David's Tip of the Day: Models of Harmonicas

Students commonly ask what the best model of harmonica is to play, or at least what I personally recommend. This is of course up to personal preference, but the gold standard has always been the Hohner Marine Band. The current flagship model is the Crossover... this is what the majority of my students play and the model I play if I'm not playing my custom Marine Bands (by Joe Filisko). The Marine Band Deluxe is my second choice. It's essentially the same harmonica as the Crossover, but with a sealed pair wood comb (apposed to resin-impregnated bamboo comb of the Crossover) and uses a different temperament (which I like). In my personal consistency tests the Crossover tends to win out for out-of-the box playability, so I lean towards the Crossovers for this reason. The other model in the Hohner Marine Band line is the Special 20. Because of it's price-point and comfortable feel (plastic comb) it's the workhorse harmonica for many players. Though it's not set up as well as the Crossover, it's a good alternative for the price.