Post by jbone on Feb 21, 2018 10:46:53 GMT -5
I'm an opportunist when it comes to shopping for harps. I'm also on a budget so it's rare I go wild getting new stuff. Each harp is valued. I thought I'd list out what's in my case and why.
Suzuki Manji. These are a louder than usual out of box harp. They are very good for all acoustic settings for that reason. The maker of these harps is Suzuki himself. Manji Suzuki. He designed a harp that has better than average features, like vented cover plates with open backs for sound projection, a solid composite wood/resin comb which does not swell or shrink, plenty of screws to hold the reed plates tight to the comb, and most important to me, high quality braised reed plates. These reeds are a different recipe of brass which has proven to be more durable than most others. The reeds are also laser aligned in their slots, which makes for better performance. The reed plates are replaceable for about half the cost of a new harp. Initial cost of a Manji is around $60 USD. Competitive with other better quality harps of other brands. Low tuned models- D, Eb, F- come with deeper cover plates on the low end to keep from reed rattle. This is my desert island harp choice.
Suzuki Pure harp. This is a beautiful harp, made with good reed plates and a rose wood comb and covers. A very sweet sound though not loud. Not too quiet either! And replaceable reed plates. I got one as a birthday gift some years ago. Price is up now. Covers to the end of the reed plates.
Suzuki Hammond. This is a real nice harp. Covers are all the way to the ends of the comb, nice fit and finish. Replaceable reed plates. Nice tuning. I don't recall the cost but I got a deal on an odd key I needed so I grabbed it up on sale.
Hohner Marine Band. I have a couple of MB's in my case. A good all-around harp for around $40. I have no idea how they are made these days but used to be they were held together with tiny nails, making taking them apart and back together- say for cleaning- a pain. There are at least two models available in the US, the stock version, and a better made model Deluxe. The deluxe features screw construction, a water resistant comb, and I think the cost is competitive with Suzuki Manji.
I also have a customized MB, and have had a few of these. The one I have now plays louder and does what I need a harp to do. It's close to the performance of a Manji and sounds marginally better to my ears. The drawbacks to any customized harp are, 1) extra expense to have it Hot Rodded, and 2) tuning that suits the user, and 3) turn around time if one has an issue with the harp, like a bad reed from playing the dickens out of it. Top tier custom builders are in high demand. There are some customizers now who do a basic better setup on a harp for more reasonable prices. For me the hassle has seldom been desirable, so I've only acquired a custom or two by horse trading. A box of harps with damaged reeds for a single custom harp. Not many guys want to do this any more.
Hohner Special 20. I have one or two of these still. A decent all around harp, well made and tuned. The plastic comb and screw down design makes them pretty air tight. About $40, but they make now two models, one of which costs more. It may or may not be better.
Hohner Big River. This is a replaceable reed plate harp in Hohner's MS series. I used to use a lot of these because they were cheaper than most other decent harps, and when I blew one out I could easily get another, or get reed plates. It was a decent solution for when I was playing way too hard and blowing out a lot of reeds. Some low tunings available. The price crept up and other choices were a better bet eventually, but I do have one or two left in odd keys which I got for a deal. These are a bit bigger than most other harps and take a bit of getting used to, but I did have good experience with them for a couple of years.
Eastop 008s. This harp brand is fairly new in the market, maybe 3 years old. Made in China but made very well. A lot of attractive features borrowed from other brands like a composite comb, open covers, well made reed plates, good tuning and durability. I have two 008's I got new which are still going strong after 2-3 years, and one a guy gave me after he did some work on it, which is pretty good as well. Fit and finish is nice. Plenty of hardware to hold them together. Comb does not warp. The covers have a variety of finishes all of which are good quality ie no flaking, fading etc. Very playable harps for $25-$30 each depending on where they are bought. I don't know of any replaceable reed plates but for the price that's not an issue to me. The ones I have are a somewhat smoother sounding harp than say a Manji, but not as loud. Good harp for good value. I have yet to truly beat one up and see how long it lasts under duress.
I have owned some other harps and don't any more.
Lee Oskar. Lee brought us the modular harp. Reed plates could be swapped out. It was an innovation Lee brought to the market and he's a hero for that. He also has a lot of different tunings for different music. Minors, gypsy, and a host of others. Well built harps, airtight. Wide availability. BUT I found the tuning to be a bit sharp for my ear, making them seem sort of shrill. Even so, if I "had to" I'd buy one to get me through a gig.
Suzuki Promaster. Very similar to the Hammond model above. Pricey to me.
Suzuki Bluesmaster is a harp for beginner playing, similar to say a Hohner Big River. Not terrible but not the best. Same with Folkmaster. These have different covers, but otherwise I think are the same.
Hohner Blues Harp. Used to be identical to Marine Band except the covers were closed on the ends rather than vented. These days they are part of the MS series, which is replaceable reed plates. these reed plates are not popular because the quality is less than a pro or semi pro demands.
Bushman Delta Frost. Bought them for a while and they were pretty good. Replaceable reed plates and good sound. Availability was an issue.
Hering harps. Very nice build, lots of brass, vintage look. Different tuning than most others. Availability was an issue and I doubt they ship to North America if they are still in business.
Huang Star Performer and one other model Huang. I used to buy 2 or 3 of these at once because they were very easy to kill a reed on. The price was about 1/3 of better harps though and occasionally I got one that lasted a while. They were not well made.
