Wow! SO BEAUTIFUL! How much did you pay for that, if you don’t mind me asking? Does it actually still play?
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Yes, it plays. It cost $150 plus shipping.
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Sweet. Congrats Steven!
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Hi @stevenlois1
Now thats a collectors item. What you paid was also a steal IMO. Beautiful piece!
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Daddy’s got a new toy 
This is my current lineup:
A retro Hohner Golden Melody in the Key of C, joins my Lee Oskar in A, and my Hohner Special 20 in Db.
It’s hard for me to distinguish the Equal Tempered tuning on the Golden Melody, which it is famous for, but I’m digging the sound and the style with the red comb 
.
I play mostly melodies in first position, so I thought it a good replacement for my old blown harp in C.
What has your experience been with the Golden Melody ? 
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The Golden Melody is my favorite Hohner harp, followed closely by the Special 20. I love the tuning and find bending super easy. 
Regards,
– Slim
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So far I’m loving it!
Thanks @Slim
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Hello @HarpinBobbyMcB,
I love my Golden Melody in C and G. Congratulation!
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I never new the Golden Melody is your favorite Hohner @Slim ! I LOVE Golden Melodies too! But the Crossover is probably my favorite Hohner…except for the price tag of course.
If money is no object, I’ll take a Crossover.
In the real world, I’ll take a Golden Melody.
Congrats on expanding your collection @HarpinBobbyMcB You’ve got that LO in A, so you don’t need to play Happy Birthday in the bottom octave any more. 
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@Luke, I was just about to answer you about my desire to play HAPPY BIRTHDAY in the lower octave from the other post but will take advantage to answer here also since part of the answer could be to play in A on my LO (I love our language) and I have been doing so!
My next task is to go through my Playlist with all three harps, A, C, and Db, to determine which sounds the best for each song
It’s amazing how songs sound the same in each key, but yet so different!
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:Yeah a year ago you never would’ve though you’d be talking about playing in A on my LO! That’s DEFINITELY the harp for Happy Birthday in the middle/top octave. Rock on!
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I’m gunna have to give the Golden Melody a try. I’ve got a Hohner Pro Harp (cuts my lips), Hohner special 20’s, Hohner Cross Over, Hohner Blues Harp’s, Hohner Rocket, several Lee Oskar’s and several 1847 Seydel,s but i keep hearing good things about the Golden Melody’s. My favorite harps at this point would have to be the Special 20’s but i’m always searching.
Regards and stay cool.
Steve
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Hey Steve @fallonsteve291
One thing to keep in mind (and is often not regarded as important) is that the tuning of the Golden Melody is primarily for melody playing (i.e. single note playing rather than chords).
Not everyone is critical enough to notice or to be bothered by this, but if you incorporate a lot of chordal playing in your solos then you might be happier with a Hohner Crossover or Marine Band Deluxe etc. Their tuning is optimized for chordal playing while still doing their best to please less critical players who also play melodic lines.
There is no perfect tuning solution. The explanation is complicated and I refer you to, for example, this Wikipedia entry..
Regards,
– Slim
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Steve,
These powder coated covers are so smooth on the lips that I think you’ll not have any problems and will really enjoy them.
The different colors allow you to grab the correct key.
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@Slim
Hi Slim, thanks for your advice. I guess at this point i don’t do a lot of chord playing, i’m more single note, 2nd position, blues is my main focus. Is that the Golden Melody???
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Just out of curiosity, as I use the bending tool for my Golden Melody, I notice that on several of the notes they don’t seem to hit the middle of the note, rather a little higher, I’m thinking “sharper”.
Is this part of the “Equal Temperament” of the instrument?
I always assumed that equal temperament meant each note would be in the middle of the range, maybe I am missing something?
On another note 
, the Golden Melody seems to require a more airflow on the low end than my Special 20 in Db, and maybe about the same as my LO in A, Seems I recall you saying that the lower keys in general require more air on the low-end, maybe this also applies to the Golden Melody in C?
Despite the above, once I get the airflow right, the tone and fullness of the sound seems very good to me on the Golden Melody 
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Ideally each unbent note played on the Golden Melody should be “spot-on” (i.e. not sharp & not flat). Here are three things to consider:
(1) Being a mass-production item at a fairly affordable price, you cannot expect the GM to be “perfect” – slight variability is to be expected. If it is too extreme then retuning is necessary.
(2) Brass reeds can drop in tone with frequent & hard playing (especially those that are also frequently used for bending); so with time the deviation you have found might become less serious.
(3) Check your tuning app: with some you can select (in the app’s settings) which type of tuning it should display (“Equal Temperament”, “Just Tuning”, etc) – so make sure it is properly selected.
Regards,
– Slim
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Excellent information in this link Astrid!
The page translated easily to English and is very explicative.
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