Відео

Thank you. I’m a bassist that is recently alone. I think my neighbors will appreciate this over a guitar amp

Sei molto bravo ...grazie

It's bloody hard lol. I play the clarinet and find the clarinet much easier than chromatic harmonica. It's impossibly difficult just to get smooth transition between notes that aren't a step apart from each other. Impossibly difficult to have good dynamic control and also play softly without getting stuck windsavers.

You're awsome... Thanks so much...

What about rolling my tongue in a “U” shape so the air only blows through one hole? 😅 Is that bad technique?

I've tried the Fender Blues Deluxe, Easttop 008, Hohner SP 20, and the Hohner Golden Melody. I'm a beginning harp player, but I've played all sorts of instruments. The Fender worked. Mostly. The Easttop was good, much better than the Fender. The SP20 just *worked* The(original GM) sounds and works great, but I'm still iffy on it's playability for me at this point. I need to learn more to really test its potential.

I had problems playing blues on the special 20, as it says on the box, it's not for blues! Holes are big and its hard to hit single note! But it's a good harmonica for playing country music and melodies. For blues, it's definitely a marine band.

i think that the Suzuki Bluesmaster is easier to play.

I will stay with the crossover nothing else will beat it

A big belief in the harmonica community that was forced upon me when I was younger is that you have to sound like the most popular harmonica player of any given genre in order to see any sort of "success" in that genre. I had an identity crisis as a player for years because I wanted to have a versatile playing style like Terry McMillan as a session player and people would tell me that I needed to sound like Little Walter or Charlie McCoy instead if I want to play blues or country harmonica. I think we shouldn't fit new players into boxes as it limits a lot of the creativity that a lot of people have. We as musicians shouldn't limit ourselves to one embouchre style, one harmonica model, or even one genre one plays. I mostly identify as a country player, but I also play gospel, blues, pop, and rock. People would also tell me "there's no such thing as style" when I said want to play like Terry McMillan. If that's true, how come new harmonica players want to sound like Little Walter or John Popper? There's this saying from Charlie McCoy I like to quote all the time saying, "try to figure out something that's your own. We already had Little Walter and he was perfect. We already had Toots Thielemans and he was perfect." This should apply for anybody who wants to start out with any instrument, not just harmonica players. If we all liked the same things, then life would be boring.

I can't for the life of me get the second part of the tab to download.

Very nice tutorial 👍

Cheap rubbish I tried a few eastflops awhile ago just to see Just rubbish in every way If you don’t want to spend much money get a honher special 20 For a good quality instrument, have some self pride and treat yourself to a good one that has been tried and tested for decades No doubt the oriental company didn’t pay its 400 plus staff well

Easttop has a number of other models beside from the T008K, including an "upgraded" model and the pro series. There are several good harps from other companies too. If you're going to proclaim one as 'the best', you should try a lot more than 2 harmonicas.

Never played a special 20 Love my Marine bands and Crossovers

What key harp is he using?

Easttop 008K is good momentarily. It doesn't stand up after awhile. I was critical of it, the 008S, and the Easttop Blues Player. BUT, I purchased an Easttop Blues Standard Professional which is an excellent, superb harp of high quality and standard. WHY? I compared it to the Hohner Marine Band 1896 and it appears to be identical. Easttop Blues Standard is hard to find. They were once selling in a variety of keys. I think Hohner contacted them for patent infringement.

Thanks for this, I have to perform this next week and was totally struggling with it... This video is making my life so much easier. I'll be doing this round the clock till Wednesday!!!

I've been playing for 50 years playing Special 20's for 45 years started with Marine Band . I've played 100's of gigs and the Special 20 has never let me down

My first harp was the Marine Band which was 60 years ago but I bought my first Special20 about 15 years ago and I love it, mainly because it is easier on your lips. I’m not a pro but just play for the fun of it. Through all of the years I have a tremalo and a Chromatic but I go back to my Marine Band and my Special 20. Love your channel.

I switched to the Golden Melody’s when they came out back around 73ish I believe. I think they were around $20 . Loved the big fat sound I got out of them, unlike the Marine Bands. Glad I retired back in ‘94. The prices are just out of sight now. Its crazy!

I’ve been playing the harmonica for the last 77 years. My first harmonica was a blue plastic harmonica. Its brand name was Magnus. My Mom paid .50 for that harmonica. It was on that harmonica that I learned to play some very simple songs. Later a friend gave me a Hohner Echo Harp. I have been playing the Echo Harp for about 75 years and I’ve had several along the way. The Echo Harp has such a beautiful sound which is very soothing.

For me I found the Suzuki Blues Harp the best, great bender.

