Long time, no see! It’s been a hot minute since my last post, but I just wanted to let everyone here know that I got another Suzuki harmonica. This time, it’s a Suzuki Manji Sky in the key of Bb. Even though I have the Hohner Golden Melody as my main axe, I’m always trying to find the best harmonicas that I can get my hands on. However, as of late, the prices of the Hohners have shot up by a lot so I’m trying to find something that is both high quality and decently priced. So I’d thought that I’d bite the bullet and get myself a Manji, specifically the Manji Sky.
I’ve always wanted to try the Manji Sky ever since they were first released (2024), but the biggest reason why I wanted to get one is that it’s supposed to be more responsive than the original because of the slightly thinner reeds. That being said I have never tried the original Manji, so I was going in blind. I also really liked the timbre that I’ve heard in the demos that I’ve found of it, which made the harp appear to have a natural rasp that I don’t usually find in other harmonicas. I’ll link to some of the demos that I’ve found down below.
Original press release video featuring Koei Tanaka (This is the full version which has Japanese audio but no English subs, however it has a lot of harmonica playing in it.)
Jonah Fox’s review of the model (English audio)
Filip Jers’s overview of the model (English audio)
When I actually got this harmonica last week, I absolutely loved it. So a few things to note about the harp is that the comb on this one (which is a light blue/seafoam green color) is very beautiful looking and feels very much like a plastic comb. I made a post a long time ago where I was afraid about feeling the wood fibers in the comb due to my sensory sensitivites, but I don’t really feel the wood fiber at all. In terms of its tone, it has a very bright and raspy timbre with powerful sounding hand-wahs. This harp can also handle effects like growling, which I use a lot in my playing, extremely well. It’s also pretty airtight, with very little air leaking out of the harp. I really love harmonicas that have a raspy timbre, so this has to be one of my favorites in terms of tone.
One thing I’ve noticed while playing is the temperment having such a cool sound. I know that the original Suzuki Manji has a tuning that can be described as Equal-leaning compromise temperment (which Pat Missin described as Equal temp with the major thirds being slightly adjusted). So I don’t know if the Manji Sky uses that exact tuning or if it’s straight-up Equal Temperment (maybe some of the Manji fans here who’ve tried the Sky can catch me up on this), but it definitely gives this harmonica a really distinctive sound.
In terms of responsiveness, it actually is very responsive…most of the time. The keyword here being “most” because with certain notes (looks aggresively at 3 blow), sometimes the reeds get stuck when I’m playing something like Terry McMillan’s version of “I’ll Fly Away” where there’s fast licks that alternate between blowing and drawing. As somebody who does play a lot of country music myself, I mainly use harmonicas that are very responsive and don’t get stuck too often. This is one of the main reasons why I use the Hohner Golden Melody as my harp of choice. With the Manji Sky, I feel like the harp’s potential for country playing will be fully unlocked with a little adjustment to the gaps; especially if you’re a pucker player like I am.
So overall, I really love this harmonica. I do consider it to be in my Top 5 favorites, but it does has some flaws. If you like a harmonica that has a powerful and raspy timbre, if you are a fan of the original Manji, or if you love to use harps with Equal Temperment, I’d highly recommend giving this a shot.
Here’s my full review of the Manji Sky:
