What makes both the Lee Oskar and the Special 20 harmonicas great is that they are relatively affordable, they have great (loud) projection, they are responsive (easy to play,) they are in tune out of the box, and they are easy to bend out of the box. They also have plastic combs which are much easier on the lips than the wooden combs that are in harmonicas such as the Hohner Marine Band 1896. Wooden combs have a nice “woody”tone, but are very painful on the lips when playing for long periods of time. For Advanced Intermediates to Pro If you’re on a budget, or you just want to test the waters, go with the East Top T008k or Fender Blues Deluxe or the Hohner BluesBand. Why should beginners start with a harmonica in the key of C? Most lessons are on a C, so that’s a good place to start. But I am a big believer in ‘requirements analysis’. Start with “What do I want to do with a different key harmonica?” If it’s only to hear your own playing in a different key, it doesn’t really matter what key you buy. Lower often sounds ‘better’, but listen to some Jimmy Reed (Bright Lights, Big City) for some unreal high-end harp riffs. Most beginner tutorials, both free ones that you can find on YouTube, and paid ones such as my Beginner to Boss course, are all using C harmonicas. So starting with a C harmonica will enable you to benefit from all of the great beginner instruction available online.

The harp manufacturers’ sets (usually of 5, 7 or 12) give a good indication of the popular keys, but that only becomes important when you want to play with others, or to recorded tunes. If you’ve got a guitarist mate that plays blues, an A would definitely be next (an A plays in the key of E in 2nd position (often the best position for blues), and guitarists like the open chords in E). Of course, sometimes harmonicas are sold in sets, like the Fender Blues Deluxe Set of 7. These are great options, because you can save a little bit of money compared to buying one at a time, and they come with a case, and having a case is always helpful. Having all these keys will put you in a greater likelihood of being able to jam more songs with other musicians. And jamming with others is one of the greatest joys of being a musician.A unique, beautifully mellow sound, based on a revolutionary concept: the Special 20 was the first diatonic harmonica in the world with reed plates recessed into the comb, creating a projecting plastic mouthpiece. This makes it more comfortable to play, and the most copied harmonica design worldwide. But, according to JP, the 1847’s have to be customized by a harmonica technician for optimal performance (i.e., they’re not the best performing harmonicas out-of-the-box, but in his opinion, they are the best once they’re customized). JP recommends two possible one-man-shop professional harmonica technicians who can set them up for you, both of whom he has had good experience with: Diatonic” refers to a harp that commonly has 10 holes and plays the scale to which it is tuned (diatonic harmonicas DO NOT have a button on the side). For example, a C diatonic harmonica is tuned to the key of C, which will enable you to easily play the C Major scale. All the economical and professional harmonicas in the above lists are diatonic.

Responsiveness – No problems here. Responds exactly as I’d hope a harmonica would from hole 1 to 10. Easy to play fast. (I guess that’s why John Popper chose it!) 5/5 Stars. If you are a beginner who would rather save money right now, any economical 10-hole diatonic harmonica in the key of C will be fine to jam along with my Beginner to Boss harmonica lessons. I prefer the East Top T008k. If you want the absolute least expensive harp you can get to test the waters, consider the Hohner Blues Band. If you’re in the game of saving money while still getting a professional-level harmonica, go with the Lee Oskar or the Hohner Special 20, which both will sound great out-of-the-box without any customization. For customers in outlying areas of the country, the price of the Extended Warranty may be marginally higher, due to the potential for higher collection and redelivery transport costs.Greg Jones: JP recommends his Overblow/Overdraw set up. You’ll find his customized harps at 1623customharmonicas.com. When you are ready to learn how to bend to get that bluesy sound, I STRONGLY suggest you try a Lee Oskar, a Hohner Special 20 or any of the harmonicas mentioned above that are rated 3.6/5 Stars or better, if you can afford it. If you are on a budget, the East Top T008k will still serve you well to learn bending. If an item can not be repaired, a similar alternative product or cash discount (as defined in this policy) will be offered One more thought: if you’re wanting to be able to play along with guitarist, and you’re wanting to do bluesy kind of stuff, you’ll want to get an A harmonica, as that is the key you need to play blues in E, and E is a guitar player’s favorite key. C is a very common key to start with if you're new to harmonica as there's lots of classic you can play with this one harp.