Rockin Rons Music Hohner Seydel Lee Oskar Suzuki Bushman/JDR Konsheng Easttop (free shipping)
Harmonica Land Harmo Hohner Seydel Suzuki Lee Oskar
Blue Moon Harmonicas Custom harmonicas
I started on Marine Band in the 70s but kept blowing out reeds, then switched to Hohner Blues Harp, picked a Pro Harp in Germany, then Tried the Special 20s but still blew out a lot of reeds.
Switched over to Lee Oskar which seemed a little better than the Hohners. Switched out a few reed plates but they never seemed to play as well after swapping reed plates.
Started trying the Suzuki Bluesmasters which seem to outlast the Lee Oskars and Hohners and I like the continuous cover plates especially when tongue blocking. I think they use phosphor bronze reeds.
For a while I was playing the Marine Band 14 Hole Steve Baker Specials (SBS) which I liked because of the extra octave but I still blew out the reeds on them though I think they lasted a little longer the old Hohner 10 holes.
I started trying chromatic harmonicas. I got a Chrometta 10 which I really dislike because it is so thick and is difficult to play, a Super 64 which is OK but the valves seem to get sticky after playing a few minutes, a Hering 48 which seems to bend a bit more than the H64, and the valves don't stick quite as badly...but they still stick. Not sure how people play those things.
Thought I would try some new brands recently. Seidel Session Steel Blues, which I haven't had too long, but I thought maybe the stainless steel reeds would last better. It seems OK so far, but it takes getting used to.
I got a couple of Trochilus Blues harmonicas (C and A) which really open up the possibilities for playing a wide variety of songs also a Trochilus Chrome Tuned which has the limitation of small range. Trochilus can be very loud and I haven't tried playing them at a gig with bullet mic and amp. I'm not sure how well that would work because of their shape.
I got a Easttop 008k Low F which is real cheap but I was unimpressed.
I got two JDR Assassins recently which seem to play alright but are just a bit too thick to fit in my case well. I'm not sure I've found anything I like better than the Bluesmaster.
Now looking at buying a few others:
Easttop Maxwell Street Blues $39.99
Suzuki Bluesmaster $39.99
Kongsheng Mars $32.99
Bushman Blues Changer $89.99 (G)
Keys:
Paddy D
I like the idea of having an A note on a C scale.
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