I used to have a Suzuki Folkmaster (that was one of the only brands the store sold) in the key of F, and I agree with everyone who says it’s very shrill.
But I also bought a G and that quickly became my favourite key
Now that I’ve switched to Lee Oskars I got the C, and another G, and a D which is a tone higher than the C, and it doesn’t sound unpleasant at all, as for getting a few F, I’m going to prefer the low F for now
It’s interesting if reed thickness affect the bending, I personally thought LOs were easier to learn bends on than SFs, but that’s just me
In case you have not yet translated the blog given by Astrid @AstridHandbikebee63, the standard sequence for 10-hole diatonic harmonica tunings is, from low to high:
G, Ab, A, Bb, B, C, Db, D, Eb, E, F
Any good harp company that makes a harp that is tuned lower than the G will list it as “Low F” or “Low E” or “Low Eb” etc. In the same way they will list the harps that are tuned higher than the F as “High G” or whatever. Sometimes I have seen F# and High F# listed, but I think that they are both the same, but since that tuning is not very common I cannot say for sure.
Amazing how modern technology can translate it in a heartbeat!
I am beginning to see the light… I love how the article goes into the different uses and applications for the different keys.
Since I’m not thinking of playing with a band anytime soon, I think I’ll stick with trying a couple of upgraded harps.
Meanwhile my Blue Blazer will have to pick up the slack until I can get them
I’m actually finding it challenging to find workarounds to fill the space of the missing 4 draw on certain songs and going up or down an octave is proving to be good practice when my workarounds don’t work
I’m thinking standard lowest key is F#. The High F# and High G are higher than I really enjoy playing. The F harp can be very satisfying though. As in Take the Long Way Home by Supertramp.
You are probably correct, Luke @Luke – I have never looked into the offerings for any F# harmonicas. I doubt that I will ever have the need to get/use one.
I guess the reason I stated that the lowest “standard” key is G is based on my reading about the Seydel 1847 harps. They list an F# as the highest of their “low range” of offerings, where the G tuning that is a half step higher is listed as the lowest of their “standard range” of offerings. So it all boils down to definitions: and one company’s “standard” is not necessarily another company’s “standard” range. In other words: we are both right about this one !!
I know you don’t enjoy playing blues harps in high keys (and I don’t either), although – as you mentioned – there are some exceptions. But just to present some more data on what is out there from established harp companies, I have just discovered that Seydel actually produces the 1847 Classic model blues harp in 31 different keys, from the world’s lowest tuned harp (LLE = Low Low E) to the world’s highest tuned harp (HBb = high Bb) !! (ouch! My ears hurt just thinking about that high end).
OK, folks, here are two pictures made while cleaning my Seydel Session Steel harp.
Picture #1 (below) shows the disassembled harp (I don’t bother cleaning the screws). Everything will be put into the ultrasonic jewelry cleaner (which we also use to clean our reading glasses & bifocal glasses as well). I never put wood or bamboo combs into the water (better safe than sorry). For those combs I use a soft toothbrush to brush off any deposits and then spray a light coating of disinfectant spray (e.g. Lysol) and after a few seconds I wipe that off with paper towels or a light-weight clean cloth. For nasty deposits I very carefully scrape them off with a pocket knife blade, avoiding scraping off any varnish or wood.
Picture #2 (below) shows the ultrasonic cleaner with sufficient warm water to cover all of the parts and with 3-4 drops of dishwashing detergent in the water. On the front side you see the control panel for turning the cleaner On/Off and for adjusting the time it will run until automatically turning itself Off. On this model the maximum time is 8 minutes and it counts down in seconds until the time has expired. As you see there is no soap foam. This is not necessary as the 3 or drops of detergent are sufficient.
After the cleaner turns itself off, I then simply rinse off all parts in warm water and set them out to dry (similar to what you see in the first picture). When everything is dry, re-assemble and you are ready to rock & roll !!
If anyone wants more info or other pictures then let me know.
Slim,
I use a similar ultrasonic cleaner. I put a good squeeze lemon juice in mine - any residual left after rinsing tastes better than dishwashing liquid!
I doubt that I will ever have the need to get/use one. 
(ouch! My ears hurt just thinking about that high end).
