jonlaing
90 posts
Sep 15, 2010
9:14 PM
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I would say FolkMaster. When I was just starting, and really into cheap harps, that was my favorite. When I got a little better, I started buying more expensive harps, but of my cheapo harps, my folkmaster was the best.
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KingoBad
379 posts
Sep 15, 2010
10:08 PM
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While The folkmaster can be set up well (well enought to OB, etc.) It has a distinct lack of volume. I have one in my car, just in case I need to hand a harp to my daughters in the back seat. I would certainly never get on a stage with a folkmaster. I WOULD however, with a Big River.
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jonlaing
92 posts
Sep 15, 2010
11:27 PM
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I dunno, my Big River is rather quiet as well. I find the Folkmaster has more playability.
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jonlaing
93 posts
Sep 15, 2010
11:34 PM
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@KingoBad Come to think of it, I may be biased since my favorite harps are Suzuki Promasters, closely followed by Manjis, so... I think very highly of Suzuki to begin with.
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Jim Rumbaugh
298 posts
Sep 16, 2010
5:18 AM
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My Folmaster was an easy and enjoyable to play. I blew it out too easily.
My Big River harp was harder to play. But it's still with me after a few years. Now I think it's easy to play and have no complaints with it.
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intermediate level (+) player per the Adam Gussow Scale, Started playing 2001
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Hobostubs Ashlock
1028 posts
Sep 16, 2010
5:44 AM
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Huang star performers are 12$ and i love em for a cheap harp but they are Equal tuned.
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boris_plotnikov
244 posts
Sep 16, 2010
6:27 AM
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I prefer big river over folkmaster.
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Excuse my bad English. Click on my photo or my username for my music.
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Joe_L
632 posts
Sep 16, 2010
8:56 AM
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I've got bad news for you. You'll never achieve consensus on anything here. My suggestion is for you to wait until your Harpmaster arrives. The balance between playability and economics is not the same for everyone. I would not buy a set of Hot Metal harps. Good luck in your quest.
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Aussiesucker
666 posts
Sep 16, 2010
5:34 PM
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For me it's a definite The Folkmaster. I hated my Big River chunky & very leaky.
For a cheap knockabout harp the Folkmaster is it for me. A Folkmaster in Ab has been my drinking & eating buddy now for over 2 years. Can't kill it. Washes out in water. Small size ie same as MB & very sweet sounding. Improve the volume by opening up the rear coverplates.
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jonlaing
94 posts
Sep 16, 2010
7:43 PM
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Hey if you wanna try out something "higher end" I highly recommend the Manji and the Promaster. Little more pricey than the Sp20, but I personally think it's worth it. And I would agree with your assessment to just go with the Harpmaster. In the end it's more economical IMO. $15 harps are made to let you down, its just an argument of the lesser of evils.
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Aussiesucker
670 posts
Sep 16, 2010
11:18 PM
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TNFrank> certainly the Harpmaster is far better than a Folkmaster as is a Manji better than a Harpmaster.
For me as a strictly muckabout harp to play whilst having a drink and munching on crisps the Folkmaster is more than good.
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jonlaing
96 posts
Sep 17, 2010
12:17 AM
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Am I the only one that's gotten spoiled by nice harps? I honestly can't play any of those harps anymore. I'll get too frustrated at the lack of responsiveness and the inability to overblow (though i did get my BR to overblow once or twice, haven't tried on my Folkmaster).
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groyster1
475 posts
Sep 17, 2010
6:43 AM
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not familiar with the hohner hot metal harps never seen or heard of them anywhere-the quality of a harp means everything to me-you dont have to spend a fortune on a good harp but you will be a lot happier if you have a good one-sp20s are very good reliable harps for the money-the lee oskar harps are similiar priced but think sp20s are superior-suzukis you spend just a little more-the manji is about $10 more than sp20s but feel they should be good enough for anybody
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groyster1
478 posts
Sep 17, 2010
11:05 AM
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cant go wrong with rockinron number 1 harp salesman
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MIKE C.
31 posts
Sep 18, 2010
11:27 AM
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Get a Marine Band 1896 and foget the "value stuff."
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DeakHarp
193 posts
Sep 20, 2010
5:36 PM
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Listen to Mike C
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Have Harp Will Travel
www.deakharp.com
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Joe_L
653 posts
Sep 20, 2010
6:34 PM
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Wood comb harps are no big deal as long as you don't spit into them or slobber into them. If the combs are warping, you're probably playing too hard and emitting excess saliva.
