I had to laugh when you said "not too shabby" after playing such a great sounding tune right out of the box. Thank you for this. What you can pull out of a harp is sooo good.:)
I have several of these in various keys ! I like them ! Hope things are going well back in Colorado! Sorry I missed your gig back here in Champaign recently with dig three ! I was playing elsewhere! Stay true to what you do! Everyone appreciates it believe me! ✌🏻😎
Back in the '70's when Hohners were very inexpensive, I purchased a number of Marine Bands, even the 365 models. A fella turned me on to the Blues Harps. I purchased a number of different keys. I still have them. Because I had so many harps, I never played them often, other than the C and G, which I wore out, but the other keys are as good as new, with nails.
I started with this model, also tried others, than went back to this one. This harp has that rounded dark and floating sound, that's why I like it. From my experience, The Blues Harp is better than Marine Band.
Same here! Started with a BH in C… then tried everything… almost… SP20 and MB which I still love… to phosphor bronze Suzukis and steel Seydel. The Blue Harp has the perfect shape for my mouth, the doussie wood is almost hydro repellent (it’s used for bathroom flooring!) and the sound is sweet and mellow with a little raspy feeling. Totally love it!
I am the first person to view this! I’m a huge fan of yours, and as a fan of most types of music-especially the Blues. I used to play the guitar as often as I walked past one of the 3 I kept: 1 in my basement with my Marshall cabinets and Fender amp; 1 on the main floor and 1 upstairs in the bedroom. I lived, loved and listened to everything guitar and my personal "favourite" was Jeff Beck. I’m 52, and broke my neck at work when I was 21, about eleven years after I first picked up a guitar and started learning how to play it. I bought "Truth" before most of my friends had heard of The Yardbirds, let alone knew that THE THREE biggest names in guitar to come out of Britain in the ‘60s…that belonged to guys born in Britain. Anyways, after my accident I picked up one of the two harps I had-it was just like the one in this video. This was in 1993 & the first live act I went to see after my accident was "Blues Traveller". I practiced how to bend notes-I had to use one of those harmonica holders-and I could play along with Led Zeppelin’s 1st album almost entirely. I suppose that’s because almost every song is written in the key of E, (and my only Hohner was a Blues Harp in the key of A), and I could play along with 2 songs, then I’d get lightheaded. It’s such an amazing little instrument, the harmonica is, in its many different "tunings-🤷🏻♂️". I’m so happy to have found this channel, I really enjoy listening to you explain theory. The first instrument I learned to play was the accordion and my teacher was my Mom. I learned to read music, and my mother’s mood for about two years and then my folks split and Mom had to work, raise two kids and go to school so there wasn’t any time left to teach me how to play a Polka like Paganini! Then the classroom learned how to play Ukulele and not long after that I saw Jimi Hendrix playing the Star Spangled Banner at Woodstock and I knew that I wanted to play THAT white Strat. One day when I was buying a box of E strings-(I got a Strat & quickly started using "tens" instead of ‘8s’ to get more life out of the high E string)-& saw a Hohner Blues Harp that was marked as HALF PRICE! I was familiar with a couple of blues players, Little Walter, Huey Lewis. That’s the same harp I have today, one of them and one of my favourites.
I really like the Blues Harp. I have a few, but my one in G that I've gapped and tuned to Paddy Richter is exceptional. It really is a choice harp to mod. I'd like to try Big River cover plates on it someday.
I started with the Blues Harp back in the early 70's purchased several of them. The construction of the Blues Harp was different back then. The covers back then were not supported and they were nailed shut. The covers would collapse carrying them around in your pocket. They were so cheap back then if they got to beat -up, you just bought another one. Not cheap anymore. So you have to be more careful.
Yeah, my iPhone flips the video. I’ll see if I can fix that for the next one that I record on my phone. My apologies if I am murdering the pronunciation of the wood. Could be pronounced "doosee". Not sure. Anyone out there know? lol.
I have fond memories with the Hohner Blues Harp. It was the first harmonica I bought that wasn't the Hohner Special 20. I personally don't mind this harp. It has a great tone and is airtight, I'm just not a fan of the wooden comb. I'm genuinely surprised that this harp gets a lot of hate for some odd reason. Not as much as the Hohner Golden Melody inside blues circles, but it does have some hate. Maybe they're confusing it for the Bluesband. I genuinely don't know. I currently play Golden Melodies (the old design), but it was the Blues Harp that got me into the sandwich style harps that I love.
I had an E which sounded incredible. I still have a Solid E in my collection, but the Blues Harp swelled and died. Maybe I'll pick up another one if I see one on my travels. It had probably the best sound of all.
