I got my first Golden Melody today (key of C). I've been messing around with it, switching back and forth between it and my Suzuki Promaster. So here's how I think the GM stacks up against the Promaster...


The Indifferent:
*The Golden Melody is equal temperament tuned, and they say it's not supposed to sound as good on chords as all the ritcher-tuned harps. My ear couldn't tell the difference.

*They say the Golden Melody is supposed to be easy to bend. It is, but so is my Promaster.

*They say it's easy to do overblows and overdraws on it. I still have not figured out how to do that, so I can't say.



The bad:
*It's supposed to have a good tone. It does, I guess, but the Promaster's is better.

*I've read that they don't last as long as some other harps, but I just got mine today, so I don't know. I do know that Promasters & other Suzukis have a reputation for lasting, and none of mine have gone bad-But then I don't play as much as I should.



The good:
*It's very wide. There is a lot of room to put your forefinger and thumb on it without getting in the way of your lips.

*The front of the Golden Melody is longer than the Promaster, but the back is shorter than the Promaster. The GM fits very nicely in the hand and is very easy to seal, making for more distinctive wahs.

*It's not a very attractive harp. This is a good thing, 'cuz-ya see, my Promasters are so pretty that I buff them clean every time I put them down. That gets to be a pain in the ass after a while.

*It's cheaper than the Promaster.


Conclusion:
It seems to be a good harp, but not as good as the Promaster. To me, it's strongest point is the shape. It feels great to hold. I'm not at all sorry that I bought this (with an E-Bay gift card I got for my birthday), but I guess Promasters will remain my main harp. I'm likely to use my GM a lot when I need a C harp 'cuz I won't feel compelled to buff it all the time...And I won't be wearing out my C Promaster.



Post Edited (2008-12-16 03:21:12)

good review, i agree completely, the promaster is very good, but the golden melody is not to shabby either.

if you like the promaster and hate to buff them (i do the same), you should try the hammond harp, its like a black promaster from susuki, and i think there even a little better. and thats saying something.

I really like the Golden Melody, and had intended to stick with them exclusively from now on, but your review has made me want to try the
Promaster.
I guess the only difference between the Promaster and the Hammond
(besides the finish and the price) is that the Promaster has brass reeds,
while the Hammond has phosphore bronze reeds. Can one of you tell me the difference?
And I disagree with you Gene, I think the GM is a good looking harp.
Oh, and one more thing, the GM is only a few bucks cheaper than the Promaster.

A sidenote to Gene; Have you noticed the Suzuki Overdrive? It caught my attention because they claim to create overblows and overdraws simply by covering a hole in the cover. I thought this might interest you.



Post Edited (2008-12-17 13:55:31)

they both have the bronze reeds, and the difference is, bronze tends to last longer and produces a slighty grittier tone. And in my experence thats true, with my hohners wearing out quicker than my suzukis. And you should try a promaster there really nice. and the overdrive is quite good, you should check out igor flech to see what it does,he makes it sound better that i ever have.

I've read that the Overdrive is kinda hard to play because you have to learn to finger it a little bit--Kinda like a flute, in a way.

its ok, its takes a little getting used to and after a while it will become second nature, some times i do the fingering by mistake on my promasters, its like anything else in music, the more you play it they easier it gets. Kinda like a flute, but you can just cover a bunch with your fingers and do it that way, you dont really need to be accurate with the holes to get the note, as long as it covers the hole you want. Its not for everyone though.



Post Edited (2008-12-17 18:33:23)

Yeah, Gat, come to think about it: The GM is kinda good-lookin' compared to most other harps--all those harps with the cover plates shaped like a box.
(Are those hard to seal with your hands? I'm used to cover plates that go all the way to the ends.)

Yeah Gene, That is exactly what I like about it. That, and I painted the logo red to match the comb. The covers on the Promaster have great coverage too, It lookes alot like the Hohner Harpmeister, at less than half the price!!

Seydel also has a few models like that.

so is the GM worth the buy? I plan on ordering one soon

I like the Golden Melody alot. It's not as fat at the front as other harmonica's so it may feel different to you. It all comes down to
personal preference.

I have four Golden Melody's, they are good harps,

I have GM's in C, Eb, A and F

Not keen on the F harp !! It's hard to play, doesn't sound like it should.

I have a promaster, it looks nice, it's heavy and it makes a good paper weight, thats all I use it for. That's all it's good for, wouldn't buy another one.

You pay for the nice shiny cover thats all, there are better value harps for much less money, which sound just as nice, just my humble opinion.

Seasons Greetings From The UK

Here's an entry from another forum:

"For what it's worth- I ordered a set of 6 Bluesmasters a few months ago. The place I ordered them from made a mistake and sent me a set of Promasters instead. Much to my dismay , harmonicas can't be returned, so I got "stuck" with them. I absolutley love them- when I go back and try to play the other harps I have, I have a really hard time playing them as well as I can the Promaster. Not that I play well, but you know what I mean. (The others I have are Hohner MB, SP-20, Bluesharp, L.O.) I don't know if its just what I've gotten used to the past few months or what, but at this point I wouldn't buy anything else. I think the Bluesmaster is essentially the same harp as the Promaster but with a plastic comb and alot less expensive? Of course, I've heard really good things about the Seydel 1847- thats what Mark Wenner was playing a few weeks ago and he said he really liked them. I doubt you could go wrong with either. Good Luck! "

Well, there you have it, Tarzan. Gene and Pagan, two experienced players with totally different views on the same harmonicas. And myself,
hooked on the Golden Melody. As I mentioned, it just comes down to personal preference.

I would recomend going ahead with your purchase of the Golden Melody and if you don't like it, try something different next time. At least it isn't as expensive as going through guitars, trying to find the one thats perfect for you.
In the long run you'll probably be happy with your collection of harps, even the ones that weren't "the one".

Good luck in your search. By the way, I'm still searching, even though the GM is my favorite so far.

Please send a message with your impressions of the GM after you've given it a good workout. gatman

I don't know if I'll be buying any more Hohners. They have shifted alot of their manufacturing overseas. The chrometta series is now made in china, and I won't stick anything in my mouth that came from china.
I received a Hohner Comet for Christmas, and after reading a posting by Walt, I was looking forward to playing it. That is, untill I took it out of the packaging. I opened it up to discover that it was all sticky and had smudges on it that looked suspisciously like lip prints!
I am presently looking into making my own harmonicas using either Lee Oskar or Suzuki reeds.

Well gat, im doing the same, useing susuki promaster reeds, its slow work but im getting there, it would be a little more tricky with the osker reeds.

I dont trust hohner anymore either, they just seem to break