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The Blues Photo Gallery
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nacoran
2784 posts
Sep 20, 2010
7:39 PM
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TNFrank, if you are a DIY sort of guy you can sand and seal wood combs. I've got one Dave Payne did for me that's great. There are videos (and debates over what to seal it with) here and on YouTube. A nice wood comb that's been sealed and sanded is a nice upgrade. They look great. For me, since I'm all thumbs, I stick with the plastic, but some people actually have a lot of fun customizing wood combs (there are other custom materials too.)
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Nate
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JohnnieHarp
48 posts
Sep 20, 2010
10:35 PM
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Hi Frank, I've already been down the road your on. I've got several models of Suzuki and Hohner harps including a couple of Folkmasters that I have worked on/customised.
Of all the harps I have, the Harpmasters offer the best value in my experience. Where I live, they are priced between the Folkmaster and Bluesmaster; much cheaper than the Hohners. The reed plates are assembled using the same high quality process that the Bluesmaster, Manji, Promasters, etc, are whereas the Folkmasters appear to be hand assembled {in China} with inconsistent reed placement and other reed plate problems and lots of sharp external edges.
Despite my best customizing efforts, the Folkmasters were inferior in playability to more expensive harmonicas.
Any sharpish edges on the Harpmaster combs were easily smoothed with a pocket knife. Out of the box I found the Harpmaster to be better finished than the more expensive Special 20 (55% more costly). Also the coverplates on the HM have smoother corners due to their design than the Sp20.
Reed work (embossing, gapping, etc) noticeably improved the responsiveness of the Harpmaster, just as it has with every other harp I've worked on. You, as DIY'r, will likely enjoy the improvements you'll see as you learn to work on your own harps. Customized, my Harpmasters are equal to my more expensive harps customized. It's my favourite due to its playability, exterior profile and sound. It's much lower price compared to the Hohners and other Suzukis, is a bonus.
In terms of economy, as you already have a Harpmaster in C, customize it and use a program like Best Practice (freeware) to adjust the pitch of the tunes you wish to play along with, so that they fit with your C harp. No need to add more harps at this stage, unless you're gigging as you also have the Big River in A which you can do reed work on as well.
Last Edited by on Sep 20, 2010 10:37 PM
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MrVerylongusername
1244 posts
Sep 21, 2010
5:40 AM
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" especially after you gap it and adjust the pitch on the lower to draw notes"
You're retuning a brand new harp?
Frank, seriously, slow down. I bet that harp was in tune and it was your technique that was making it sound out.
I'm not ragging on you, but seriously, learn to walk before you try to run.
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Hobostubs Ashlock
1064 posts
Sep 21, 2010
6:25 AM
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Man i bet you can cry the blues TNfrank thats all ive heard on here,from you no offense but i bet i have less money than you,i dont post it every post i just deal with it,Im fixing to get me a Big river,cause i want one,no one will tell me to do it or not to do it,cause they know ill do what i want,its my life and my money, like it or not,but thats the chance i take.hell ive lost 20$ in 1 poker hand many times,so getting a harp thats so so aint a big deal.and playing a guitar dont make you a harp player you still have to learn how to play,trust me on that.getting people mad at you cause of your Irish temper wont get you anything here,but no responce from your posts hell im Irish and poor and play guitar for years also,guess what i still have to practice my ass off,and deal with being broke.lifes a bitch then you bust a reed.:-)
http://www.reverbnation.com/hobostubs
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Hobostubs
Last Edited by on Sep 21, 2010 11:18 AM
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JohnnieHarp
50 posts
Sep 21, 2010
11:40 AM
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Hi Frank,
> ... guess I should have kept that A tuning fork ...
Buddha did a nice embossing video a couple of years ago ... he showed using a wrench socket ... it works great and one can choose various diameters as suits your preference / experience ...
I start with a socket and lightly emboss the tip third to quarter of the slot to get things started then use a small slot screw driver that I've rounded the sharp edges on (or something similar) and then refine a couple of millimeters of the slot at a time, including the end of the slot ... this makes it easier to detect where binding occurs so that it can be relieved ... also embossing can be done a bit at a time ... you can always go back later ... the lower 4 holes benefit the most from embossing though I do all slots / reeds ...
>... I'll try it on my cheaper Hot Metal ...
That's what I did ... actually bought a Hot Metal specifically for the purpose ... if you ruin a reed, keep the harp as the screws are good for replacing nails on Marine Bands and the comb is the same as that in a Sp20 ... the reeds can be used as donors or you can try replacing the nuked reed ...
I've found that the cheaper harps are HARDER to work on than the better ones as the reeds are often paper thin and very fragile and can be easily accidentally bent, so don't let a bad experience dissuade you from working on a better harp ...
Working on one's harps gives one a much greater appreciation for harmonica manufacturers ... especially when one deconstructs the consumer price back to the cost of production ... back through all the markups required to get a harp from factories overseas into the retail consumers hands ...
