Hohner Marine Band Harmonica ... Quality made in Germany, great sound
589715
Bought two of these ... one for my Dad and one for me.  My Dad has played for years, but his old Hohner Harmonica was not sounding very good and hearing a lot of wrong notes.  My Dad assumed it was because of his age (in his 80s), but with this new Marine Band Harmonica every note is crystal clear and "Amazing Grace" sounds ... AMAZING! This also has wooden reeds rather than plastic, which leads to a better tone (unlike the cheaper versions).

Dad was so happy with this gift, and very pleased that it was from Germany like his old one  (not all are that quality any more).  I bought one for myself to try to learn to play with him. The notes sound pretty, but the player leaves a lot to be desired! Advise getting a harmonica book to supplement the harmonica.
64326
I'm new to playing the harmonica and am learning every day. This seems to be the perfect one for me.  I'm learning just for my own enjoyment and really know very little about harmonicas.

The shipping was quick, the quality appears to be great, the tone is good. The hard plastic case is very sturdy.  What more could I ask for?
4273111
My husband loves his harmonica. He is a studio musician and I went "out on a limb" choosing this product without asking him (Christmas surprises). He has been so pleased with the quality and sound of the Hohner H455C. We definitely recommend it for family fun or professional use.
4551489
There is so much to like about this harmonica. But at $35+, my expectations for this instrument were unfortunately not met. $35+ is a relatively expensive harmonica, and I'd expect this to be the entry-point to a professional grade instrument. Ready to be performed in all sorts of ways.

First, the good. There is clear quality in the construction and the tone of all of the standard notes that a diatonic harmonica / Blues Harp are supposed to play. Bending the low and the high notes work approximately as expected. The holes are slightly larger than my Marine Band 1896, and I'm taking a liking to the plastic construction over the wood-based construction of the Marine Bands. Furthermore, the tools included in the "Lee Oskar maintenance" pack perfectly work on this entire instrument. This is truly one of the few instruments you really can take apart, over and over, and put back together without much hassle. Adjusting the reed-gaps, replacing reeds are all documented and well thought out.

However: the style of play I've been trying to master includes "Overblowing", especially on the 5th hole for the "hidden F#" that will be useful to any cross-harp player (A Diatonic Harmonica in C will be played in G in crossharp style, making the F# on 2-bend and 5-overblow somewhat important to some songs).

Like many $35 harmonicas, the overblow was impossible to play when the harmonica was originally shipped to me. That's fine, I know how to adjust the gaps in the reeds to make the overblow possible. Much to my surprise however, once the reeds were properly adjusted, a very annoying high-pitched squeal comes from this instrument as I attempt an overblow. Its not consistent, but clearly there's a weird vibration of some kind that creates this effect.

I've done some futher research on this subject, and unfortunately Tombo Harmonicas in general seem to have this problem. (Tombo being the manufacturer of the Lee Oskar harmonica).

Again, this is a great quality instrument otherwise. The sounds are pure, the plastic construction is very well done. Unfortunately, the overblow (a technique not invented till the 80s or 90s) is too squeaky when performed on this instrument. I think that if a player were not seeking to play overblows regularly, this would otherwise be a fine instrument.

But alas, the secret E# and F# on holes 4 and hole 5 are too important to me. And they just don't consistently sound good on this instrument, even after a few hours of tweaking.
2984072
Just received my set and they're all good.  Beginners need to know that one hole or another (usually the 2 hole will be hard to make sound right, mainly on the draw.  That's something you have to learn to overcome and make sound right.  That's doable.  It's a 'technical' thing and has nothing to do with the harmonica or manufacturer.

This is a really nice set right out of the box and they all have that very crisp harmonica sound that I like so much.  I have a Susuki Manji that comes close to the crispness but it's a tad bit mellower.  And my Hohner Golden Melody is mellower too.  But I love them all.

The case is very nice and protective too.  You can pick up the F and Bb to complete the set.  :)

My Suzuki Manji and Hohner Golden Melody fit fine in this case.

See what the others say to get much more comprehensive reviews.  About all I can say is I got what I paid for and think these are great little harmonicas that sound wonderful.
4783168
I love my Lee Oskar key of C Harmonica. I love the crisp clear loud soun and I love the fact that you can replace the reeds at half the price of the whole Harmonica. The Harmonica was Shipped right away and I recieved it earlyer than expected.
2852829
This harmonica is exactly what I wanted and expected! It makes a really nice necklace and it also plays with lovely clarity. I put it on a longer chain because I am a a big man. But the chain it came with was nice quality. I just started learning how to play harmonica, so having this tiny, portable option is really fun. I can play wherever I'm at!
2171035
This is a lovely, well made chromatic harmonica with no deficits except what this particular player brings to it. 'Very nice instrument for the money and with waiting for if you want a chromatic with this particular (circular) tuning.
2075647
Has a very pleasant sound and is easy to play.  Very good quality.  It stopped making sound at after about 3 months of heavy use by my 2 year old.  I took the harmonica apart and cleaned the reeds, put it all back together and it is good as new.
1832024
I 'used to play harmonica'.  Not well, but I tried.  Anyway, my kids are very musical, and I wanted them to try the harp without destroying my 80s vintage Special 20 and Blues Harp harmonicas.

