i am a begginer harmonica player and would like to get a few more quality harmonicas. i have allready purchased a marine band. i have heard good things about both the marine band and spetial 20. which one do you recomend for a semi begginer blues player.

thanks heaps

I've never tried the marine band. I started off with a Blues Harp in C. Then I bought a Special 20 in G for a low pitch harp. After that I bought a Golden Melody in C and finally I have a Special 20 in C. I like the Special 20's the best. To me they just feel better and are easy to play.

If all you're doing is playing and practicing straight harp, a key of C harmonica is all you need. Pick up a low key harp like a G since some songs play too high on a C harp. You don't need all the other keys unless your playing with other instruments or jaming with someone. Just about everything I tab can be easily played on a C harp.

The choice of harp is up to you. Some people like the feel of different types of harps. Others like the sound from different harps. When you start getting into serious bending to play good blues tunes, there's only a handfull of harps that are good at it. I can bend notes easier on my Blues Harp than I can on my Special 20 but then I haven't tryed hard enough yet with the Special 20.

You can't go wrong with the Special 20's because they do have a plastic comb which seems to make 'em a little more durable than the Marine Bands.

On the other hand, I've been learning primarily on the Marine Bands, and the Marine Bands have been workin' for me. (smile)))

Like Bluewest said, it's really up to your preference and what feels right to you.

Try Hohner Golden Melodys (my personal Hohner favorite). Then branch out to other manufacturers. Lee Oscars and Suzuki's are good places to start. I own alot of harps, much depends on what sound (Feel?) you want and how much you are willing to spend. I plan to try the Suzuki Bluesmaster when I need to replace another harp. You will ALWAYS need to replace. As a begginer not so much, but as you become an intermidiate player and start working bends you will end up replacing alot more. Then when you become more advanced and your mouth "knows what to do" you will replace less. But you will ALWAYS replace.

Keep Wailing, Pat the Harp Rat

i have allredy started to bend. i am using my old silver star which is easier to bend on than my marine band. i would like a harp that is easy to bend on and has a good blues sound.

booky blues: "good blues sound" is a very slippery concept. It often seems to mean "fuzzy" or "Not Bright" i.e. not Hohner Golden Melody or Lee Oscars or Suzuki Pro Masters. I no longer agree with that assesment. I think that you can still get the "good blues sound" (or better) with them. All these harps are (in my opinion) are better for bending. The Suzuki Seems to be the best to me for ease of precision bending. The Suzuki Pro Master, however is more expensive and is so precise that it easier to make (some kinds of) mistakes. As I said on my previous post I am going to try the Suzuki Blues Master, which is cheaper and has very high rateings.

Keep Wailing, Pat the Harp Rat

Thanks. i am starting to get use to bending. i practice up till 11.30 last night trying to get it. i have bent the first three holes on my silver star to half bends.

I like my honers, but I would say lee oskars are 'easier' to bend if thats what you are after. Having said that I don't have any trouble bending with the honer blues harp or special 20.

I also have a couple of silver stars in different keys, they are cheap honers made in china I think. They are decent harps though IMO, not as good as say a special 20, but a cheap way to experiment with different keys and they bend fine for me.

I Really like my Lee Oskars.

I always advise to get a harp with a plastic comb.

thanks heaps. after practasing every night this week i can finally bend evrery key on both my silver star and my marine band. (well all the draws up to 6, excluding 5 as i have heard it is not good and can wreck the harp).