I am very happy to report , my new Harmo Polar diatonic harmonica’s were delivered from the around the country trip by the USPS .
Hands down the best setup out of the box I have had up to this point IMHO . I purchased three harmonicas and case deal ( C, A, G ) for just over $100 .
The case holds 7 . It’s a nice size , but the jury is still out on it .
Harmonic land shipped them promptly, but the USPS sent them up and down the east coast.
I am looking forward to learning on easy to play instruments. Hope this helps
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It would be good if you could give us some detailed thoughts on these once you’ve played them for a while. I’ll admit they fall under my radar. They seem to be more expensive than Hohner SP20s and about the same price of Hohner Rockets which are a bit of a tried snd tested known quantity.
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I’ve been looking at the half valved harps they make if anyone has any info on what they are like that would be welcome as I’m always interested in new sounds
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I will definitely do that .
But just a heads up on the price . I purchased 3 ( G, A, C ) with a Harmo 7 harmonica case and a keychain . In a sale at harmonica land for a total of $ 109 . 00
So that put them somewhere around $30 a piece.
Hope that helps
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How do they sound?
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In my opinion they are close to my Special 20 . I think the projection is higher then the S20 but not as much as the Golden Melody. But not by far . I think a lil warmer than the East Top too .
This is just my opinion obviously, but so far I couldn’t be happier with them . .
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Very nice. I personally haven’t tried many harps myself as I primarily use a Lee Oskar and a Fender that someone gave me awhile back. I didn’t expect to love the Fender harp but it has grown on me exponentially. That being said, I am familiar with the Special 20. All in all I’m glad you’re enjoying your new harps and will keep a mental note of them myself. Great!
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I do like the rounded ends on them they look very comfortable to play
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Yes Sir, they are a lil thicker profile then the S20 and heavier too . So far I’m really digging them . And I guess IMHO it’s an instrument I want to play and practice on . So for me that’s a big part of our journey with the harmonica .
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Yes, I very much agree, I like to try everything I can afford however this has led me to having a huge stockpile of harps I am not that keen on however it struck me the other day that I might use these for practicing customisation techniques. I’ve been asking around for a few pointers on that so no harps truly go to waste
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I watched a young man the other day on YouTube using gaffers tape to half valve his harmonica that looked very interesting. But to be honest, I wanted to learn how to bend with my mouth first . Because this would probably just make me lazy at this stage of my learning ? But down the road I probably would revisit it . Like I was advised to try customization of harmonicas I have set aside for one reason or another.
I hope this company stays around for a while , because they definitely got my attention with the out of the box setup and quality. I know it’s a very small sample, but for the most part I have had to work on almost every harmonic I purchased , until now .
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I have a Fender Blues De Ville in Bb that’s a nice instrument. I am pretty sure they are made in the East Top factory by the look of them . And I have several East Top harmonicas and for the money they are pretty darn good . Without trying too hard they are in the $25 range . But I’m guessing if you looked you could even pay less , with sales and buying more then one at a time . Have fun man !
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Yeah, I have some Sonny Boy harps,They are a Brit company, I believe they are made at East top as well for the same reasons but IMHO I think East Tops are much better than the Sonny Boys, tbh I have doctored a few of mine and now they all play a lot better that when I had them. If you go on YouTube there’s a pretty cool vid by Brendan Power on tuning your harps I followed that was pleased with the results. I bought a East Top Lucky 13 the other day a power bender I’m so pleased with this monster it’s has valving at the first three reeds (although I still had the back off to get it how I wanted it) I like these so much I may even do a complete switch to them
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In the context of half-valving you said…
Well, it looks like you have a wrong impression about what half-valving is all about. Even with half-valving you still must use special mouth techniques (embouchures) to do any bends. Half-valving is interesting and you might want to look into what the great half-valve player P.T. Gazell does with it. You can also buy such harps from Seydel (on their web page here).
Regards,
– Slim 
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Cool thank you for the heads up . I will look into it more . And maybe try it on my Fender Blues De Ville .
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Try it with a pucker, then try with a tongue block, if I was beginning again I would definitely learn both techniques, I use both now but at first I played with a pucker then I did a weird cheek blocking technique I dunno where on earth I found that, then I got into tongue blocking after watching a video interview with Rick Estrin, who is one of my favorite players.
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That’s great! Thanks so much for sharing that with me!
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My pleasure happy Harpin
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Reviewing Harmo Polar diatonic’s after having them a while . So far in my limited experience, these harmonica’s were the best out of the box setup to date . I have been practicing very hard with the C . And just recently had to do some gapping on it . The screws are hard to get back in without cross threading them . The tone is to my ear a lil warmer then the Hohner Special 20 . They are also a little longer and thicker than the SP20 . They also have rounded corners . And as I sit here comparing them , I see I need to go back under the hood and fine tune the 7, 8 draw reed again . The Harmo painted label that my thumb set on also came off . And the Polar label is also wearing too . I would guess in a short time that both will be gone . It doesn’t bother me but durability might be a concern if you gigged with them professionally ? They do have a plastic comb , valve plates are recessed. The covers are a lil different and are contoured by the screws holding them together. I think this makes it a lil harder getting them back together without cross threading the screws. So I’m thinking the reason I’m having some issues now are just because I have been playing the hell out of it ? So I’m going to give them a thumbs up and a 4 out of 5 .