The first harmonica I've ever bought was a Hohner Special 20 as I wanted to play country music. I bought four keys within my first year as a harmonica player (C, Bb, Ab, and D) and that was my main set for a long time before I switched to the Hohner Golden Melody. The main reason why I switched was because when compared to the stuff that I was listening to and that wanted to play (a lot of modern country/gospel harmonica licks from Terry McMillan), the Special 20 just didn't sound right to me, especially with the more raw sounding "cries" of the double stops and chords that Terry was playing. His signature harmonica was the Hohner Golden Melody. So I wanted to get one due to me liking his playing style and my desire to sound like him. Everybody was telling me on MBH how drastically different the tuning was gonna sound, but I never noticed a difference in the tuning. The differences were only in the timbres of the harps, with the GM sounding more raspy and sweeter than the more solid toned Special 20. I still have a couple Special 20s in my case for underused keys and they are great harps, but the Golden Melody is something I've always reached for.

Exactly 😂

I may be too new to this community to have a masters POV, however owning both a Sp20 and East Top i will always say start with the Sp20. It has more balanced sound than East top. I struggle to get good wah wah and expression out of the east top with cupping and such. For some reason that harp has exceedingly bright tone that goes past the cup. So its bright but flat and expressionless. And in that ground barring absolute budget issues i dont think East top model is a good intro/learner tool. At least not as much as the Sp20. And although im still working on bends i find it more difficult in the Easttop

If the Special 20 isn’t good for blues, someone oughta tell John Popper. I’m pretty sure that’s all he plays in Blues Traveler! Btw Tomlin, per your indirect suggestion, I bought myself a Hohner Crossover in the key of A. And wow! do I love it or what? It’s expensive, as you know, but it’s worth every penny in my opinion!

I only have 1.. a special 20. Still learning and still does me fine 😊

I’ve had mine since 2016 and its the one I learnt on and it’s still playable and haven’t blown out the reeds. I just got a new one and along with the marine band deluxe and rocket it’s a favourite. They retail anywhere from $60-$80 AUD now

Thanks Tomlin, I love this chugging and riff, box car jumping hobo stuff.

What about a Lee Osker? It's cheaper than a Special 20 and plays great out of the box.

In Iran, this harmonica model is known as the best harmonica for all levels

As far as a budget harp goes I just bought an Amazing 20 and I really like it. I Think it’s much better than the 008K. Reeds stick too much with the Easttop at least in my experience. SP 20 is a great harmonica though.

I don't play harmonica yet, but I aim to. I've been watching your videos and intend to rewatch when the time comes for me to buy my first harmonica. How will I know I'm not getting older stock with the bad quality? Is there a date of manufacture on the box? I don't want prior to 2015, maybe?

No download is available.

Thanks!

Good lesson thanks Tomlin, especially with the 2 draw whole step bend.

Love the Special 20. In 35 years never got a bad one. But they haven't lasted as long as I think they should for the money. I have gotten a bunch of Marine Bands that needed to have reeds unstuck out of the box. Been buying Conjurers lately. Love them. FWIW, I bought two Seydels and a Dabell last week that all had draw and blow notes that wouldn't work without tweeking. The Dabell, in fact went into my junk box. Just saying that all harps might not come out of the box ready to play.

I am a beginner intermediate player and I have tried: special 20, marine band (regular), Seydel 1847 silver, fenders blues deluxe, eastop 008k, Harmo, and Suzuki manji sky. Every single one except for fenders blues deluxe and eastop 008k are great. But I’ve had to make adjustments to every harmonica aside from the hohners. Hohner special 20 is the best overall harmonica that I’ve played. That being said, the other ones have their perks too. The 1847 is louder and the manji sky is easier to play but sounds lighter.

Easttop 008 is better for beginners

I am no gambler. I'd rather pay 60$ and have great QC. I prefer to spend my time playing over fixing an harmonica with problems otb.

And I still think Tomlin is one of the best teachers for beginners. Thanks for sharing your experience and knowledge!

Suzuki bluesmaster and suzuki harpmaster and are just as good as the sp 20 in my opinion. I have three hohners: sp20, rocket, and holden 20, and I always see myself reaching for my suzukis. It's a personal choice, but once you get into that 40 ish dollar range, they're pretty much all good beginner harps.

Hallo Tom ik heb van de LL F gekocht het geluid is helemaal tegek pracht geluid top ,maar jij speelt zeer goed je praat open en eerlijk maar , seydel is wel een verschil van kwaliteit top afgewerkt klinkt echt super mooi als ik speel dan trilt het helemaal zo mooi ❤😊

My first harps were sp20s and. I love them.