Hohner Bluesband Harmonica 7-Piece Set

Sweet sound, affordable.

The Hohner Bluesband harmonica 7 piece set with carrying case is an excellent bargain! Many years ago I first happened upon the Hohner Bluesband harmonica (which can be found in various music stores and toy stores for about $6), when I was in need of a harmonica to play and had left all of my Lee Oskar/Tombo harmonicas at home. I bought it thinking for $6 at least I could play a tune. Surprise, surprise when I started to bend all of the notes for blues riffs. No stiffness. A lot of flexibility and the harmonica reeds endured many months of constant blowing. (It brought back memories of buying Hohner Marine Bands in the 1960's for $2,50). BUT unfortunately this harmonica only came in the key of C. From time to time I kept thinking...why doesn't Hohner make this harmonica in all the other keys. They would make a fortune...a harmonica for twenty to twenty-five dollars less than their Marine Bands which could be used as a practice and backup harmonica, put in your pocket wherever you went and not worry about losing or destroying a $30 investment. Well, I was completely unaware there actually existed such a product. Seven into $30 comes out to $4.28 (with tax) per harmonica INCLUDING a carrying case. This indeed harkens back to another time and era of the economy. You are not going to find a deal like this for a long, long time. Try the Hohner Bluesband harmonica in the key of C first. If you like it then buying the set of seven is a no-brainer. As an update to this review. I found that the reeds on the 2 and 3 holes on the F harmonica are not flexible. That could be the result of a mass production defect which might be remedied by 1. Unscrewing the harmonica's plates with a small jeweler's philips screw driver or something comparable. 2. Gently and very slightly flexing those particular reeds with a thin piece of paper 3. Being careful not to change their pitch.

Great for people figuring out Keys .. A good Cheap Beginner set..

Can’t do better than this for price. These aren’t the best harps ever and the plastic comb looks cheap but serves the purpose. Great key markers.I bought this to have a wide range of keys without spending a bundle before I improve my skill. I’m so glad I did.When first opened I encountered some stuck reeds, but a gentle tap fixed them all. The reeds sounded harsh at first but warmed up quickly with slight practice.The case is an improvement over what is shown. It is a well padded zipper case that first the harps well.Would definitely recommend to any beginner over anything else I’ve seen.The Seydel cleaning cloth and the two Hohner Blues Harps shown in my photo were obviously From a different purchase. All the black combed harps and the case are from this purchase.

as described, beginner level, all functioned

The case seems sturdy and very protective.Each harp plays well and has good sound.- UPDATE -After sometime playing these, they are really great, but have a problematic issue.Some of the screws seems to be glued... they won't turn and if I try more the screws will strip. So, after a while they will not sound good and will need to be thrown away...

You low star whiners are amusing!"WAAAA! I bought a set of five dollar harps and they don't play like professional instruments!" Well DUH!Do you also buy $100 Chinese guitars, and then complain that they don't play like Fender Deluxe Stratocasters?I've been buying Bluesbands at Cracker Barrel restaurants for years, just to have them laying around for when inspiration strikes so I dont have to dig around the equipment case to find one. These and Pocket Pals are the best bang for your buck as far as sub $10.00 harps go!I could never find anything but key of C, so getting all these keys in a set is a dream come true! Now I can go to bonfires and barbecues with this and a cheap microphone and not have to worry about anything happening to my $500 belt of Lee Oskars!I just got my set in, and they seem to work just fine. They are a little sluggish in the action, and need a little more air, but who cares!After practicing on one of these, I can really rip on a good harp!

I am not a great harmonica player. I just use it now and then to add something to some songs I have wrote and recorded. Have had a Special 20 tuned in G, made in Germany, for two years and a half. It is quite a good harp. So I have something to compare this set with.The set comes in a useful carrying case. You can notice it is intended to be used by beginners, since the external label comes with a "key selection guide" which tells you what harp use to play 2nd position according to the key the song is written in.The harps themselves are made of plastic with metallic plates, so they have some resemblance with my Special 20. I played each one for a while. None of this harps is as soft as Special 20. They are harder to play. Specially in some keys like F. That one you have to blow really hard, and it makes a lot of bothering noise. I wonder if I can fix it by opening the harp or if the reeds will loosen a bit with time. I just don't know, since I am no harmonica expert. Some others (e.g. C,D,E,G,A) are softer to play.So far I don't find any tuning problem. They seem to be alright with respect to that.I think it is a playable set. It is OK for the price, you got what you pay for. If you play some gig and you don't want to be carrying around your expensive harps, it might be a good idea to buy this pack.Update: I finally got home and played my new Bluesband in G and my old Special 20. There is no possible comparison. Special 20's sound is a lot fuller and more resonant. But, again, cheap harps will sound like cheap harps.