What would happen if harmonica players all over the world started contacting harmonica manufacturers asking why they don't sell just the top OR bottom reed plate?
I have never blown a reed on the top plate, but have blown many on the bottom ones. I have stack of perfectly good top plates. The only good they are is possibly stealing a reed from it to put on a blown bottom reed.

Today I contacted Hohner about this. Also asked why replacement reeds for the Special 20 is so hard to find AND why are they so high priced. It's cheaper to buy the whole harp. I also asked why they don't make low keys in the SP-20 anymore.

The one reed plate makes a lot of sense to me. Less waste! I'll let you know if I get a reply.

Antony Dannecker in the UK at one time supplied reed plates for the SP20 can't remember the cost as being more than the Harmonica itself. Antony's harps have gone upmarket lately he is producing a fine range but of course the prices have also gone up.

You may be aware that it is possible to replace individual reeds and there are toolkits around.
I've not tried it myself but if you have the time and a bit of engineering skill, it could save some money.
Have a look at these video clips for further information, but also look at some of the comments about the cost of the reeds!


Suzuki
[www.youtube.com]

Hohner
[www.youtube.com]

I've replaced single reeds. Not easy. All I use is a dremmel. Finding the reed I need on an old plate that will work takes a bit of time. The first one I did was about 10 years ago on a Special 20 Eb. Don't use it a lot, but it still works fine.
I use very small nuts and bolts to attach the new reed. I was surprised to find ones that small at a local hardware. Even as small as they are, I still have to drill the holes in the new reed and plate a little bigger for the bolt to go through.
I've done about 6-7 so for over the years. Maybe on one of these rainy days I'll gather up several harps with a bad reed and do em' all. That way I'll have everything set up and get like a production line going. Might cut down the individual time spent on doing just one at a time.
Problem is.....on those rainy days I'd rather be playing them instead of working on them. It's hard enough to get myself to clean them and check the tuning as it is.