Thank You Hogie, that perfectly answers my question.
Zajak has a great one. Its a dark brown and rally helped the sound of my harp,
Ok so I finally found out why Hohner made this little yellow harmonica. It was a special order signature harp for this guy who is very famous in Japan. Its actually a Special 20. You can see him play on the video.
I found out by asking Hohner directly. They got beck to me within a couple of days.
Sorry
@Jefgat7 welcome to the forum! Yeah having that -7 tuned down a half-step is a game changer. That’s why I love the Parrott-tuned harps.
@TckS welcome to the forum! Yeah, that’s why the Thunderbird design is so good, the coverpaltes are bigger on the left side so that the reed doesn’t hit the cover plates. Genius.
I’d say darkness may be due to cover design, no side vents. Aluminum tends to be brighter than wood and also plastic. Just an idea, I’m exploring and learning, I’ve tried it and it was quite darker than the Konsheng solist and crossover mod, both with aluminum comb
Comb may have a minimal effect on tone. But MOST of the tone comes through reed plate and reed material, shape, and setup.
I definitely agree that comb material has nothing to do with tone. In my opinion, the tone comes from two factors: the player’s mouth and the cover plates.
I did an experiment with two Special 20s that I own, a vintage one and a relatively new one both in B, and swapped out the cover plates. I wanted to see if the cover plates contribute to the tone. The old Special 20 with the old cover plates sound extremely mellow and dark, but it was too dark for my taste. So I swapped them out and the old Special 20 with the newer covers sound a lot brighter, while retaining that mellow tone.
Here’s the old cover plates on a vintage Special 20:
Here’s the new cover plates on a vintage Special 20:
I did this for fun, but I was very curious about how the cover plates affect the tone.
Pretty subtle difference to my ears! Thanks for sharing this.
So sorry for the late reply. Yes, I’ve customized Lee Oskar harmonicas for a few clients. Now, some of them might have been from more than a few years ago. To sum it up, you can vastly improve the response, volume, and ease of bends/overblows on any factory made harmonica. The Lee Oskars that I worked on ended up having subpar results compared to say a Hohner or Suzuki, but the improvements were vast. Not the best harmonica to play chromatically on, but totally okay to pop an overblow if needed in a lick. I think that’s the main distinguishing factor for me when I describe actual control of chromaticism (playing in 7th, 8th, 9th, 10th positions with control) compared to just hitting a few of the “missing notes” in 2nd position. Part of the reasons is the reedslot tolerances were too wide, and the reeds were pretty soft making finer adjustments hard.
Fascinating @Boaz_Kim_Music! I appreciate the input. I know some customizers won’t even work on LO’s because they feel they’re challenging to customize, so it’s cool to understand more clearly what some of the challenges are.
I really enjoy the “where does tone come from” conversation. I’ll start a thread.
My favourite at the moment is the trusty C/S20, mainly due to a recent customisation. I rounded off the comb with a file and coarse to 3000 grit sandpaper, right along the interface. This has helped with bends due to increased air tightness, and with slides from decreased friction
I can’t find any info on whether or not this is a good idea but it’s working for me so there is that I guess
. I’m absolutely going to file my 6 other S20s unless someone with more experience can alert me to any pitfalls that elude me.
Any chance of a picture (or two) of the modification?
I would be hard pressed to choose a favorite between my Horner and Lee Oskar harps! However I have an old BluesBand as my pocket harp that I carry for those impromptu moments when I want to play! I don’t know its age but it has the recessed comb and I have taken it apart several times. Primaly to tweek 8,9,10 holes to respond more easily! So far it is the only harp I felt need for that adjustment. My other harps respond ok to dropping my jaw and easing air in or draw! Still practicing single notes before I try some bending!
Its hard to see but the reed plate cover is still recessed within the comb lip. Basically all I’ve done is round off that 1.5 mm step that’s there with original comb without lowering its profile so much as to expose the edge of the cover.
Also not sure why but I’m having trouble uploading photos so that first one will have to do . Probably internet issues
Thanks for the pictures @Beckham . ![]()
ok, now I have a harmonica to grow into! Those Joe Spiers look gorgeous! Do you have any videos discussing/playing them @Luke ?
I usually play one in my vids these days, but no videos specifically about them.
Sayzak (sp is wrong) Rockin Ron sells them.