I may remember some others. I'll address my limited experience with chromatic brands/models later.
Suzuki Manji. These are a louder than usual out of box harp. They are very good for all acoustic settings for that reason. The maker of these harps is Suzuki himself. Manji Suzuki. He designed a harp that has better than average features, like vented cover plates with open backs for sound projection, a solid composite wood/resin comb which does not swell or shrink, plenty of screws to hold the reed plates tight to the comb, and most important to me, high quality braised reed plates. These reeds are a different recipe of brass which has proven to be more durable than most others. The reeds are also laser aligned in their slots, which makes for better performance. The reed plates are replaceable for about half the cost of a new harp. Initial cost of a Manji is around $60 USD. Competitive with other better quality harps of other brands. Low tuned models- D, Eb, F- come with deeper cover plates on the low end to keep from reed rattle. This is my desert island harp choice.
Suzuki Pure harp. This is a beautiful harp, made with good reed plates and a rose wood comb and covers. A very sweet sound though not loud. Not too quiet either! And replaceable reed plates. I got one as a birthday gift some years ago. Price is up now. Covers to the end of the reed plates.
Suzuki Hammond. This is a real nice harp. Covers are all the way to the ends of the comb, nice fit and finish. Replaceable reed plates. Nice tuning. I don't recall the cost but I got a deal on an odd key I needed so I grabbed it up on sale.
Hohner Marine Band. I have a couple of MB's in my case. A good all-around harp for around $40. I have no idea how they are made these days but used to be they were held together with tiny nails, making taking them apart and back together- say for cleaning- a pain. There are at least two models available in the US, the stock version, and a better made model Deluxe. The deluxe features screw construction, a water resistant comb, and I think the cost is competitive with Suzuki Manji.
I also have a customized MB, and have had a few of these. The one I have now plays louder and does what I need a harp to do. It's close to the performance of a Manji and sounds marginally better to my ears. The drawbacks to any customized harp are, 1) extra expense to have it Hot Rodded, and 2) tuning that suits the user, and 3) turn around time if one has an issue with the harp, like a bad reed from playing the dickens out of it. Top tier custom builders are in high demand. There are some customizers now who do a basic better setup on a harp for more reasonable prices. For me the hassle has seldom been desirable, so I've only acquired a custom or two by horse trading. A box of harps with damaged reeds for a single custom harp. Not many guys want to do this any more.
Hohner Special 20. I have one or two of these still. A decent all around harp, well made and tuned. The plastic comb and screw down design makes them pretty air tight. About $40, but they make now two models, one of which costs more. It may or may not be better.
Hohner Big River. This is a replaceable reed plate harp in Hohner's MS series. I used to use a lot of these because they were cheaper than most other decent harps, and when I blew one out I could easily get another, or get reed plates. It was a decent solution for when I was playing way too hard and blowing out a lot of reeds. Some low tunings available. The price crept up and other choices were a better bet eventually, but I do have one or two left in odd keys which I got for a deal. These are a bit bigger than most other harps and take a bit of getting used to, but I did have good experience with them for a couple of years.
Eastop 008s. This harp brand is fairly new in the market, maybe 3 years old. Made in China but made very well. A lot of attractive features borrowed from other brands like a composite comb, open covers, well made reed plates, good tuning and durability. I have two 008's I got new which are still going strong after 2-3 years, and one a guy gave me after he did some work on it, which is pretty good as well. Fit and finish is nice. Plenty of hardware to hold them together. Comb does not warp. The covers have a variety of finishes all of which are good quality ie no flaking, fading etc. Very playable harps for $25-$30 each depending on where they are bought. I don't know of any replaceable reed plates but for the price that's not an issue to me. The ones I have are a somewhat smoother sounding harp than say a Manji, but not as loud. Good harp for good value. I have yet to truly beat one up and see how long it lasts under duress.
I have owned some other harps and don't any more.
Lee Oskar. Lee brought us the modular harp. Reed plates could be swapped out. It was an innovation Lee brought to the market and he's a hero for that. He also has a lot of different tunings for different music. Minors, gypsy, and a host of others. Well built harps, airtight. Wide availability. BUT I found the tuning to be a bit sharp for my ear, making them seem sort of shrill. Even so, if I "had to" I'd buy one to get me through a gig.
Suzuki Promaster. Very similar to the Hammond model above. Pricey to me.
Suzuki Bluesmaster is a harp for beginner playing, similar to say a Hohner Big River. Not terrible but not the best. Same with Folkmaster. These have different covers, but otherwise I think are the same.
Hohner Blues Harp. Used to be identical to Marine Band except the covers were closed on the ends rather than vented. These days they are part of the MS series, which is replaceable reed plates. these reed plates are not popular because the quality is less than a pro or semi pro demands.
Bushman Delta Frost. Bought them for a while and they were pretty good. Replaceable reed plates and good sound. Availability was an issue.
Hering harps. Very nice build, lots of brass, vintage look. Different tuning than most others. Availability was an issue and I doubt they ship to North America if they are still in business.
Huang Star Performer and one other model Huang. I used to buy 2 or 3 of these at once because they were very easy to kill a reed on. The price was about 1/3 of better harps though and occasionally I got one that lasted a while. They were not well made.
I may remember some others. I'll address my limited experience with chromatic brands/models later.