danielbs
4 posts
Jul 26, 2008
3:59 AM
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What do you guys think of the Suzuki Folkmaster ?
I'm thinking about buying the set (only $100) should i go ahead or let it be...?
i'm far from being a serious harp player, but i think this set will cover all of my harp needs...
THANKS to one and all
Daniel
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eharp
67 posts
Jul 26, 2008
7:04 AM
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how many in a set? what keys? what are your "needs"?
i would try one of the harps before buying a set of anything.
when i play for myself or at small campfires/parties i get by with just 2, maybe 3, harps. i would rather have higher quality in smaller quantity than the other way around.
Last Edited by on Jul 26, 2008 7:04 AM
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danielbs
5 posts
Jul 26, 2008
8:28 AM
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The Folkmaster set includes all 12 keys.
I'd also rather one buy a good harmonica over 12 crappy ones...
But i do have a Suzuki Bluesmaster - i just wonder if the Folkmaster is as good (or mybe the Folkmaster is the equivalen to the Hohner Piedmont...and from what i've heard, one should stay away from the Piedmont...)
The Folkmaster is a cheap set and carrys the Suzuki brand name - i just hope they live up to the Suzuki name.
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Anonymous
Guest
Jul 26, 2008
12:43 PM
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It's a Chinese-made harp carrying the Suzuki name, don't expect them to be great harps.
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superchucker77
60 posts
Jul 26, 2008
1:44 PM
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I have one in C. It is OK but not a very good harmonica. You would be much better off buying a Suzuki Harpmaster for only a few dollars more.
Last Edited by on Jul 26, 2008 1:45 PM
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Aussiesucker
13 posts
Jul 26, 2008
3:10 PM
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I have a few in keys of C A and G. They are not a bad harp and excellent for the small price ie ca $10. They are not leaky like most other cheap harps and even some at twice the price ie Big River. They are not loud so are good to practice with if you dont want to disturb others. They are a really neat size ie same as the Marine Band and come in a good hard case. I would however hesitate to buy a full set of Folkmasters as a half set of Bluesmasters gets you a great harp in all the most used keys. I typically use my little Folkmasters when partying as I felt that it was less painless on the pocket to stuff a Folkmaster with beer and crisps. With Suzuki harps I find it is difficult to kill them ie the Bluesmasters have incredible longevity whatever you do to them. With all my Suzuki Harps including Folkmasters, I give them a regular bath in a tumbler of warm water with a denture tablet. I often take 'em apart to wash as I have found that parts of the comb are hollowed out and if water was to get in it would stay in. After washing I hang the parts on a line in the shade using bent paper clips to hold them. After about half an hour to dry & when reassembled they are as good as new. In the instructions that Suzuki include with every harp they say not to immerse in liquid. I have in my collection an original Folkmaster ca 50yo which has a wooden comb( I dont wash it) and it was made in Japan. The new Folkmasters look exactly the same only with a plastic comb and are made in China. Buy a couple ie G and C for starters.
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harpmonkey
70 posts
Jul 26, 2008
8:27 PM
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I am going to throw in my 2 cents.
I tried the "I'll buy a few cheaper cost harps so I can have a set to work with".
Well good and bad.
Good that I learned not to invest in bad harps.
Yeah, they are playable, but I cannot get consistent effect from them all, so even though I can bend well on one, the next is poor results, over-blows, bends, chords etc just are substandard.
My concern is that if you learn on crappy harps, you will "learn" bad techniques etc to get the same sound, then when you move down the road, your efforts will be spent "unlearning" the bad techniques.
Buy less harps not less harp.
Go for a MB, Seydel, Suzuki, Oskar or whatever you want, but get a few really good harps and focus on learning the craft.
I truly think you will be more pleased with your results, be frustrated less often, but that is my opinion.
I tried the Hohner "Hot Metal" harps once because they were about $9.00 each.
But I could have almost half as many great MB harps for the money than twice as many paperweights.
JMHO (just my harpin' opinion)
Hope it helps!
