Wooden Combed Harps! Marine Band Deluxe, Easttop Blues Standard, Kongsheng Sunrise & Dabell Nobel! 

Yes - the blues harp, like the "regular" marine band, is a nice-looking, nice-sounding responsive harp. Both of those, tho, are kinda uncomfortable for me to play now that I'm, uh, old - back when I was younger they didn't bother me, but these days.... the combs are too rough. That's why I like the marine band "deluxe" - they took the time to smooth everything out and really seal the comb. Unfortunately, they don't have a blues harp "deluxe". Cheers!

Indeed - that's not a bad idea. Seems like they could be made fairly easily by injection mold, too - wonder why something like that hasn't been done - initially thought the Mars was like that, but no, just regular plastic. Might be a taste thing? Smell, maybe? Not sure I'd want my harps smelling like a Firestone showroom....

I'd probably melt it with my speed playin! Lol 😆 it is a good idea though..

Arkia harps, made in France, have sort of flexible combs. They use the word "Flex" in their adverts. They are specially made harps made for easy overbends. The Origin model uses Kongsheng reeds and the Signature model uses Hohner Crossover reeds.

lol - I keep that around for the kids - keeps 'em from drinking my tequila.

Yeah, I like a little reedy in there, but don't want to be overwhelmed by it. But as I've said elsewhere, it all goes away thru the mic, so whatever tonal preferences I have are limited to acoustic playing.... Cheers, Paul!

@@Tim48103 Tim are you gonna be recording any of your live gigs with your band for your channel?

Weeeelllll.... the band is currently "in transition" inasmuch as our guitar player took a teaching job in a different state. So, we're testing out replacements and such. I've a duo gig coming up in November with an awesome chap from the UK, Mike Brooks, and I might record that, but the venue probably won't let me live stream it. Anyway, I'm not great with tech, so would probably sprain something if I tried...

I think they're still available. Try here: rockinronsmusic.com/collections/hohner-harmonicas/products/hohner-marine-band-deluxe-m2005

@@Tim48103 Ohh he does have some. Thanks!

The Easttop here is their "Blues Standard", model PRO10. I can only find them on AliExpress, and only in the key of C, but I gotta think they make more keys - I have a message in to one of their company reps to find out more.... Of these four in the video, it's the loudest. However, their T008k model is also quite loud and also a nice responsive harp, and it's only like $15 - $20 bucks, comes in all keys. Has a bit of a brassy, raspy tone that's not for everyone, but at that price, maybe try one and see if it works for you. As to the DaBell Contender, that's one of my favorites. Compromise tuning, well constructed, great tone, good to go out of the box. It doesn't feel as "solid" as their Story or Nobel harps in terms of construction, and it has those full cover plates which some people don't like (i.e. Golden Melody, Suzuki Bluesmaster, Kongsheng Bluebird, etc.), but I think it's a great harp. Cheers!

You might want to try the Suzuki Manji. I find they are very loud when playing acoustic.

I haven't gotten a crossover yet, mostly because they're just TOO expensive, around $75 or so. I like the idea of the bamboo comb, but just haven't gotten myself to pull that trigger yet. Maybe some day! Cheers!

Hi Robert - I think when I'm noodling around, I prefer just. Live and electrified, I'd rather have equal, since most of that is single line stuff, and if I play chords, I want 'em to be harsh. That said, I can't REALLY tell the difference, and I KNOW my audience can't, so this is all kinda hypothetical, innit?