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Dirty-South Blues Harp forum: wail on! >
My Manji review
My Manji review
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phogi
158 posts
Jan 02, 2010
4:50 AM
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My point of comparison is a marine band in D, which I sanded flat and sealed, and gapped
My thoughts:
1) Its nice not to have to flatten the comb and replace the nails. It gets points with me right off the bat
2) Out of the box, playability was so-so, not really better than what I remember about my marine band when it was new and unmodified. It was very difficult to bend with good intonation, particularly the 2 and 3 draw bends. Overblows would come out, but were very airy, weak sounding. Overblows bent just fine, but not much more than a semitone.
3) The comb seems to be the same size as the marine band. I did not get out a caliper, but they look about the same. The coverplates could use a support, they are a bit springy, I worry about them not crushing. Also, the coverplates bulge closer to the front of the harp. So, it feels a little bigger in the mouth, even though the comb is the same size.
4) I do notice a slight metallic ring on a few holes. Nothing much though.
5) Took it apart to gap it. Holy cow, is it different under the hood. The reeds have a strange tip. Looks like something out of a computer lab. The reedplates are very skuffed, which I guess don't matter, but it does not look like it was handled with care. Looks like it was tuned by hand. The tuning seem to need a little work, the octaves in the upper register beat a bit too much. Gapping went fine, no unexpectedly broken reeds.
6) Done gapping, time to play again - WOW! WOW! WOW! This thing rocked. It does not sound much different from my marine band, but the playability is off the charts! Most likely, this simply means that I did a good job gapping the harp. But still, it was rocking awesome compared to my marine band (which I had also gapped some time ago). One difference that I note was that I seemed to play more cleanly on the Manji. I'm not sure why, and I'm not sure that I like that. But I notice that when I widen my embouchure, it has to go wider to get the next hole to play. After gapping, all overblows played nice, not 'airy' but good and strong with minimal breath force. Bending the overblows was easier, and now they bend a little farther. Overdraw 7 and 9 work, but, I'm not skilled in overdraw, so it may be my technique, but I get a torsional buzz on both overdraws.
All in all, I am considering switching over. If suzuki offers replacement reedplates, then its a done deal.
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Kyzer Sosa
68 posts
Jan 02, 2010
4:59 AM
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as I mentioned earlier...I got one for xmas, and have been nothing but impressed since then. If i only had 500 bucks laying around Id get the set...
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jbone
245 posts
Jan 02, 2010
8:10 AM
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i looked hard at the manji when it was first announced, and i then looked at brendan power's video review of itr and also of other suzuki models. i decided to take the risk, it wasn't going to break me getting a harp that cost half again as much as what i was used to spending.
i'm not heavily technical. i may do overblows and half and full step draw bends, i just don't know it when i do. i do know i learned a lot about breath control over the past several years and i can appreciate a well built harp much more than ever before, and they last much longer than back in the bad old days. i also don't spend much time tweaking reeds, embossing, etc, etc. i want a harp that works well out of the box, one that i can keep clean and maybe regap a reed or 2, and just play it. manji is that harp so far by a long shot!
i'm with kyzer, i was absolutely sold on the manji with the first one. and though i really couldn't afford it, i found a way to order a second manji early in december. i have heard complaints about how the manjis, some of them, are tuned, seemingly in haste and with less care. i think the line guys at the factory have been under a lot of pressure to keep them moving out the door to fill orders and this has led to some sloppy, hurried practices when it comes to tuning. but over all, i have heard very few complaints about the manji and consider it to be the best out of box harp out there.
i started out with marine band in the 70's. back then they were a very well built harp. i treated them rough and as a result went through a lot. eventually i switched over to sp20,s, which seemed to be a more consistently built and tuned harp. but eventually, as my chops improved, i began blowing them out rather fast. i tried several other options in my search for the really tough harp. along the way i realized- with some very good help from my peers- that my hard style of playing was part of the problem. i took a voice lesson or two, learned about my air column and breathing deeper and with a lot less tension, and began to play much more softly. i learned a lot about real dynamics at the same time. my harps began to last a lot longer.
now enter this manji harp. i find it to be the missing piece of the puzzle for me. but if this harp had been available 30 years ago, or 20, even 10, i doubt i would have had the same appreciation of it that i do today. to me this harp represents the best in modern technology, design, and manufacture at a production level. the reed-to-slot tolerance is tighter than any previous harp built by anyone. the comb is revolutionary. the covers to me are just right. in short this is the pinnacle of production harps, at a totally affordable price.
this is all my opinion. i don't sell harps or represent anybody but myself. but i am so impressed with this harp, i had to speak up!
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joshnat
26 posts
Jan 02, 2010
8:22 AM
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I'm with you jbone. I find myself having more fun playing my Manjis than my other harps, and that's what it's really about for me, on stage and off. I'm willing to take more risks with the Manji also, even unconsciously.
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Kyzer Sosa
69 posts
Jan 02, 2010
9:13 AM
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I just ordered an A and a C this morning....
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mankycodpiece
55 posts
Jan 02, 2010
9:49 AM
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i bought a valved promaster which i didn't much like the sound of.
one of the valves came off into my mouth,so i'm not best pleased.
is the manji a far better harp than the promaster,if so,i may just try one.
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barbequebob
286 posts
Jan 02, 2010
10:11 AM
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The only things I'd want to see changed, coming from a more traditional player's standpoint, would be that they do something like what Seydel did with the stainless steel covers they use, having an even wider opening in the back, and use the same thickness they use on their covers, which negates the need for anything to hold them up. The other thing would be to have a version in either 7LJI or 19LJI, and here in the USA, they'd really give a Hohner a huge run for their money because most tradtional players, if given the chance, would rather have theirs tuned in JI rather than ET or even a comprimise for that matter, and if they put out a version like this in addtion, they'd be an even bigger seller. Without a doubt, these are the finest Asian made harps I've ever played.
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Sincerely,
Barbeque Bob Maglinte
Boston, MA
http://www.barbequebob.com
CD available at http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/bbmaglinte
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