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Aussiesucker
15 posts
Jul 26, 2008
10:51 PM
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Harpmonkey, I cannot say that I disagree with you at all - however you referred to cheap harps but did not specifically say you have actually tried the Suzuki Folkmaster. The only other cheapies I have tried were Hohner Silver Star & Hohner Big River and I would not give these to my grand children as they are dreadful toys (like blowin through a wire fence). IMHO the Suzuki Folkmasters ie the little harps with red combs are a quantum leap up from the other cheapies. Be careful I have seen a harp branded Folkmaster (was not a Suzuki) that resembled the Hohner Silver Star.
If, like me, you sometimes want a harp that you can feed with crisps & beer and then give it a regular wash without fear of ruining more than $10 then the little Suzi Folkmaster is excellent for the price. I agree that with few exceptions you generally get what you pay for.
I think out of the box Suzuki quality on all their harps is very high, likewise with LO's but my experience with some Hohner products has been not so good. You would expect that the oldest and largest company in the business would only allow quality products to carry their brand . Lots of people buy these sub standard brand name cheaper harps for themselves to learn on and probably give it away after a few attempts. At some music shops here in Australia the harp cabinets are often full of the cheap & nasties so a lot of people must buy 'em!.
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wheezer
19 posts
Jul 27, 2008
4:06 AM
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Hi Danielbs
A cheap harp that has been recommended to me is the Huang Silvertone. I have never played one myself as they are not sold here in the U.K. but a friend of mine, a harp player of many years standing, swears by them. I have heard him play these harps many times and he sounds very good with them
I don't know where in the world you are situated but check out
the web site for Encore Music company. They do a set of 12 for $121.95 or a set consisting of C A D F & G for $49.95. If you want the Bb as well (for Adam's lessons) it costs $11.95. If you are in the U.K. shipping for. the set of 5 is about $24.00.
On the subject of cheap harps, I have a Jambone F that has lasted me over 10yrs. and is still my favorite harp for that key. I also had a couple of D harps from Jambone which have only just died but they are now used as reed donors for my Hohners.
I don't have a Suzuki Folkmaster but I can say that the Bluesmaster is one of the best made harps out there. I have just had one apart to change a reed and the build tolerences
are the tightest on any harp I have ever seen. The reed plates almost have to click in to the comb, the reeds seem to be held by some form of weld to the plate (to remove a reed you have to drill through what would appear to be the rivet and then twist the reed off with a reed alignment tool). Find bluzerd on ebay, he sells Suzuki harps at really keen prices.
Sorry, I seem to have rambled on a bit here but I have one more piece of advice. At the risk of alienating myself from the whole diatonic playing community don't ever waste your money on a Marine Band. I think they are the most leaky harp out there. Over rated, overpriced and with those reed plates overlapping the comb very uncomfortable to play. Of course this is only my opinion and I fully expect total excommunication for this but times and technology have moved on.
Yours, Wheezer, The Heratic.
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danielbs
6 posts
Jul 27, 2008
8:54 AM
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Well i never expected to have GREAT harp players providing me with good solid advice based on their experience.
THANK YOU VERY MUCH.
Since my last post i orderd the Suzuki Bluesmaster set - which is only 'round $15 difference.
I do agree that one needs a "slutty" harmonica - one you can use all the time without caring too much if something bad happens to it... (sorry for the metaphor).
And one harmonica that you enjoy looking at, touching and playing on.
I live in Israel - and unfortunately we dont have (or its really hard to get) brand names...mostly we see here Hohners of all sorts...and the price here is 2.5 to 3 times higher than U.S prices...so like any other normal person i order my stuff through Ebay.
I think i will buy me one or two Harpmasters, just to establish my own opinion on them (and i do want a slutty harp to carry with me where ever i go...)
Once again - THANKS A BUNCH
Daniel
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Anonymous
Guest
Jul 27, 2008
11:26 AM
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The Harpmaster isn't chinese junk, it's a good quality slutty harp!
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another guest
Guest
Jul 28, 2008
1:27 AM
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You'll be happy with the Bluesmasters.
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Jeff
142 posts
Jul 28, 2008
12:44 PM
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I don't think anybody even mentioned the words "Chinese junk" - especially not related to the Harpmaster. ????