It also calls into question disappointment with harp performance out-of-the-box ... very subtle factors influence reed performance ... to expect a harp to be perfect for high end playing for a specific individual, out of the box without some refining is folly unless one is prepared to pay a lot more than the current retail cost ... the factories bring the instrument as far as they can cost effectively ... the rest is up to us ... good luck ... it's a great feeling to end up with a beautifully playing instrument ...
Last Edited by on Sep 21, 2010 11:44 AM
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Joe_L
657 posts
Sep 21, 2010
1:10 PM
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@TNFrank - If you don't put excessive moisture into a wood combed harp, you don't have to trim it, because the comb wont swell and warp. I used to play Marine Bands and Blues Harps. I never had to trim a comb.
It's amazing how much you've learned considering you've only been playing for a couple of weeks.
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The Blues Photo Gallery
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Hobostubs Ashlock
1067 posts
Sep 21, 2010
4:08 PM
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hey TNFrank you just might fit in after all:-) yea the only guitar lead i can do is the blues scale,thank god for them blues scales,My freinds which are 40 something all still want to do sweeping arpegios and stuff, im like man heck with that you aint in the 80's your not eddie van halen just play a couple pentonic notes and be done with it,they hate the blues,But i think there missing out myself;-)
http://www.reverbnation.com/hobostubs
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Hobostubs
Last Edited by on Sep 21, 2010 4:11 PM
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Hobostubs Ashlock
1068 posts
Sep 21, 2010
5:44 PM
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yea i havent had a eletric in over 15 years i had a few when i 1st started but traded for a acoustic,and thats all i had sence,i got a bass about a year and a half ago,but i dont practice much to busy trying to learn the harp,but i do play it some on a few of my songs if i can come up with something that works but most times i dont even mess with it,although i do like the bass,I love acoustic guitar though,and here recently i built a couple of cigar box guitars there fun and cheap to build there 3 stringers,last 4 songs ive recorded been on those they have a cool sound using a slide.
http://www.reverbnation.com/hobostubs
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Hobostubs
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Hobostubs Ashlock
1070 posts
Sep 21, 2010
7:57 PM
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i could never play cover tunes i wanted to but never really could,i wrote about 10 songs thats all i could play for about 10 years:-) finally i learned about a dozen country covers a few years back so people would quit bugging me about not knowing any covers,but they sound more like me than the original artist,then a friend of mine upgraded to a 16 track and sold me his 8 track boss br-600,and i wrote and recoreded 110 songs this last 18 months,ive put 30 or so on reverbnation,but there different some bluesy,some acoustic rock,some country,some hip hop,i got harp on most probelly more than needs to be but its just me trying to firgure out how to do everything,i play guitar,bass,harp,sing and hand percussions,as i get better songs,ill probelly pull some of the not as good songs but its fun,cause i cant even get invited to a local open jam but i have them all beat on reverbnation by a long shot not that mine are better but mine are #1 folk and #3 all genre in the area around where i live,the one band i got released from a year or so ago just put up his reverb page on facebook i made the commet whats reverbnation? under his anouncement he kicked me out hes ranked #55 i hate this small town i live in they all can kiss my ass they go in a studio and still havent got up there in the charts i sit at home playing with myself;-),i know ill fall from the charts one day but right now i love it.But they still wont invite me to jams with em but who cares ive been out of work 2 years now i play not to be somebody or go pro i play to keep me from putting a bullet in my head,It dont get much more real than that.:-)
http://www.reverbnation.com/hobostubs
Last Edited by on Sep 21, 2010 8:02 PM
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groyster1
503 posts
Sep 22, 2010
3:17 PM
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hey tnfrank
I am just east of you in oak ridge-if you dont mind used harps I can help you complete your key collection
call me @(865)481 3467 can assure you I dont have tb and will not sell you anything not playable
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nacoran
2797 posts
Sep 22, 2010
4:03 PM
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TNFrank, remember that depending on whether a harmonica is Just, Equal or Compromise tuned 'flat' is relative. The Suzuki may be Equal tuned, so it might have been 'spot on', but that might not be what the other harps were tuned for. Some tunings involve a note being up to 19 cents off of true (though don't ask me which ones!) If you've been practicing a lot of single note playing Equal tuning may sound better, but Just and Compromise will sound better when you are playing chords. :)
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Nate
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groyster1
508 posts
Sep 22, 2010
5:49 PM
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you dont have aflat b dflat and fsharp and you probably dont need them but stranger things do happen but since you already play guitar you are really not a newbie and your enthusiasm and will to get the skill seems to be there I highly recommend next may in waterford mississippi @hill country harmonica so much fun
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