(Part 2) Best harmonicas according to redditors

Scroll down to my video review of this awesome harmonica.

If somebody got me a Hohner Meisterklasse I know I would like it very much.

I do not have experience with these mentioned but if you're looking for a steel reed harp I highly recommend the Suzuki Promaster. I bought one in D on a whim and ended up getting an A after a month or two.

If you ever try both I'd love to hear a comparison! Sucks that you can't try before you buy

I have three of these. C, A, and G. They were the first that I bought. They are awful harps. They will only hinder and frustrate you as you attempt to learn to play. Out of tune, difficult to bend, and they totally lack the full sound you get from a better harp.

My wife is a professional musician and she gave me the best advice I've ever received when it comes to shopping for a harp. She said when it comes to buying a first instrument, always, always get the best you can afford. If you're serious about learning that instrument it's a great investment. You'll appreciate it more, it will make learning easier, and when you reach the point that you're actually good at playing you won't have to "upgrade" to something more serious.

With that advice, I bought a Suzuki Promaster in the key of C and proceeded to develop in leaps and bounds over the last few years. Trust me, you will be blown away by the difference.

tl;dr: Get a good harp. Don't mess around with cheap Chinese made crap.

It's over your budget, but good harmonicas are not cheap. The Suzuki promaster harps are quite good and durable.

On the low end would be a Hohner Piedmont Blues set of 7. They're super affordable and not as bad as you might think. Many musicians want to buy their own instruments. So this cheap gift might be appreciated as stop gap and a show of your emotional support and underline that you understand he would want to shop for himself. It would be a nice surprise. Make sure that if you go this route that you include a note explaining that the gift is a gesture of love and that you expect he will shop for something better himself.

Well there are two different harmonicas so first you have to ask yourself which one. The more common one is a diatonic which comes in different keys. The generally recommended beginner harmonica is a key of C. Then there is a chromatic harmonica. These are usually more expensive.

I'll assume you want to play the more common diatonic harmonica as it's what I'm more familiar with. Some good ones to look at are the Marine Band (which has a wood comb so can be a little more picky with regards to maintenance but some swear it sounds better), the special 20 (similar to the marine band but with a plastic comb), Suzuki Harpmaster, Lee Oscar, and the Golden Melody.

Next you'll need lessons. I've found Adam Gussow's lessons to be really good. He has some free ones on youtube so you can get to know his style and for a beginner I recommend his beginner's special. As a first step I'd recommend looking at his free 2 part into lesson. part 1 and part 2.

Also be sure to check out /r/harmonica. It's not the most active subreddit but it has some good resources. Good luck, it's a fun instrument and it's pretty cheap to pick up a really good harmonica (Figure around $30USD).

All else considered: a high-end harmonica set... like seven different Crossovers... or five different Seydel Session Steels... will cost you far less than an equivalent professional clarinet, professional violin, professional piano, professional guitar, or professional Trumpet.

Basically, you're gonna have to leave professional-grade and get a "student trumpet" if you want to compare costs to a set of high-end Session Steel harmonicas.

Special 20 is highly recommended around these forums. I haven't tried that one yet, as I've only really tried the Marine Band 1896. Frankly, the Marine Band is almost perfect for me, I just need screw-based construction to make it perfect (I open it up to tweak those reeds relatively often. I know this harmonica won't hold in the long run with the nails). Marine Band Deluxe might work out, but with only two harmonicas, its hard for me to form a solid opinion still.

IMO, ~$40 Lee Oskars and ~$40 Special 20 is the definition of "midrange" for me. High-end Diatonic Harmonicas are ~$60+. One day I'll try each of them, but it'd be a while. I'm not sure if I'm able to jam with a band yet with my skill level anyway.

for 26 dollars you can get a Hohner Big River, which is a pretty decent harmonica IMO https://www.amazon.com/Hohner-Big-River-Harmonica-Key/dp/B007IE5UT2/ref=sr_1_2?s=musical-instruments&ie=UTF8&qid=1540904458&sr=1-2&keywords=hohner+big+river

Check out the Suzuki Folkmaster! Best harmonica under $20, great bends air tight and never more than about $16. I own many nice ones but ill take these anywhere and they play just as well for most i swear it!

Probably the same one you found but here you go

I shall continue looking for the other instruments you mentioned.

Edit: Ukuleles: one

two

three

There are a lot more. Those are just a few and admittedly I know nothing about ukuleles so I don't know if that's what you're looking for. Be back in a bit with harmonicas. I'm having fun!

Edit 2: Here are a few harmonicas that are not G key.

one

two

three

I hope this helps. The only instruments I'm knowledgeable about are pianos and guitars so take my recommendations with a grain of salt!

G is low G, but they have a high G:
http://www.amazon.com/Hohner-560BX-HG-Special-Harmonica-Major/dp/B003M17OLW

Honestly, a lack of music skills doesn't make that much of a difference. As you play for a while you begin to pick up what sounds good and what doesn't. I don't think not being musical will hold you back too much. Once you get the hang of it, you can recognize what's being played in songs and in my mind the learning process is part of the fun. And there are some Youtube tutorials available as well

If it helps, I believe this is the Harmonica set I got from Amazon. It's somewhat cheap and they sound good. Includes 7 harmonicas, each in a different key. https://www.amazon.com/Hohner-1501-Blues-Band-7-Pack/dp/B003K16N0C There's cheaper sets out there but I don't know how much of a difference there is in quality for a beginner's set.