You gotta love the PRAH SEULB! Love your playing style Ronnie, always have, always will :) Blues Harp is one of those love-hate models, I had students come in with it and I told them - put it aside, get SP20 or LOH and lets start learning from scratch before you can get back to this one as a moderate/advance player. Handling more air, wooden comb, some setup which is required to get ahead with bending and overbending - that is NOT something you can recommend a beginner, especially those who are learning online and you cannot help them with their embouchures and some player set-up. Still - I LOVE this model more than MB - everything in it is classic - the sandwich, the comb, covers, the blue box, even the need for setup :) Funny that 3 months ago, you and several other YTbers made a review on this model - Hohner having a re-issue or something? Great harp, not easy to control so you need to stick with it and make some changes if needed, a wonderful review! Cheers
You can swap-out plates on most Hohner harmonicas. If your local music store refuses to order them, you can buy them directly from Hohner. Hope this helps :-)
I use Blues Harps almost exclusively and they are modified. The guy puts a screw in it somewhere that reduces the leakage, finely sands the holes, seals the wood and sanitizes everything. He can also do things like make a Blues Harp (or whatever) with a plastic comb.
Hi Ronnie, great video as always. I've always liked my Blues Harp (absolutely love the blue and gold case), but understood it to be a very unpopular model along with the other MS harps. I'm curious if the higher gapping has any benefit to non-beginners/players who have practiced the amount of force they play with.
I've been practicing all week I can play one blues thing and nearly all of amazing grace but my harmonica only works down to the 7th hole...still in British she'll do. I must try harder.
Sugar Blue playing on BH. /// Я купил в 2007м году Blues Harp Ab, она до сих пор играет, держит настройку. Только надо чистить периодически и обрабатывать гребëнку маслом грецкого ореха. У неë большая воздухопотеря, многие на ней начинали из старичков, которых мы знаем.
I invented a practice harp that plays white noise. A venturi effect, constricted section (or choke) of a pipe, makes white noise. Each of 10 holes is consecutively tuned to a certain pitch. It's molded as one piece. A key component is an app to convert white noise into wave table. Somewhat like sound cancellation technology except actual sound is replaced by equivalent audio waveform. Comes in all keys. Costs under $10. App is a free download.
Ya..I could have fixed that in post edit, now that I've researched it..quite simple. That's the default setting on the iphone front facing camera. I agree..annoying.
I started with Marine Bands. Then, for a while, I transitioned to the Blues Harp. Now, most of my harps are Special 20s. The wooden comb seems less forgiving when moisture gets inside and a reed gets stuck. I found myself replacing harps quite often. In fact, I once had to replace my A harp twice within a month or two. On the Special 20, with its plastic comb, I find it much easier, when I notice moisture affecting a reed, to blow it out and keep on going. I don’t have to replace them nearly as often.
The Hohner Blues harp is the model that motivated to look for alternate comb options. I love the tone, but cannot play an unsealed comb for more than a few minutes before it begins to swell. I would not be able to recommend this model for a newer player for this reason. Stick with the sealed or abs combs for rookies.
Swelling after a few MINUTES? 😨 What is it made of? Sponge? Anyway I have replaced the comb of my BH in C with an Andrew Zajac comb… nit bad, but I lost the unique raspy sound of that particular wood.
I love my Blues Harp. My first harmonica and precious instrument. I really love the sound.
I had to laugh when you said "not too shabby" after playing such a great sounding tune right out of the box. Thank you for this. What you can pull out of a harp is sooo good.:)
Glad you did a refreshed in-depth review on the blues harp. Took me a while to warm up to mine but I like it now
My Papa was a Blues Harp man. I prefer the classic Marine Band myself, but i still hold on to the old mans Blues Harp in C. He was better than i am.
I have several of these in various keys ! I like them ! Hope things are going well back in Colorado! Sorry I missed your gig back here in Champaign recently with dig three ! I was playing elsewhere! Stay true to what you do! Everyone appreciates it believe me! ✌🏻😎
Hohner blues harp was my first harmonica (except from a toy harmonica I had as a child) I really like Hohners instruments ❤️
Back in the '70's when Hohners were very inexpensive, I purchased a number of Marine Bands, even the 365 models. A fella turned me on to the Blues Harps. I purchased a number of different keys. I still have them. Because I had so many harps, I never played them often, other than the C and G, which I wore out, but the other keys are as good as new, with nails.
I started with this model, also tried others, than went back to this one. This harp has that rounded dark and floating sound, that's why I like it. From my experience, The Blues Harp is better than Marine Band.
