, Suzuki offers their Fabulous harmonicas in either a compromise temperament or an equal temperament, so it would not be unheard of it the only difference (other than the color of the comb) was the tuning.
It is kind of hard to tell what they were going for based upon this one harmonica. Here is what I found. I started at A=442 and got mixed results, and so I kept adjusting my tuner until I settled on A=440.
Blow Plate
1 Blow 0 (good starting point)
4 Blow +9 (very sharp)
7 Blow +8 (also very sharp, but at least in tune with the 4 Blow)
10 Blow +5
2 Blow -7
5 Blow -2
8 Blow -7
3 Blow +2
6 Blow +1
9 Blow +10
Draw Plate
1 Draw -5
2 Draw -4
3 Draw -3
4 Draw +14
5 Draw -2
6 Draw 0
7 Draw -5
8 Draw +3
9 Draw -2
10 Draw +7
The chords don’t sound all that bad, but, as one might suspect, most of the octave splits have a distinctive beating or pulsing. As mentioned above, the usual draw bends and blow bends were fine, but the Overblow and the Overdraws squealed terribly. I know, I know. It is a bit unfair to judge a stock harmonica on the basis of how well it overblows or overdraws, but as compared to a stock Special 20, any of the Marine Bands, the original Manji, or a Suzuki ProMaster, the Sky overbends are simply awful. One could get away with playing overbends on those other stock harmonicas mentioned, but the Sky falls way short by comparison. Overbends are strictly off limits.
Next, I disassembled the Sky to have a closer look at the reed plates. What I found mystified me and created some questions that I do not have the answer to. Perhaps someone at Suzuki will see this post and offer some helpful information. I can tell you that I asked my helpful salesperson at Suzuki what the difference was between the original Manji and the Sky, and he was clueless. But in his defense, in addition to selling harmonicas, he is also selling guitars, drums, band instruments, organs, etc. It is hard to be an expert at everything.
I have included several photos in this post which will show you what I found. I compare the original Manji components to the Sky components. First, the combs are indeed identical - other than the color.
The screw pattern is the same on both reed plates. But a close inspection of the reeds reveals two very interesting things. What immediately stands out to me are the tuning marks. The original Manji reeds are tuned with a laser. You can clearly see parallel lines etched into the tips of the reeds. This is precision laser engraving. The Sky reeds are hand tuned using a rotary tool and some sort of polishing pin. They look very similar to the tuning marks that you will find on the custom harmonicas that I build, and I am sure other customizers who use the same type of tools I use. Allow me to digress for a moment. The most expensive 10-hole diatonic harmonica that Suzuki offers is The Fabulous. It features a Chrome Plated Brass Comb and Crome Plated Brass Covers. The reed plates are identical to the Manji reed plates except they are hand tuned instead of laser tuned. So, I have seen this type of production practice before on Suzuki’s high-end harmonicas. It is apparent to me that when Suzuki wants to invest the time to step up their game, they have skilled technicians at their factory.
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Tom Halchak
Blue Moon Harmonicas
florida-trader
1603 posts
Apr 14, 2025
10:32 AM
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Getting back to the Sky, the second thing that leapt out at me is that the reeds are shorter on the Sky reed plates than on the original Manji reed plates. In the photos, I show two sets of reed plates, both in the key of A, and the difference in the length of the reeds is clearly visible to the naked eye. This is the part that mystifies me – for a couple of reasons. Shorter reeds are not something that we’ve never seen before. Hohner has Long Slot reed plates and Short Slot reed plates. The Sky reed plates look like short slot, but Hohner uses Long Slot plates on the keys of C and lower. We don’t see short slots plates until the keys of Db and higher. The reed plates featured on this post are in the key of A. I’m puzzled by this decision. Aside from the obvious, here’s why. The Suzuki Manji was introduced in about 2010. It was designed as a blues harp to compete directly with the Hohner Marine Band. The Suzuki ProMaster has been around for much longer. The ProMaster features reeds that are shorter and wider than Manji reeds. The thinking, at the time, was to change the profile to longer and thinner reeds to improve the response and to facilitate bending the reeds. It makes sense to me. It is easier to bend a 6 reed than a 10 reed. As the reeds get shorter, they get stiffer, making it harder to bend them. Why Suzuki decided to use shorter reeds in the Sky is something that I don’t understand. I’m sure they have their reasons. I would love to hear them.
In conclusion, I am not a fan of the Suzuki Sky. I prefer the original Manji reed plates. I am really not that interested in buying more Manji Sky harmonicas to see if the higher keys have shorter reeds or if they are the same on every key. I tend to think that the Manji reed plates, with the longer reeds are a better option. Finally, if you will please forgive the shameless self-promotion, if you are interested in dressing up your Suzuki Manjis with some fresh colors, I know where you can find custom combs in a wide variety of materials and colors.
Hope this helps.
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Tom Halchak
Blue Moon Harmonicas
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the_happy_honker
358 posts
May 15, 2025
4:59 AM
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Hi Tom!
Thank you so much for the detailed review! It was really helpful, if disappointing. Beating chords is a deal-killer for me, so I'll pass on Manji Sky.
I was hoping for a competitor to the Easttops, but this isn't it, I guess.
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dougharps
2375 posts
May 15, 2025
7:38 AM
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An option I have not yet tried is the compromise intonation tuned DaBell Contender made in South Korea. According to Andrew Z. the plates fit on his Manji comb.
I have three DaBell Story recessed comb harps (one purchased at a SPAH and two won in the raffle) and they are pretty good, though I need to play them with less force than Manjis as the reeds are thinner and bend more easily. I recently tried and discovered that DaBell Story reed plates fit Suzuki Bluesmaster and Harpmaster (EDIT: and the original Delta Frost) recessed combs.
The DaBell Contender may be a harp to try as the other DaBell diatonics are equal intonation. I might just try Contender reed plates on a Manji comb.
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Doug S.
Last Edited by dougharps on May 15, 2025 10:55 AM
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