Hohner Harmonicas

Are you looking for harmonicas? Then you've come to the right place. Blues, rock, country, jazz; whatever the occasion, we have the Hohner harmonica for you. Hohner has been manufacturing harmonicas since 1857, and they've always been the best. During the Lincoln-Douglas debates, when worried friends told President Abraham Lincoln that his opponent was bringing a brass band, Mr. Lincoln reached into his pocket, grinned and said “the harmonica will do it for me!” During that same era, Union and Confederate soldiers carried Hohner Harmonicas into Civil War battles. Many claimed that carrying harmonicas in their breast pockets defected bullets and saved their lives!

As the country expanded westward following the Civil War, many pioneers depended on the Hohner harmonica for company while exploring the wilderness. Infamous lawman Wyatt Earp had a Hohner harmonica in his pocket at the OK Corral, and Billy the Kid and Frank James were both noted harmonica enthusiasts. In more recent years, the harmonica has gained status as a serious musical instrument. It can now be heard in the world's most renowned concert halls, with music written specifically for harmonica by world-acclaimed contemporary composers. In New York, Classical harmonicists Larry Adler, Robert Bonfiglio, Larry Logan, and Tommy Reilly all staged recitals and New York’s City College became the first institution of higher learning to offer a degree program majoring in harmonica

Choosing A Harmonica

Construction
Make sure the harmonica with an airtight construction to insure that no air escapes when you blow. Wood cover plates should be avoided as they are easily damaged by heat and moisture from regular blowing. For some harminicas, look to see if they have a windsaver. These are one-way valves made from thin strips of plastic, knit paper, leather or teflon glued onto the reed-plate, and are typically found in chromatic harmonicas, chord harmonicas and many octave-tuned harmonicas. Windsavers are used when two reeds share a cell and leakage through the non-playing reed would be significant. For example, when a draw note is played, the valve on the blow reed-slot is sucked shut, preventing air from leaking through the inactive blow reed. An exception to this is the recent Hohner XB-40 where valves are placed not to isolate single reeds but rather to isolate entire chambers from being active.

Cover Plates
Cover plates cover the reed-plates and are usually made of metal, though wood and plastic have also been used. The choice of these is personal — because they project sound, they determine the tonal quality of the harmonica. There are two types of cover plates: traditional open designs of stamped metal or plastic, which are simply there to be held, and enclosed designs, which offer a louder tonal quality. From these two basic types, a few modern designs have been created, such as the Hohner CBH-2016 chromatic and the Suzuki Overdrive diatonic, which have complex covers that allow for specific functions not usually available in the traditional design. When choosing a harmonica, you're looking for a cover plate that feels comfortable inside your mouth. Make sure all the holes are accessible for tongue blocking, and that the harmonica allows you to blow from the sides of your mouth while still allowing you to reach the holes with your tongue. NOTE: Because of health and sanitary reulations, it is very unlikely that anyone will let you blow on a harmonica you haven't committed to buy.

Mouthpiece
A mouthpiece may also play a factor in comfort. The mouthpiece is placed between the air chambers of the instrument and the player's mouth. This can be integral with the comb (the diatonic harmonicas, the Hohner Chrometta), part of the cover (as in Hohner's CX-12), or may be a separate unit entirely, secured by screws, which is typical of chromatics. In many harmonicas, the mouthpiece is purely an ergonomic aid designed to make playing more comfortable. However, in the traditional slider-based chromatic harmonica it is essential to the functioning of the instrument because it provides a groove for the slide.

Action
Action refers to the how fast the reeds in the reed-plate bend when you blow. Reed-plate is the term for a grouping of several reeds in a single housing. The reeds are usually made of brass, but steel, aluminium and plastic are occasionally used. Individual reeds are usually riveted to the reed-plate, but they may also be welded or screwed in place. Reeds fixed on the inside (within the comb's air chamber) of the reed-plate respond to blowing, while those on the outside respond to suction. In general, harmonicas with a a fast-action reed (also called a high-action reed) offers better response, are easier to control, and require lighter breaths, making them easier to play.

This above section on choosing a harmonica contains information from Wikipedia, and is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Harmonica".

IMPORTANT NOTICE! Health and sanitary regulations prohibit the exchange or return for credit of any mouth blown instrument. If the instrument you purchased is found to contain any defects in materials or workmanship, it must be returned, by the purchaser, to the manufacturer for adjustment.

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