Same here! Started with a BH in C… then tried everything… almost… SP20 and MB which I still love… to phosphor bronze Suzukis and steel Seydel. The Blue Harp has the perfect shape for my mouth, the doussie wood is almost hydro repellent (it’s used for bathroom flooring!) and the sound is sweet and mellow with a little raspy feeling. Totally love it!
Indeed. It's more durable too. I can carry it in my pocket and the cover plates don't smush
I am the first person to view this! I’m a huge fan of yours, and as a fan of most types of music-especially the Blues. I used to play the guitar as often as I walked past one of the 3 I kept: 1 in my basement with my Marshall cabinets and Fender amp; 1 on the main floor and 1 upstairs in the bedroom. I lived, loved and listened to everything guitar and my personal "favourite" was Jeff Beck. I’m 52, and broke my neck at work when I was 21, about eleven years after I first picked up a guitar and started learning how to play it. I bought "Truth" before most of my friends had heard of The Yardbirds, let alone knew that THE THREE biggest names in guitar to come out of Britain in the ‘60s…that belonged to guys born in Britain. Anyways, after my accident I picked up one of the two harps I had-it was just like the one in this video. This was in 1993 & the first live act I went to see after my accident was "Blues Traveller". I practiced how to bend notes-I had to use one of those harmonica holders-and I could play along with Led Zeppelin’s 1st album almost entirely. I suppose that’s because almost every song is written in the key of E, (and my only Hohner was a Blues Harp in the key of A), and I could play along with 2 songs, then I’d get lightheaded. It’s such an amazing little instrument, the harmonica is, in its many different "tunings-🤷🏻♂️". I’m so happy to have found this channel, I really enjoy listening to you explain theory. The first instrument I learned to play was the accordion and my teacher was my Mom. I learned to read music, and my mother’s mood for about two years and then my folks split and Mom had to work, raise two kids and go to school so there wasn’t any time left to teach me how to play a Polka like Paganini! Then the classroom learned how to play Ukulele and not long after that I saw Jimi Hendrix playing the Star Spangled Banner at Woodstock and I knew that I wanted to play THAT white Strat. One day when I was buying a box of E strings-(I got a Strat & quickly started using "tens" instead of ‘8s’ to get more life out of the high E string)-& saw a Hohner Blues Harp that was marked as HALF PRICE! I was familiar with a couple of blues players, Little Walter, Huey Lewis. That’s the same harp I have today, one of them and one of my favourites.
I don't know English that well, but it seems to me that this was written by a bot or ...?
Brilliant, Ronnie brilliant.
I really like the Blues Harp. I have a few, but my one in G that I've gapped and tuned to Paddy Richter is exceptional. It really is a choice harp to mod. I'd like to try Big River cover plates on it someday.
I started with the Blues Harp back in the early 70's purchased several of them. The construction of the Blues Harp was different back then. The covers back then were not supported and they were nailed shut. The covers would collapse carrying them around in your pocket. They were so cheap back then if they got to beat -up, you just bought another one. Not cheap anymore. So you have to be more careful.
Yeah, my iPhone flips the video. I’ll see if I can fix that for the next one that I record on my phone. My apologies if I am murdering the pronunciation of the wood. Could be pronounced "doosee". Not sure. Anyone out there know? lol.
Qqqqqqq
I have fond memories with the Hohner Blues Harp. It was the first harmonica I bought that wasn't the Hohner Special 20. I personally don't mind this harp. It has a great tone and is airtight, I'm just not a fan of the wooden comb. I'm genuinely surprised that this harp gets a lot of hate for some odd reason. Not as much as the Hohner Golden Melody inside blues circles, but it does have some hate. Maybe they're confusing it for the Bluesband. I genuinely don't know. I currently play Golden Melodies (the old design), but it was the Blues Harp that got me into the sandwich style harps that I love.
Great information and video fun to play along with you too! Shared!! Be well!
I yelled yeah a few times...I loved it mate...how do you do that.
I had some of them in my early days. I do prefer the middle/higher tones (C, D, E) on it and other harmonicas for the rest.
I had an E which sounded incredible. I still have a Solid E in my collection, but the Blues Harp swelled and died. Maybe I'll pick up another one if I see one on my travels. It had probably the best sound of all.
Always amazed, thanks for sharing!
Wow you Play very good
You gotta love the PRAH SEULB!
Love your playing style Ronnie, always have, always will :)
Blues Harp is one of those love-hate models, I had students come in with it and I told them - put it aside, get SP20 or LOH and lets start learning from scratch before you can get back to this one as a moderate/advance player. Handling more air, wooden comb, some setup which is required to get ahead with bending and overbending - that is NOT something you can recommend a beginner, especially those who are learning online and you cannot help them with their embouchures and some player set-up.