The sound is crisp, notes can be bent, and overall.. a nice harmonica.  It is a bit leaky and soft compared to my harps that cost 10x more...  but that is to be expected.

I took off one star because two of the six had to be 'fixed' to be played.  Very simple to fix them,  but I'm a bit mechanically inclined.  Out of the box two of them had notes that didn't play.  I had to remove the covers and gently bend the reeds a bit.  It was a 5-minute (or less) fix.  By the way, as others have noted, the reeds and reed plate are brass...  not plastic.

In short, this is a very REAL harmonica, that plays like a real harmonica.  Is it a professional harmonica?  No...  but you can't get one of those for under 3 bucks.  For the price, this is the real deal...  far exceeding my expectations.
1422209
Hole #7 started playing very sharp. I carefully dried the unit after each use and stored it in the case wrapped in a piece of paper towel to act as a moisture absorbent. No foreign matter was observed inside the instrument. This harmonica is made in China...
2675506
Really good and professional harmonica , good sound and tones , and comes with a sturdy case , this is a really good , deal , a good quality instrument , and the shipping was really fast! , No regrets , and really happy with my melodica , Buy it!
4625859
So I get the Harmonica in the mail, and it is in this huge box for a harmonica.  I open the box and, well, it contains a huge harmonica.

I have another Hohner key of C Chromatic.  This one goes an octave below that one.  That one does not play well in its bottom octave and this one plays well in all three octaves.  My wife's comments were, "It sounds like a pipe organ", and I had come to the same conclusion...the timbre of the sound sounds unlike any other harmonica I have.

The part that goes into your mouth is plastic. You can easily remove the button slide, pop the spring plate off of the back, remove the core which has the reeds and windsavers and all that attached to it, and get the plastic case free - and then wash it or whatever you want to do to clean it.  But the plastic case does not slide easily in your mouth like the chromed metal case does. I find that I can hit the notes I want to but I feel like I'm dragging the harmonica rather than sliding it.

Once the case has dried, you can assemble it again, in less time it takes to write about how to do it.  Just put the core back into the plastic case, stick the spring plate in one side, and then hook it into the other side. Last step is to slide the pushbutton back in with the plate attached.

So, the whole harmonica is an octave below other Key of C Hohner chromatics, and it plays better and sounds much fuller.  I would suggest it for, well, devotional music.  Maybe some western.  Definitely be something I carry with me for treatments, but it won't replace anything I own.  I had hoped it would replace my other chromatic - but I can't play Fiddler on the Roof because I can't slide it fast enough.
1059998
Great harmonica. Very responsive, very clean tone and quality built. So why just four stars? For me learning and using a Hohner Special 20 for the past five months, the lip placement is different than on the Manji. To fully understand closely inspect the comb pictures on both Hohners to the Suzuki. The Hohners comb is further out from the top/bottom plates,  while the Suzuki is recessed beneath the top/bottom plates. This allows some air to leak out the side of my mouth, unless pressing the harmonica harder into my mouth. In my opinion, this harmonica would be best used by tongue hole blockers, while the Hohners work great for "whistle blowers". If it wasn't for the comb placement this is a far superior sounding instrument than the Hohners Special 20, which is to be expected for the price difference but when you have a very clean tone you can hear the air leaking around your mouth.
519902
An excellent instrument for beginners and experienced harp players. I highly recommend this harmonica for those that are serious about playing. Price is great and very well made.
1972387
After buying a harmonica for my new grandson, I decided to get one myself.
It has been much fun learning to play all the folksongs that I know, and there are a couple hundred of them.
So long the tune is solid in my mind, I can reproduce it on the harmonica. All that within a three months
time period. Sure, the pro players can put me to shame, but I'm having fun anyway.
Since then I bought two more Hohner harmonicas that have a slightly different sound to them.
Instead of listening to the radio while I am driving, I make my own music.
3455987
I now have 5 of the Lee Oskar harmonicas and each has lived up to the quality of the first.  As a relatively new player I have found the Lee Oscar harps to be easy to play well.  The sound is very good when playing both loud and soft and it has been easier for me to get good, single notes with this design. I started with the C and the D natural minor and have added the  A;  G  and most recently  D to my collection.