Hohner on a downhill?

I was messaging a store owner in NY when I was finally getting a new harp and was pretty adamite about wanting a hohner, 1- because of the country it was invented in but 2 - because of the quality.
He told me the quality of hohner has went down compared to suzuki or seydel these days. He didn’t play himself, that’s just what he’s been told.
I went with a hohner anyway but has anyone else experienced a drop in quality with them? Just wondering, I know it’s all personal preference.

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Hi @RollyJoe

Since this fellow does not himself play harmonica, but only knows second hand from others “what he’s been told” … I would tend to doubt him. My personal experience has been that other harp companies have improved, rather than Hohner having a “downhill” trend.

In particular, the company Seydel was producing lower quality products (most likely as a result of the DDR – the former German Democratic Republic that was under communist control: nearly all of its technical industries went way downhill as a result of mismanagement, corruption, and numerous other factors – and the Seydel company was located in that region of Germany) until the DDR collapsed and Germany was re-united in its current form (the BRD – the Federal Republic of Germany). Today the quality of Seydel harmonicas is at the peak of harmonica technology, and they are innovative as well.

As far as I know, Suzuki has made quality harmonicas for quite some time. I own several of their Richter harps and find the quality to be very good.

Basically, you cannot go wrong with any of these three companies. They all will occassionally produce a “lemon” – but that is simply a matter of fact with mass production of products that require such close tolerances. “You get what you pay for” applies here as well and the less a particular model costs, the higher is the probability of purchasing a “lemon”.

You are also 100% correct: personal preference is king.

Regards,
– Slim :sunglasses:

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And Hohner makes a huge range of diatonic harmonica models across the full price spectrum. Their cheap harps obviously won’t have the same quality and longevity of their expensive ones.

Just thinkin’…does that help validate Lee Oskar’s business model?

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@Slim Yeah, makes sense. This is almost like getting a tattoo. Once you get one you want another. :laughing

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@Maka Can I ask what that means? I know who Lee Oskar is but don’t know his business model

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The Lee Oskar business model is to make diatonic harmonicas in different tunings (Major, Natural Minor, Harmonic Minor, Melody Maker) but not different models. As they are all the same quality, Lee Oskar is not ‘vulnerable’ to having its reputation tarnished by selling inferior quality, cheap models as well as more expensive models - which apparently is an issue for Hohner

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Yeah I disagree with the NY store owner. Hohner’s quality now is actually much higher than in days of old. In the 90’s it was hard to to bend Marine Bands. In the 2000’s Special 20’s didn’t last long. These day Hohner’s professional quality harps (SP20, Marine Band, Golden Melody, Crossover, Rocket) are all superb quality.

Everything @Slim said was right on the money. I din’t know that about Seydel, btw, that’s fascinating! I agree that Hohner, Seydel, Suzuzki, and Lee Oskar all make top notch professional quality harmonicas. The rest is personal preference.

And just as with anything, occasionally a baddie might make it out of one of their factories, but if it does, they’ll make it right as we saw recently on the forum with a Lee Oskar.

Yeah, interestingly some of the Hohner Models are TERRIBLE. Perplexing to me. I asked a rep there once, “Why do you guys even make the Hot Metal? IT’S HORRIBLE!” He said, “some people just want to buy something very cheap.” :rofl:

@Maka, I don’t know if Lee Oskar’s business model is more profitable (I’m guessing not.) There is something about it that’s refreshing though, isn’t there?

Rock on y’all,
Luke

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@Maka (and) @Luke Interesting. Thanks

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It is largely personal preference. Did (Out-of-the-Box) Hohner Marine Band quality go downhill (early 2000’s)? I and many others thought so. Did they fix it? I wasn’t an endorser getting free harps and stopped buying them.

When you compare today’s high production, high tech, laser cut, machine tuning with “pre-war, hand done…” the past seems more romantic but the recent may be technically superior. That does not mean they are better, only that production output may be more consistent and/or less rigorously inspected. And, materials (source, quality, thickness) may have changed.

But this is such a big, moving game. Hohner controls US music store shelf space and harp history like nobody else so a drop in quality doesn’t stop sales. And like the other big manufacturers, they keep innovating (Crossover, etc) so business rolls on and the failures are forgotten.