And you never know with singing either, I personally hate how I sound but others say I'm good. It could be the same with you.

I recommend the Suzuki SCX-48 as the best option. It will last you years if you take good care of it. It is one of the best chromatic harps for a relatively good price and the sound fits jazz much better than Hohner chromatic harps that often sound 'folksy.' I played on it for years and it is still going strong. Although it is not as good as my Suzuki Sirius, which is a much more high end instrument, the tone quality is still fantastic for being a fraction of the price. It even outperforms the Sirius in certain areas such as funk or any other style require more force or responsiveness to its sound.

https://www.amazon.com/Suzuki-SCX-48-Chromatix-Harmonica-Hole/dp/B00133A19S/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1543094977&sr=8-2&keywords=suzuki+scx

I saw that someone recommended the Hohner Cx12 Jazz and I have no experience playing it personally, but in my opinion it would not be worth it just because it costs more than the SCX-48 with the tone and quality of the SCX-48 being better in my opinion. The covers are also plastic which visually looks tacky, but on a positive note the Cx12 is much more modified and easier to clean because no tools are necessary to take it apart. This is unlike the SCX-48, which if you want to clean it you need to unscrew the cover plates. The cover plates on the SCX-48 also tend to be smudged by figure prints so that is a negative it does have to plastic covers. The Cx-12 Jazz is much bulkier than the SCX-48 and I would imagine not quite as comfortable to hold, but I cant say for sure. I think it is still a consideration though as you should decide for yourself if you think those qualities would fit your music style better.

https://www.amazon.com/Hohner-CX-12-JAZZ-Key-C/dp/B002HMDB46/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1543095306&sr=8-3&keywords=hohner+cx12

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If you are serious about getting into this style of music on the chromatic harp, do not buy anything of lesser quality such as the cheap harps from Swan or East Top that range around $60-80. They will become a handicap to your playing due to their lack of responsiveness, poor tone, and poor lifespan.

I just started two new hobbies that sound like they (or some variation of them) could be what you're looking for: playing the harmonica and knitting.

• Harmonica is definitely hands on, and you can start off with some really simple songs that are pretty easy to play. The nice thing is, as long as you buy a diatonic harmonica, it's all in one key. That means that no matter what note you play it at least won't sound bad, even if it's the wrong note/chord. I feel like this has been motivating for me, because hitting a wrong/harsh note is really discouraging. There are a ton of instructional videos online, and /r/harmonica is a great resource. Harmonica's are pretty cheap, just $30-$40 USD for a pretty good starter. Other small musical instruments could also be good, stuff like a jaw harp. Only problem you could run into is if the practicing annoys your spouse, I know my wife prefers it if I go into another room to tool around on it.
  
  
• Knitting is surprisingly easy to learn, and it keeps your hands busy. /r/knitting has a great Wiki that takes you step by step through some beginner projects and on up into complicated ones. Getting enough yarn/the right needles for my first project (a scarf for my wife) cost only around $15-$20, and I bought more than I technically needed. Since you're being frugal, this is a hobby that also produces things, like new clothes for you and your family. $8 worth of yarn is (theoretically, at least) going to make my wife a scarf that would probably cost $20-$30 or more in a store (it's a biggish scarf). Another nice thing is that you can do it while talking to other people, watching tv, even listening to audio books.
  
  Don't know if any of that is up your alley, but I was surprised, with both of those, how easy they are to start learning. I feel like that's pretty important with a new hobby, because if they're too difficult initially it takes a ton of willpower to keep pushing yourself to actually do it. Then it's not a hobby, it's a chore.
  
  Some other fun and cheap stuff that i like to do: /r/running and /r/Fitness , /r/photography (you'd be amazed at the quality of pictures you can get out of a smartphone), learning how to code, reading (library is awesome, you can also get audio and ebooks there now), and drawing. All of these have great tutorials on youtube that can get you started. You can also really improve in most of these, some of them even to the point where it can become an income-earner.
  
  Anyway, this was way more in-depth than I set out to make it, but your situation reminded me of myself not too long ago. I've been really pleased with the results from putting my spare time into something productive and fun, rather than just wasting time with a crappy iPhone game or on Reddit.

Aww, ok then, in that case, would this be acceptable? It's not very cultural, but they're so fun to play, and I'm yet to actually see one for sale. Anyway, thanks for the competition :)

It's not quite as cool looking as your example, but if you're looking for Dylan specifically there's the Dylan Signature Hohner that comes in a box that looks like this:

Pic 1

Pic 2

It's not really that much cheaper at about 120$. I also don't own it so I cant tell you how well the box is suitable for your needs.

I'll have a look if I can find anything else closer to your example pic.

EDIT: Just went through the Amazon reviews and some of the customers complaned that the received only the harmonica in a plastic bag (without the case). Make sure that wherever you buy it you get the box with it. You can send that harmonica my way anytime btw :)

http://www.amazon.com/Suzuki-Promaster-Valved-Harmonica-D/dp/B0014MYT1E/ref=sr_1_10?ie=UTF8&qid=1382384304&sr=8-10&keywords=promaster+harmonica

this is the link