I personally like the full sized cover plates as opposed to the "boxcar" shaped plates. That being said, the special 20 is a very nice harmonica. I got one for my friend for his birthday (who likes the boxcar shaped harmonicas), and he could not say enough good things about it. I have to admit that it sounds really good... okay, great. if I were'nt stuck on the suzuki promasters, I'd be buying special 20's.
Bottom line: if you like this type of harmonica (boxcar shaped) buy the Hohner Special 20.

Hey gatman.
I recently bought a special 20 for a good friends 50th b'day. I know I shouldn't have but I just had to have a go before I gave it to him(just a little go).
I have an OLD SP 20. The day after I tried the new one I just could not get the 2 blow or draw on my old faithful. Of course......it had to be broken! So I went and bought myself a new one just like the one I bought for my friend. I love it. But the first thing I noticed was the weight difference. The new one is lighter. The guy I bought it from at hohner Australia said to take it easy on the bends for a while to let the reeds get used to moving like they do. He said, if I want to do any serious bending to use the old one. That weekend I finally taught myself to lip block. That opens up a whole new world of bending. So I picked up my old harp and discovered?............it wasn't broken. Its beautiful!!!!

I do love my new harp, it seems a little easier to play, but my old sp20ms has a much richer tone and I like the slightly heavier feel. The brass reed plates come through over the holes whereas with the new one, they are fully recessed into the comb. The new one is also slightly shorter.

Anyway, that's my little sp20 story. Kinda wish I could afford a pro master given all the praise on this website. Thinking I'll probably end up with one a bit further down the track, but for now I'm more than happy with the hohner Sep 20. Bending is not a problem and ( most of the time) they sound fantastic.

Cheers
Mike