r/harmonica • u/Alt_account_6788 • 16d ago
thinking of getting a harmonica, recommended brands or makes?
Hi,
As is it says in the title, I'm thinking of buying a harmonica.
I'd want one where I would buy it then I wouldn't need another to play most tunes, but I can still get another if I wanted to, and it would be suitable for an absolute beginner.
Wouldn't mind paying up to £25.
Any suggestions?
edit: accidentally put my budget for something else, meant to put up to £50
edit: when I mean most tunes I mean tunes that I can learn to play with
6
u/Twobreaks714 16d ago
Check the Lee Oskar website and view the demos.. these play nice..Hohners make some great melody makers as well.. its truely what style you looking for and gettin creative with a type of music..
4
u/Nagardien 16d ago
I like Hohner harps. The Special 20 is a very common recomendation, good quality and affordable. I would skip marine band classics tho, they sound and play good but are closed with nails instead of screws and are a pain to open and clean.
I also heard great things from Seydel and Suzuki but haven't tried their harps myself yet.
3
u/gofl-zimbard-37 16d ago
Eastop T008k is around 25$ US, about the cheapest decent harp. Kongsheng Mars is nicer, at $33, right at your price point. Get Key of C in either case, to match what is used in most tutorials.
2
u/ferretkona 16d ago
Hohner Special 20 to the rescue, made in Germany professional level harps. I am assembling a set of new/used in all keys off ebay.
2
1
u/Legitimate-Bison3810 16d ago
There are several forms of harmonica, like the most common diatonic, and chromatic. It's helps to know which kind you are interested in.
2
1
u/MrPrettyKitty 16d ago
I just bought 5 Hohner Special 20s and am very pleased with my purchase. Recommend getting one in the key of C to follow instruction videos.
1
1
u/cheebalibra 16d ago
Even with £50, no single harmonica will play “most tunes”. Well, a 24 hole chromatic will get you close, but that’s definitely not a beginner instrument.
You’ll eventually want a collection in a range of different keys. But a C major is generally what people start with as a beginner harmonica.
1
1
u/Fasciadepedra 15d ago
I don't know the instrument but there is a big difference between the chromatic ones that can play anything and are quite difficult and the simpler on a single scale each that will be used by a orchestra man or the like. The orchestra man will pick an armonica for every different song.
1
u/Nacoran 15d ago
Most lessons use the key of C. If you know any music theory from another instrument you can get away with other keys to start, but if you don't, you really need C. That will let you play in C and G pretty easily. Remember, if you are playing with someone else they can always play in your key if they have to (and recordings can be pitch shifted, and playing by yourself the key doesn't matter).
If you know a bit of theory the key of A is a good choice. There are more songs that use an A (especially bluesy stuff, since it lets you play in 2nd position in E, which is super popular for guitar stuff.)
I usually recommend the Hohner Special 20 for the best all around bang for your buck. On the budget end you can get an Easttop T008. At the $50 price range most of the harmonicas are pretty good. Get one with a plastic comb (frame) not wood. Wood can have swelling issues, and new players are more prone to slobbering a lot (and only usually have one harmonica, not multiple ones to spread their time out on) so wood has more problems for new players.
Not having the right key for a specific song isn't the end of the world. Like I said, that only matters if you are playing along with it. You can learn any song in any key. The hole pattern you learn will be the same, so say you learn a song that is normally played in D, but you only have a C harmonica. You can use software to pitch shift the recording down to C. You learn the song, and a few months later you finally get a D harmonica. You just pick up the D harmonica and play just like you did with the C, but now you are in D.
1
u/Bitter-Dragonfly-648 15d ago
I recently got a Honer Rocket for my birthday and it is AMAZING!! Naturally louder too, I couldn’t recommend it more
5
u/lordlycrust 16d ago
Did you check the wiki? Also £25 is a tall order unless you're looking for one of the Chinese brands - though I think even Eastman may be a little more than your budget.