Still - I LOVE this model more than MB - everything in it is classic - the sandwich, the comb, covers, the blue box, even the need for setup :)
Funny that 3 months ago, you and several other YTbers made a review on this model - Hohner having a re-issue or something?
Great harp, not easy to control so you need to stick with it and make some changes if needed,
a wonderful review! Cheers
This harp is currently the only Hohner I own. I do love the loudness and brightness of it. Plus MS series you can swap out the reedplates.
You can swap-out plates on most Hohner harmonicas. If your local music store refuses to order them, you can buy them directly from Hohner. Hope this helps :-)
Great playing
I use Blues Harps almost exclusively and they are modified. The guy puts a screw in it somewhere that reduces the leakage, finely sands the holes, seals the wood and sanitizes everything. He can also do things like make a Blues Harp (or whatever) with a plastic comb.
Do you ever play the MB Deluxe? Or the Rocket. Great harmonicas too. 👍🏼
@@Harmonica123I have a Rocket in Low C (like) and a regular Marine Band (don't like). What's the difference between the latter and the MB Deluxe?
Hi Ronnie, great video as always. I've always liked my Blues Harp (absolutely love the blue and gold case), but understood it to be a very unpopular model along with the other MS harps. I'm curious if the higher gapping has any benefit to non-beginners/players who have practiced the amount of force they play with.
My blues harp in F is my favorite harp. I didn’t like it until I put a halchack comb in it cuz the wood was very leaky on it when I got it
I've been practicing all week I can play one blues thing and nearly all of amazing grace but my harmonica only works down to the 7th hole...still in British she'll do. I must try harder.
I started and stayed with the blues harp ms.easy bending.
Wow they still make them and sell them? I didn't know, I have a key of c one? That my older brother gave me?
Sugar Blue playing on BH. /// Я купил в 2007м году Blues Harp Ab, она до сих пор играет, держит настройку. Только надо чистить периодически и обрабатывать гребëнку маслом грецкого ореха. У неë большая воздухопотеря, многие на ней начинали из старичков, которых мы знаем.
Gapping otb is the only issue with this harp for me, but it doesn't take long to make it right for anyone's preferences
I invented a practice harp that plays white noise. A venturi effect, constricted section (or choke) of a pipe, makes white noise. Each of 10 holes is consecutively tuned to a certain pitch. It's molded as one piece. A key component is an app to convert white noise into wave table. Somewhat like sound cancellation technology except actual sound is replaced by equivalent audio waveform. Comes in all keys. Costs under $10. App is a free download.
Wow
I got the same harp B flat recently and ripped open box and wrong key harp was inside 🤣 wished I didn't rip the box apart
I love my Special 20!
OOOOPS, your camera is flipping you🥵
Ya..I could have fixed that in post edit, now that I've researched it..quite simple. That's the default setting on the iphone front facing camera. I agree..annoying.
Does it have a smooth comb?
Not quite as smooth as Crossover and Marine Band Deluxe.
I was wondering right out of box how easy does it bend compared to marine band 1896
The blues Harp takes a little more air
Hello! what is the key of this harmonica?
A
👍
I started with Marine Bands. Then, for a while, I transitioned to the Blues Harp. Now, most of my harps are Special 20s. The wooden comb seems less forgiving when moisture gets inside and a reed gets stuck. I found myself replacing harps quite often. In fact, I once had to replace my A harp twice within a month or two.
On the Special 20, with its plastic comb, I find it much easier, when I notice moisture affecting a reed, to blow it out and keep on going. I don’t have to replace them nearly as often.
The Hohner Blues harp is the model that motivated to look for alternate comb options. I love the tone, but cannot play an unsealed comb for more than a few minutes before it begins to swell. I would not be able to recommend this model for a newer player for this reason. Stick with the sealed or abs combs for rookies.
Swelling after a few MINUTES? 😨 What is it made of? Sponge? Anyway I have replaced the comb of my BH in C with an Andrew Zajac comb… nit bad, but I lost the unique raspy sound of that particular wood.
Esp if u are going to ply it for hours.
Thanks!
🎉 thanks Jim!!
is the video mirrored?
Yep
All the writing on the box was in mirror form and got me to wonder do you play upside down. Your low notes were on the right of your image. Confused
nope..low notes on the left, holding in my left hand. video flipped it.
Mă mir de ce este necesar o ditamai de cutie ptr o banală de muzicuta ?
Ronnie Shellest is certainly a good harmonica player with a powerful sound, but I don't believe he played harmonica out of the box.
You would be totally wrong to believe that. Promise. :)
If you want a money? Funny, funny.......
Beaujoup'l'aime'pas''''moi'c'mon'preferer'et'mon'1er