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I started playing the harmonica in December of 2015 (I have played piano and trumpet for decades). My opinion of the different harmonicas I have continues to change over time, but this is my comparison of the following harps: Hohner Crossover in B flat, Hohner Blues Harp in C, Suzuki Manji in A, and Seydel Blues Session in F and Low F (original version with brass reeds, not stainless steel – most reviewers say that you can’t tell any difference between the sound of brass and steel reed plates). I will rate them from 1 (best) to 5 (worst). Sometimes there will be ties, so some of the numbers might be missing.Sound - Of course, the most important thing is the sound. Crossover 1, Seydel Session Low F 1, Suzuki Manji 2, Hohner Blues Harp 3, Seydel Session in F 4. First, the Crossover just has the classic blues sound, brassy, bright, loud. The Seydel Session Low F has a more mellow sound, perfect for slow, Delta Blues style acoustic playing. Both of these harps sound great, just a little different. The single notes of the Seydel Session in Low F are more expressive and easier to control, but the chords on the Crossover are richer, with more resonating vibrations – though the chords on the Seydel have a beauty all their own as well. I love the sound of both of these harps. So, if the Seydel Session in Low F rate so highly, why does the one in F rate so much lower? It is not the harp, but the key. The high pitch of the key of F is a little shrill to my taste and the smaller reeds are not as flexible or expressive. The notes are pure, but simple. They don’t resonate. If you need a harp in F, get the Seydel because I doubt any other harp would play as well in that high key. The Suzuki Manji scored as well as it did mainly because the key of A is probably the best key for playing classic blues. The Blues Harp in C is a great sounding harp and it is a lot of fun to play, particularly the single notes, which are very expressive. However, the chords don’t seem to have the richness of the chords on the Suzuki Mani and certainly not as expressive as the Crossover and Seydel Session in Low F.Comfort: Seydel Session in Low F and in F 1. The Seydels are flat out the most comfortable harmonica I have ever played. The combs are smooth, the covers are smooth, the size of the harp is a perfect fit for the hand. Suzuki Manji 2. Very comfortable to play and a very nice size. Crossover 3. Again this is a very comfortable harp to play. The combs and covers are very smooth. However, there is some embossing on the covers that you can feel with your lips. It isn’t uncomfortable, but it isn’t perfectly smooth either. The main issue with the Crossover is that it is the most narrow of all the harmonicas. Sometimes, the placement of the fingers on my left hand bump my lips away from the harmonica. This is not at all physically uncomfortable, but it is a slight problem. It is something, however, that you can get used to and accommodate. The Blues Harp is a 5. It is flat out hard on the lips if you play it for an extended period of time. The metal edges of the reed plates protrude over the comb. They are not smooth and, as I say, they are hard on the lips. You can adjust them so that they are flush with the combs or protrude even more, but nothing seems to make them comfortable. I am contemplating using a Dremmel tool to buff and smooth out the edges of the reed plates.Easy to Bend: Seydel Session in Low F 1. This is the clear winner. You can really control the reeds on this harmonica. This is one of the reasons that this harp is so expressive. It will do anything that you ask of it. If you are looking for ease of playing, it doesn’t get any better than this. Seydel in F 2. The shorter reeds simply cannot bend as much as longer reads. This is pure physics. Suzuki Manji is a 3. It is easy to bend, almost as easy as the Seydels, but the Seydels have a super smooth, transition all along the pitch that you can control. The Suzuki Mani has a cutover spot in the 3 draw where the pitch shifts quickly. You can’t really control it very well. Crossover is also a 3. Generally speaking, this is an easy harp to bend, except for the 3 bend. The 3 bend is not as easy to bend all the way down one and a half steps as the Seydels or the Suzuki Manji. I think that if I reduce the gap on the reed plate, it would help a lot, but I haven’t got around to that yet. The Hohner Blues Harp in C is a 4. It isn’t as easy to bend as the other harps, but you can learn to do it with a little practice. The low bend on the 3 hole is almost as hard as on the Crossover, but not quite.Holes 8 – 10, the high holes. Seydel Session in Low F and F 1. The holes on the Seydel are a little wider than on the other harmonicas. This seems to make playing single notes easier, or more accurate. You don’t accidentally play the neighboring holes. The reeds are also very responsive. Hands down, the easiest harp to play in the upper register. Crossover 2. Overblows are easy, and overall, the high keys play well, though not quite as easy as the Seydels. Suzuki Manji 2. Comparable to the Crossover. Blues Harp 5. The high notes are not the strong suit of this harp.I think that if you are beginner, the Seydel Sessions are the easiest harmonicas to play. If you get them, you will know that if you can’t bend, it is you and not the harmonica. However, you might want to try the Crossover, which is also an excellent harp, just slightly harder to play. Even if you get a Hohner Crossover in C, you should get a Seydel Blues Session (or Session Steel) in low F. The Crossover would be perfect for the lessons on You Tube or whatever. The Seydel Session in Low F would make you sound a lot better than you are. That thing is so expressive that about any sound you make on it is pleasing. After trying those out, you can decide which ones you want to buy in the other keys. Personally, I’d skip the Suzuki Manji or the Hohner Blues Harp. They just don’t measure up to the Seydel Sessions or Hohner Crossovers in my opinion. As to which I would prefer to buy if I were buying a whole set, it is a tossup at the moment. The Seydel Sessions seem superior in every way to the Crossover, but I love the sound of the Crossover – particularly in the keys of A through C. In the low and high keys, I prefer the sound of the Seydel Session. That is, I like the potential sound of the Crossover in the middle register. The actual sound when I play the Seydel Session is better than when I play the Crossover because the Session is easier to bend, it plays more accurately, and it is more responsive because I can bend them and control them better. My next purchase will be a Seydel 1847 Noble. That is one expensive harmonica, but I want to replace my Blues Harp in C and I am curious if it can top both the Seydel Blues Session and the Hohner Crossover before I buy the rest of the harps I need in the remaining keys.
