I have various quality brands from Hohner diatonic… I Bought Bluesband to find quality control of Hohner regarding low price diatonic Harmonica… But I assume that is the way it is and also the Music shop owner later admitted the same. So after all you get what you pay for then… But product like this tarnishes Hohners image… Specially If someone is a beginner & that is all they can afford to start with.
The very first harmonica I ever had was a gift of a Bluesband in the key of C. It was actually quite nice. Air tight and played well. I bought a full set due to the price and I do not like them. Certain harps play well, others leak air and in general do not play so well.
I went to Hohner Blues Harp, a professional quality harp and I love them. I have since tried Special 20 and Marine Band 1896 - and I’ve never been disappointed with any of them. All of those are professional harmonicas. They cost a little more but you get what you pay for.
Of course we get what we pay for…
But under the banner of Hohner to my own opinion is sheer mockery & cheap publicity gimmick … First impression is last impression.
I’ve many different brands of expensive 10 hole Harmonica as well…
Including several Chromatic.
But I wouldn’t recommend any beginner to use Hohner Bluesband…
Instead I’ll tell them If their budget is limited then to save some money & buy a better quality Harmonica unlike Hohner Bluesband.
I was fortunate in 1977 to have Thorens & a couple of golden melody to begin with…
But Thank You for answering my long awaited query…
Greeting from Hamburg Germany.
I agree with you. I felt I was lucky to have my first Hohner to be a fairly good instrument. But as a recommendation for a beginner, I wouldn’t recommend Hohner Bluesband harmonicas either.
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Basically you get what you pay for. I recommend all beginning players to start on a good quality instrument. In my opinion the Hohner Special 20 and Big River Harp models offer the best value for money in combination with beginner friendly ergonomics. And you can’t really go wrong with any of the instruments in the Marine Band series.
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