the_happy_honker
357 posts
Mar 27, 2025
1:40 PM
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Anyone tried this harp and have an opinion they can share? I played the standard Manji for a few years, but then went back to Marine Bands for the JI-ish tuning.
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HappyJ
13 posts
Mar 28, 2025
7:11 AM
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The Maji Sky Is a very good one
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RobDawg
22 posts
Mar 28, 2025
7:55 AM
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The Sky sounds like a cool concept and I am interested in trying one in low F. I hate to complain, but the stock manji tuning and the composite combs don't inspire me. my favorite manjis are custom from blue moon with brass combs. Tom retuned them to a what he calls modern compromise tuning - they're loud. I have a feeling the sky will shut down when anyone uses too much breath - I had issues with a suzuki hammond when stage volumes went up I was playing too hard and choking the reeds - plus tight gaps and too much moisture could do it. it's a trade off having those tight gaps
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bandini
29 posts
Mar 30, 2025
9:55 AM
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My current feeling is that for folks like me who really like Marine Bands, prefer JI tuning, are frustrated by Hohner's inconsistencies, aren't adept enough yet at tuning/customizing their own harps and don't always want to shell out the bucks/get on the waiting list for a custom harp, the Seydell Lightning is the best choice out there.
To my ears, the Lightning is the closest in sound to the Marine Band, and in fact is slightly fatter/deeper sounding. It plays virtually flawlessly out of the box, stays in tune, lasts forever and is available in JI. In fact, Seydell's default "compromised" tuning is very close to JI and is in fact exactly the same on the first 4 holes.
It took me awhile to figure this out because I wasn't terribly impressed with Seydell's other harps. But once I tried the Lightning I replaced all my harps with those and have never looked back. To me it's the best harp out there by a mile.
I'm not affiliated with Seydell in any way and don't mean to hijack this - I just spent a bunch of time a couple years ago hassling around with trying to find the right harp and it was such a relief to settle that issue and get on with the business of PLAYING.:)
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dougharps
2371 posts
Mar 30, 2025
12:34 PM
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I was intrigued last winter and bought a Low F Sky. It does not seem to play any more easily than my two Low F Olives. I have not tried other keys of Sky. The standard Manji compromise tuning is not as smooth as Hohner or Seydel compromise.
My Seydel Low Tuned harps play just as easily as Manji or Olives, but chords do sound slightly smoother.
I play Seydel Session Steels and 1847s, but never tried a Lightning. The price on the Lightning has made me hesitate (much as the Thunderbird price.) The 1847s already seem pricey.
When I want the smooth chords of compromise tuning for recording or playing live in a low volume situation I usually go to Hohner Special 20s, Rockets, or Marine Band Deluxes for the sound and the control that Hohner reeds and compromise tuning brings.
In loud live playing I find that Hohners can more easily be damaged by hard playing, so in loud situations I often use Manji or Olives, or sometimes Seydels.
Maybe I will spring for a Lightening sometime, just to see if there is a big difference.
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Doug S.
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bandini
30 posts
Mar 30, 2025
2:14 PM
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"In loud live playing I find that Hohners can more easily be damaged by hard playing, so in loud situations I often use Manji or Olives, or sometimes Seydels."
Yeah, my harp needs have really changed drastically as I've gone from largely playing in my house to playing on the street again.
This means I gotta play harder and louder than typically I'd prefer, plus the intense Mississippi humidity (combined with my propensity for sweating my ass off when I play anyway) means I was just burning through Marine Bands way too fast.
The Lightnings seem kinda indestructible so far. The one major drawback is their weight. Not that I mind it for playing - I actually dig how solid and heavy it is. But occasionally I'll bring the harp to my mouth too quickly and accidentally rap my teeth on it, which is basically like smacking yourself with a solid bar of stainless steel.:) You could put your teeth out with these things if you're not careful...
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RobDawg
23 posts
Apr 02, 2025
5:19 AM
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Hey Doug,
If you already have some other 1847 sitting around to rebuild you can get the lightning reed plates at rockin rons website. I recently rebuilt a LLE bold body, with the thicker comb, with lightning Low E plates and it's really good - I may try it with normal covers and acrylic comb to see how it handles that way, too. I first got lightning in C and rebuilt that with a blue moon fancy acrylic comb. I made another one in D with a Brass comb that's a little stiffer but they are very loud harps. When I first tried lightning I realized I didn't love the steel combs but I was able to offload those to someone else to fund the bluemoon combs.
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shakeylee
773 posts
Apr 08, 2025
11:01 AM
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Speaking of plates and JI, Suzuki fabulous plates in from Rockin Ron JI fit manji nicely.
Another option for that good old JI sound,are JDR gentle monsters from bushman . They sound great!
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www.shakeylee.com
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