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Patrick Barker
98 posts
Jul 28, 2008
5:19 PM
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Bejing harmonicas- taste the pollution!
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"Without music, life would be a mistake" -Nietzsche
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Aussiesucker
16 posts
Jul 28, 2008
9:52 PM
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Danielbs. I don't think the Chinese worry about getting the outsourcing of brand name products. They do perfect knock offs on just about anything incl cars! I was in China a year ago and in the markets I saw every brand of anything. I didn't see any harmonicas and I would not have bought one. I purchased a very well known expensive brand (copy) of a jacket for $16 and a co traveller had an identical jacket (not a copy) which he bought in Ireland for $400. There were only a few very minor differences. The Suzuki Folkmaster is made in China but sold by Suzuki. I think for the price it is well made. Anyhow isn't just about everything these days, apart from some harmonicas, made in China??
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johntrem
16 posts
Jul 30, 2008
2:55 AM
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I believe you will be more than happy with the Bluesmasters. I'm very pleased with mine. Airtightness is superb. Quality harp at a civil price.
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birdman
42 posts
Jul 30, 2008
3:58 AM
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after using hohners for years i tried a bluesmaster and what a fantastic harp i got the complete set
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Geordiebluesman
Guest
Aug 03, 2008
6:57 AM
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Hi Harpers,i have a few Suzuki Promaster 350v's and i like them a lot but the sound is really bright.I was wondering how the Bluesemaster compares in terms of playability and response and most importantly,tone.I recently gave a rave review of the MB Deluxe but i have since had problems with a badly swelling comb and two reeds gone flat(and thats on a harp only 6 weeks old!)so i'm back on the trail of the perfect harp(damn fool that i am!)
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wheezer
23 posts
Aug 03, 2008
8:16 AM
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Hey Geordibluesman,
I have one MR 350V and I really like it. I've not yet had it apart but it feels even better made than the Bluesmaster. If it's a little bright I just roll a little top off the amp.
It is definitely a harp of substance, it feels hefty in the hand. All I have to do now it to learn to use the extra bending capabilities of the 350V and I think that they would be my harp of choice for the future.
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Patrick Barker
105 posts
Aug 03, 2008
10:22 AM
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On a somewhat related topic- is there any difference between the bluesmaster and harpmaster besides the coverplates?
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"Without music, life would be a mistake" -Nietzsche
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Jeff
144 posts
Aug 03, 2008
11:57 AM
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The Bluesmaster has reeds of a completely different material: Phosphor Bronze as opposed the traditional brass reeds of the Harpmaster. The Bronze reeds are softer and are ever so slightly easier to bend and more importantly last much longer than standard brass reeds. Phosphor Bronze is a far more stronger and elastic alloy than brass.
As far as tone, the Bluesmaster is very slightly "mellower" or "sweeter" than the Harpmaster due to its coverplates. But all in all, they sound almost identical to virtually any listener.
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Anonymous
Guest
Aug 03, 2008
4:24 PM
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Jeff, I agree in regards to the type of reeds ie Bluesmaster is phosphor bronze and it gives incredible longevity. I have a suite of both Bluesmasters & Harpmasters and would not agree on the Bluesmaster being mellower or sweeter than the Harpmaster ie I would have put it the other way around. The Harpmaster is a lovely harp that I find bends easily but not in any way taking away from the Bluesmaster. I also think that the style of cover plates tends to make the Harpmaster just that little bit louder. The cover plates on the Bluesmaster however are very comfortable. I can't break a Bluesmaster but have broken Harpmasters. Also I notice that the Harpmaster reeds particularly 2, 3, & 4 tend to gum up.Think they are softer? Its easily fixed as I wash 'em in water and they are usually good as new again. I cannot understand why players persist with last centuries models of unhygienic, uncomfortable, poorly put together wooden harps when modern harps offer so much more. I believe companies like Suzuki are now showing the way!
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Jeff
145 posts
Aug 03, 2008
4:37 PM
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Yeah, the Harpmaster has a more open coverplate design. Thus it's louder and punchier to me. The more closed coverplate design of the Bluesmasters dampens some of the edge of the Bluesmaster's tone in my opinion.
