Lee Oskar's were the Harp players savoir in the 80s when Hohner to save money threw all quality control out the window, (and that's why LO started Manufacturing) a Special 20s was no better than a blues band harmonica, Junior Wells was so impressed that he was buried with a set of Lee Oskars, having said that I'm grateful for this video because I couldn't quite put my finger on why I don't play my old Lee Oskars. The minor keys which Lee Oskar was the first to make, in my opinion are still the best. This is how I remember things it was a long time ago.
I started with a lee Oscar and found it difficult to bend the 1 and 2 draw so at the advice of the forum I purchased the special 20 and found it much easier with less effort.
I have to agree with you, Tomlin. I bought a Lee Oskar when I started out on my blues journey a couple of years ago, because it was the brand sold at my brick-n-mortar music store. I already owned an old Marine Band 1876, but the reeds have grown stiff, and I couldn't learn to bend on it. The Lee Oskar was great for learning the draw bends, but, if you play it too softly, you get a really grating high frequency metallic squeal rather than a bent note. I then went online and bought a Hohner Special 20, which really ist everything you say it is in the video.
I started out as many playing Special 20s, very excellent harp! It's all I used for years. A friend sold me on trying the Lee Oskar for the replacement reed plates and price point and I switched. I agree with the differences in sound. With playing both I feel like the Lee Oskar has a little more endurance and I don't replace them as often but I haven't played Special 20s for years at this point.... time to change that!
I’ve had one Lee Oskar in C (when I needed to replace my Fender Blues Deluxe harp in the same key, which I now recognize the Fender harps as being actually quite bad) and I like it. I’m not sure if I would use it for everything since I also find that it does require a bit more air, albeit not massively more air than something like a Hohner Crossover.
Hoener is 440 and Lee Oscar is 441. That is a difference in sound. I have played both and have carried them while cruising on my sailboat. The Horner harps do not last very long in that salty environment. The Lee Oscar harps hold up much longer, and they are easier to open up and clean out to restore the sound. Both the Special 20 and the Lee Oscar "breathe easily", unlike a Seydel Session Steel recently purchased. The Hoeners sound great but have a tendency to rust and get a sour note here and there. The Lee Oscars seem to hold up much longer as you pointed out. No problem with bending their notes. I really like your videos, and have been playing over 50 years!
I can hear the difference. Thank you. I bought my Lee Oskars maybe 15 years ago, their still good to my ear lol:) but they dont hold a bend that well, my suzuki bluesmaster in Bb is the easiest out of the box harp I've ever had, I couldnt even play the suzuki manji well because of the effort it takes.but its tone is really nice. I gotta try a special 20 next Thank you
I’ve never understood why harps “need” a compromised tuning when other instruments that we play chords on (guitar, piano) are tuned to equal temperament.
Exactly. I've been gatekept for playing bluesy licks on Hohner Golden Melodies for so many years, but it technically was never an issue for people like Terry McMillan and Paul DeLay. It wasn't until Marine Band players started dunking on them because "they don't have blues tuning" despite the fact they are richter tuned like a Marine Band.
I'm so glad to have viewed this! I have had this same issue with the Seydel I bought. The Special 20 is much easier to bend than the Seydel. I have to draw much more forcefully to bend 2. I am planning on manipulating t he reed to try and adjust.
Nice review and I like the pink comb. I’m either really good or (probably) not very good because I own Honers, Seydels, Tombos, East Tops, Delta Frost, Nobels, even a Fender + a few more and I don’t react much to the differences if they are generally in the same price range. My main complaint is when the lower draw notes - particularly on cheap harmonicas - are very airy and lack clarity and punch. Anyway, good video, good playing.
I started with a crappy Hohner Pocket Pal in about 1996 or 1997 (I still have it. It was, and still is, a nasty, airy, quiet and unresponsive little piece of tat!) I thought I was terrible and not progressing at all, and I really struggled to bend. And then I saw 9 Below Zero live and saw Billy Boy Miskimmin was using a Lee Oskar. This must have been 1997 or 1998. So I got one, and soon realised that the problem wasn’t me - it was my Pocket Pal! I wrongfully assumed that all Hohner’s were crap and stuck with LO. I found Lee Oskars so easy to play, and bends came really easy. I also never found the same problem with bends that you describe in this video, but maybe I was playing too hard without knowing it! Anyway, because I loved playing my LO and hated the Pocket Pal, I stuck with LO’s ever since. I got married and had kids in the early 2000s so harmonica playing got pushed out and I hardly played much, so I never got really good. I took it up again in the lockdown of 2020, and brought more Lee Oscars to expand the amount of keys I could play in and I’ve played every day since. I’d say I’m competent, but not great. But I was fiercely loyal to LO to the point of exclusivity. And then, just after Christmas 2023, I decided to try 1847s. I had some Amazon vouchers from Christmas which enabled me to splash out on an 1847 Silver. I expected it to be hard to play because of the steel reeds. That’s what I’d heard, and I thought that it would help me focus my technique and improve my playing. And it did, to an extent. But it was miles easier to play and bend on than I expected. I tried a Marine Band Deluxe around the same time which is the most uncomfortable harp I’ve ever played, but sounds good. But I’m properly in love with 1847s. I’ve got more 1847s since but can only afford them once in a while. This