Whichever big company (Hohner, Suzuki, Seydel) has a drop in quality on one model A. Has another model to fall back on; B. Has famous endorsers who continue to provide good press playing free harps (that are custom tuned, not OOTB); C. Has loyal, repeat buyers who don’t invest time, interest, or money experimenting with other models/brands (part of personal preference.)

If you don’t like the way a new harp plays or believe the quality has dropped since your last purchase, try something different. Finding the right replacement takes time. Can’t test them. Having played Hohners for 40 years, I moved due to what I perceived as quality issues - to Seydel. My guitar player couldn’t stand their sound (stainless steel reeds? Richter tuning? Comb material?) I didn’t notice but he did, and that ended that experiment. So, I played Bends harmonicas (Brazil) for a couple of years - great but they couldn’t get US shelf space and ultimately went out of business. That brought me to Suzuki Manji’s (my friend Andy Just played them) for the last 10+ years. Thinking about what I perceived as quality issues, I’ve never gone back in the last 15 years to try another Hohner. They might be great again, but I’m happy playing Manji’s.

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Me and my brother several years ago, while drinking beer on my patio, agreed that for about 25 years almost everything Hohner touches turns to mediocre (we rarely agree). We both agreed that this helped Lee Oskar harps become more popular. Alot of it is the lame MS series. We also have Hohner to thank for being partly/mostly responsible for castrating the Shure 520 green bullet (the 520DX). Hohner also owns Lanikai ukuleles, who used to be the number one uke maker in the world until Kala overtook them after Lanikai got kind of crummy. Seems like Hohner developed a new marketing strategy some years ago that shifted the emphasis away from quality and towards more advertising, at least for entry level stuff. Having said that, I still play mostly modified Hohner Blues Harps, but the reeds don’t seem to last as long as they used to.

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@BnT I’m not a Hohner endorser. I agree with @KeefDeBluesHarpRobot there quality went to crap in the 90’s and that’s exactly why I tried and immediately fell in love with the Lee Oskars so I agree with you and your brother’s theory there (not sure what you’re talking about regarding the green bullet though? Can you enlighten me pls?)

Anyways, I now find Hohner’s quality to be SUPERB. I’ve probably picked up AT LEAST a dozen Hohner’s over the last 5 years and have never had a technical problem with anyone, and I’m especially impressed with the Marine Band Deluxe and Crossovers which are always in tune, responsive, easy to bend, and even able to get overblows on 4,5 and 6 out of the box. All of their professional line harmonicas still get fine tuned by human beings (little old German ladies😉) before they leave the factory. But of course their cheaper lines are all manufactured in China and don’t get human hands on 'em. You can take that to the bank.

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Alot of the 520’s prior to the 520DX had killer CR or CM elements which often sound fantastic. The element in the 520DX is rather tame in comparison. Thanks, Hohner!

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Ah, so Hohner acquired the GB from Sure at some point?

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I’m not sure where I saw that Hohner had anything to do with the 520DX, can’t find info to that effect now.

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Hello @Luke and @KeefDeBluesHarpRobot,

I’ve had a Shure SH55 Series II for about a year.
It had volume issues after a few months, other sources were ruled out. So I sent it straight from my harp and accessories supplier to Shure, repaired, done.
Hohner had nothing to do with it.

Best Regards from Astrid :woman_in_lotus_position:

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I just bought a Hohner that had a black residue on the comb and reed plates. Could not get it off and the U.S. distributor put up several roadblocks. It plays well when clean but small pieces get into the reed plate. I clean it every other day very gently and remove what I can. When clean its great but given what I experienced today I would consider other brands. Slim seems to be a very knowledgeable player and willing to help. Hopefully he will reply to your question. I am six weeks into my harmonica effort so the only thing I can really offer is my experience with the with a manufacture defect. Based on the pattern of the deposit it had to be made during manufacture. The warranty rep did say Hohner is having trouble finding good, skilled people to manufacture their harmonicas. many are out of stock. Without a receipt it was like dealing with an insurance company. Many road blocks. I bought mine online and did not get a receipt online or with the package. My next harmonica will likely not have Hohner on it.

Good luck

Scott4

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Hmm interesting. What model Hohner did you buy @scott4, from whom, for how much? (If you don’t mind my asking!?)

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