My first harmonica was a Hohner Goldern Melody (key of C). My wife gave me a Lee Oskar (key of G) for Christmas. It's only been a couple of weeks, but so far I'm not really impressed with the LO. Right out of the box I noticed that the covers didn't line up. Not really a big deal, except that for the price, you'd think they would have better QC. The 2 and 3 hole draw notes were pretty much not there at all. The 3 draw is starting to loosen up a bit, but I think I'm going to have to open up the gap a little on the 2 draw. It's true that the LO has slightly bigger holes (just enough of a difference to help me mess up more often). I'm not ready to give up on my LO yet, but as of now, all it has done for me is make me love my GM even more. Also the volume of the GM just blows away the LO. Again, not that big of a deal, since my loving wife also gave me an Audix Fireball v microphone for Christmas. I still plan on trying other brands, But I really, REALLY love my Golden Melody. Maybe just because thats what I started out on.

I must say that I still love the Lee Oskar harps I have.

I have not seen the problem that Gatman had.

I like the slightly larger holes in the Lee Oskar harps. They fit me better than smaller harps. They are a pleasure to play.

[www.leeoskar.com]

I've had more time to play the LO now, and I have to say, that I am doing better with it. I think IT had to break ME in more than I had to break IT in.
I'll probably stick with the Hohner GM because it just fits me better (again, that may be because I started out with it), but I really can't complain about the LO.