Marketing for almost a century and distribution deals.

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I didn't forget about the Blues Harp or any of the Hohner "MS" series diatonics. The "MS" Blues Harps are much better than they were 10 years ago, but the ones I've used still tend to leak more air than the "MS" plastic comb models.

I, and every other pro player that I know personally, don't choose to play any of the "MS" varieties. I find the reeds to be somewhat dead and mid-rangy sounding compared to the Lee Oskars or the old style Hohner plates still available on the Special 20s, Marine Bands and Golden Melodies. I like the sound and feel of the "old school" Hohner reed plates even slightly better than the Lee Oskars, but overall, the Lee Oskars sound good and last much longer and are ultimately a better value.

My recommendations on this website for new serious diatonic players is the Lee Oskar or the Hohner Special 20. I then strongly recommend that they try a few different brands and models and experiment a bit to find what they prefer. There is no right or wrong choice if the harmonica plays good and sounds good to you. You can always change later if you find something you like better.

And don't forget, it's about 99% the player and not the harmonica (as long as the harmonica is of decent quality).

I've played along to Little Walter, Rod Piazza, and Shakey and I get the same tone.(alot of it might also be my playing tho too.) Hohner also offers replacement combs.

Walt, this is much more about your playing ability, your mic choice, and your amp choice than the harmonica. Again, harmonicas make very little difference in the final sound if you start with one of decent quality.

Bottom line, if you've been playing somewhat seriously for at least 6 months to a year, use my and others recommendations as a starting point and then just play what you like.

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Newer harp player here. Only been playing for about 6 months, but I've advanced enough to the point where I'm looking at buying more harps because I can't jam in enough keys with only an A harp.

I ordered an "A" Lee Oskar a while back on the recommendation of this site, harmonicalessons.com, since I had completely destroyed my cheesy Hohner "Bluesband" "C" harp by then. It's lasted quite a while, but has worn out, of course, and prompted me to buy a couple more. I decided on an "A" Marine Band and a "Bb" Special 20, ordered from WWBW, of course. The Marine band has curiously gone up in price on that website since then, oddly.

I got the Marine band first and was struck by how good of a harp it was for being about half the price of the Lee Oskar. It's not nearly as comfortable, of course. The holes aren't smooth and the wood sits behind the reed plates, so I tasted metal for a while and it took a while to get used to having those ridges there. Still, I can see why this was the preferred harp of many famous players as it's much brighter than the Lee Oskar and very "reedy" in tone. And even if it is not physically as loud, but I amp it and it sounds better amped with my equipment. The Lee Oskar has a much purer, "cupped" tone. There are advantages and disadvantages to each. Bottom line, for $18, it seems like a steal.

The Special 20 arrived today and my guitar friend and I jammed for a bit. This harp impresses me, I have to say. It is extremely responsive, much moreso than the Lee Oskar, and has a more "bluesy" tone, IMHO. It also takes less effort to bend notes than on the Lee Oskar, again contributing to a smoother, quicker, mroe responsive feel. I like it a lot.

I would pose the question as to what you guys see as the advantages and disadvantages to these harps and which one is the "best" in your honest opinion. Also, are there any other harps I should try before I decide to order a set of a particular type?

Right now, to be honest, I'm torn between the Marine Band and Special 20, but surprisingly, I can determine one thing: they indicate to me that the Lee Oskar is very over-hyped and certainly not a very good deal harp-per-harp when compared to these Hohners. Really, the only thing it has going for it is that more "cupped", mellower tone (which is personal preference), the fact that it is louder than the others (non-issue when amped), and the fact that its build quality surpasses the Hohners by a significant margin (not worth $15).

Thanks!

In a nutshell, Special 20's play great, but don't last nearly as long as Lee Oskars. Marine Bands are made of cheap Pearwood and easily absorb moisture and swell and shrink and warp (yes, they sound good when they are not cutting your lips and leaking air). Here more posts with folks opinions-

http://www.harmonicalessons.com/members/dcforum/DCForumID2/310.html
(Scroll down to the subject "Choosing a harmonica: comparing models & brands"

As always, play what YOU like. But, until you've played and owned at least 10- 50 harmonicas, it's hard to really know whether a harmonica plays well because of the brand, individual harmonica, your playing ability, or the key. Just keep trying them until you know for yourself.

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Interesting that Dave notes that the Special 20's don't last. That's a shame, I really like how this one is playing right now. The tone is really quite good and it's very easy to manipulate bending and tone-wise.

Interesting note about the wooden combs: The thicker walls actually seem to help the lip pursing method a lot, to which I have recently made steps towards. The U-tongue-blocking or whatever you call it method does not give as much flexibility in tonguing (obviously) and expression, so even though my embouchure is killing me right now from pursing awkwardly (remember, I'm a clarinetist), I'm going to probably end up keeping this method because of its benefits, although right now I'm having a problem with the tone being a little on the mellow side and lacking the impact I was able to generate with the tongue blocking before. I am assuming this will smooth out over time.

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Can anyone tell me why a Special 20 is incredibly easy to find just about any music store you walk into but finding a Lee Oskar...well I have yet to find it any place BUT online stores.

When in doubt, bust out and play.

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That's funny, because I have run into exactly the opposite problem here in Northern Virginia.

Every music store I have been in locally has a good selection of Lee Oskars, but I have yet to find any Special 20's or Golden Melody's. I don't mind buying off the internet, but although the prices are good you still have to take into account the 6 or 7 bucks for shipping costs. I like to walk into a store, hand over the cash and walk out with my purchase. (Plus if I don't use the credit card, there's a whole lot less explaining to do to my wife when the bill comes in!! ).

Anyway, there is a shortage of Hohners in my particualr area, so I am going to have to search further afield I guess.

BTW - After a 'C' harp, what would be the next most recommended key to buy? (in terms of the best key to learn on and play along with backing tracks)

http://www.harmonicalessons.com/members/beginner_which.php

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Check out the fourth bullet point on this page-

http://www.harmonicalessons.com/members/beginner_which.php

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To me, that is precisely why these forums are here and a necessary part of Harmonica Lessons.com. I wish more members and visitors took advantage of them.

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