But I think only the player can pick up on this because we're inches away from the harp. I can't hear any real substantial discernable difference when I hear it recorded. They're both to bright for my tastes; I don't play either any more.
Last Edited by on Aug 03, 2008 10:34 PM
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clarksdale
5 posts
Nov 07, 2009
11:06 PM
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The HarpMaster is pretty much my favorite harp. I've tried them all. Every different company and harmonica has it's up and down=sides.
I've not yet found a harmonica easier to play than the HarpMaster. I've tried BluesMaster, Pure Harp, FireBreath, Promasters, and all the other brands.
If you are worried about the longevity, just wail on your HarpMaster until it's seen it's day THEN order some of the PROMASTER replacement reedplates for $20 OR Just BUY another HARPMASTER.
I've found that just about every SUZUKI harp is pretty compatible as far as parts go interchanging and such.
ALSO PLEASE Don't WASTE YOUR MONEY ON FOLKMASTERS!!!!
Totally NOT WORTH $14! i wouldn't play them if they were free. But hey, that's just me. And if you are a beginner, GO EASY on playing your HarpMaster, these harps require even LESS AIR THAN A Hohner Special 20. Don't DRAW To forcefully or you could destroy it.
Take care All!
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$Daddy Rich$
"The Blues is Ok!"
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Aussiesucker
422 posts
Nov 08, 2009
11:32 PM
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Clarksdale> I agree with you re the Harpmaster ie it is my favourite harp ie out of Bluesmasters, Promasters, SP20s, Marine Bands & Lee Oskars. Today I received a Manji in C (not my favourite key) but it seems louder & brighter than other C's I have.
Sorry but I completely disagree re the Suzuki Folkmaster particularly in the lower keys. I have a couple of Gs and a couple of Ab's and they are great little harps. Why have I got a couple of each? Well I never expected them to last so long with the crappy way I treat them -but they refuse to die. I make them louder by bending the cover plates wider apart at the back. They are a sweet little harp.
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clarksdale
12 posts
Nov 09, 2009
12:10 AM
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That's cool Aussie. Maybe i was a bit harsh on the FolkMaster, just the one that i got didn't impress me very much, but hey i'm spoiled with the Harp Master so it's harp to impress me these days.
I also have a Manji ordered. I'll post a review when it arrives. Key of A.
Peace,
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$Daddy Rich$
"The Blues is Ok!"
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congaron
241 posts
Nov 09, 2009
9:48 AM
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I have a folkmaster in Bb i bought when I first found adam's videos...WAYY back in March. I bought one for my wife in A, since I had a special 20 in a already. Now I use the marine band in A and she prefers the special 20 to the folkmaster...she is beginner level with no bends. Sh can bend a hole if she tries but not in music. On the folkmaster she has trouble bending even that way. They are not horrible harps, now that i know something about it. I think they are the best cheap ones I've used.
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jaymcc28
176 posts
Nov 09, 2009
12:43 PM
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"... I think they are the best cheap ones I've used..."
I think that is the perfect statement for the Folkmaster. When I first started out I tried a bunch of cheap harps (piedmont, jambone, folkmaster...) and the FM was definitely the best of that bunch. That being said, however, I wouldn't buy another and would warn against buying a whole set. I have several Harpmasters and would swear by them. Very consitent out of the box and easy for a beginner to get used to. If I were you, I'd spend the extra couple of bucks per harp and get the Harpmasters.
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"You cannot multiply wealth by dividing it. You Cannot legislate the poor into freedom by legislating the wealthy out of freedom."
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congaron
243 posts
Nov 09, 2009
2:41 PM
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true..I have 5 harpmasters and they are nice. In fact one of them is in Bb...the folkmaster is my spare now. It's nowhere near as loud and needs to be mic'd for my liking.
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GEEZER1
3 posts
Nov 10, 2009
11:42 AM
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Nothing wrong with Folkmaster Harps, great tone. I recommend them as your first harmonica. I like Bluesmasters.HarpMaster, Delta Frost too, Spec 20s rust like a car that runs on salt all the time...
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