means that I still mostly play Lee Oskars. But now I’ve tried other harps, the Lee Oskars don’t feel so good to play. What once felt responsive to me now doesn’t feel quite as responsive because I’ve experienced something better. It sounds weird, but I think my Lee Oskars know I’m having an affair with another harp. I’ve never caught my facial hair in a LO in over 20 years, but since I got my 1847s the LO are forever snagging my moustache and yanking out hairs! But, despite my new-found love for 1847s, I can’t knock Lee Oskars. They play well. They’re affordable. They’re durable (my first Lee Oskar still plays well after 25 years, and ones that I’ve played almost daily for the last 4 years are doing well). They bend easily and are easy to play fast runs on. They’re loud and fairly responsive. They are great for single note playing (which is mostly what I did until recently). They also have a modular system with replaceable reed plates, which will save you quite a bit of cash if you blow a reed. And I’ve recently tried out some of their alternative tunings which are fun. I do find the higher notes on a LO re harder to get nicely than they are on a MB or 1847, but far better than my Session Steel (I’ll never buy another one of those!) and infinitely better than my old Pocket Pal! Your video does make some really valid points, and LO aren’t for everyone. But I’d happily recommend them. And many great players swear by them. Apart from Lee Oskar himself, there’s Junior Wells, Taj Mahal, Mark Feltham and Billy Miskimmin. They’ve all played them at some point. And Mick Jagger has played them almost exclusively for about 20 years. I’ve never tried a Special 20 and have been curious to know how they feel and sound, but I have to justify how much I spend on harmonicas as money is tight. I’ve been told there isn’t much between them and I’d sooner save up ages for one 1847 than buy a couple of Special 20s. But if I had the chance to win one, that’d be great! I’ll be clicking that link!
I so agree with this. What I’ve always “felt” about the LO’s you nail very precisely. I love the SP20 and the Rocket and I play these exclusively since quite some years, but it has been a long (and costly) journey realizing that these are the one and only for me.
Thanks Tomlin for the honest review between the two brands. I pretty much agree with you. I have over a hundred harmonicas and probably twelve Lee Oskars and the same number of Hohner Special 20 harmonicas. (My favorite harmonica is the Hohner Marine Band), but now we're talking about plastic body harmonicas. It didn't come up in your video, but the main reason why the Lee Oskar is worse than the Special 20, in my opinion, is that for some reason, Lee Oskar harmonicas are almost impossible or impossible to play overblown notes. I don't know the reason, but the cam structure is different. In Lee Oscar harps, the hole in the body is uniform, but in the hole of the Special 20 harmonica, there is plastic at the end, between the reeds, which divides the hole into two parts for blow and draw notes. There may be a reason - I don't know.
I started with the Special 20 and simply loved it. I may consider trying another brand in the future to notice these differences, but for now, I'm still learning, so I'll continue with my S20.
When I play Hohners I don't play special 20s, but rather Crossovers. I really don't like the Lee Oskars which I was sold many years ago on an earlier attempt to play the harp, because the guy didn't have the A and C Marine Bands. I could never proceed to getting close to bending. Hence my disappointment: I gave up. A few years later I got myself Marine Bands, and began to get bends, but work overwhelmed and I stopped again. I now play daily, and I find more pleasure playing Seydels, more powerful, more expressive, maybe more accurate too, than the MBs, but maybe that's me. My workhorse for practice is the session steel, but for performance the 1847 classic has won my heart. No going back to Lee Oskars. Thanks, Tomlin, for your comparison.
@@navigator1372I play in a church setting with a microphone and the Crossover works good for me because it doesn’t take a lot of air movement to get the sound I’m looking for when I play in the 2nd position and bending notes. The MB deluxe is still a great harp, I just prefer the Crossover for the ease of playing the instrument. Hope this helps, good luck
I play in a church setting with a microphone and the Crossover works good for me because it doesn’t take a lot of air movement to get the sound I’m looking for when I play in the 2nd position and bending notes. The MB deluxe is still a great harp, I just prefer the Crossover for the ease of playing the instrument. Hope this helps, good luck
Wow thanks for that explanation! I thought the reason I couldn't bend properly on my LO was because it needed more time to be broken in or I just needed to practice on it more. I never wanted to give up on it because I love the look and feel of it... but what's the point if it can't be played like the easypeasy Special 20? Awesome info, Tomlin!
I go for the Hohner Golden Melody. Practice on the fat Sydel Blues Harp. The latter have stainless steel reeds and last a lot longer. I think the Hohner Golden Melody is very responsive. Special 20's I prefer to Lee Oscar. Lee Oscar do put out some nice Harmonicas in minor keys though.
My biggest issue with the Lee Oskar is the sharp corners on it, why design something that you hold in your hand to be so uncomfortable, or maybe I just grip too hard? That said for the same reason I pick Rockets over Sp20 all day long.
Because the Lee Oskar takes a bit more effort, have you ever found that there are benefits? I'm thinking of things like blow bends, particularly with tongue blocking because those need such a light touch.
Ive heard negative things about Lee Oskar harps so I’ve never tried them. I hear a difference. IMHO the SP20 sounds better I think the pink SP20s are awesome and i would love to have one. As I said in your post about the pink AP20 my C harp (SP20) is about shot so I’d give one a good home. 😜
