HohnerThe 64 Chromonica Chromatic Harmonica, Key of C

Or if not the best, at least a really good harp like the Chromatica 280 C. I'm a beginning harmonica player with 15 years of musical instruction and 30 years of playing piano, clarinet, and guitar under my belt. My musical bent turns mostly toward classical with a bit of gospel, so I searched for almost a year to find the "right" harp (as harmonicas are called). I decided not to waste money on a less expensive instrument because I figured from all I've read the 280 C can grow with me, or rather, the better I learn to play it, the better the music from it. Just like the other three I've learned to play. The advantages for me over the other instruments are that I can take it anywhere, play almost any sort of music on it, and play a wider range of music because of its 4-octave reach. Being in the key of C doesn't matter, either, because the slide will enable me to play in all the keys I can learn. Unlike the diatonic harps I won't need to buy other harmonicas to play in other keys. I figure this harmonica will be as good as I can play, and thanks to a couple of great harmonica books, it already sounds better than when I first picked it up a little over a month ago. The books are The Chromatic Harmonica Method by Max De Aloe, and Harmonic for Dummies by Winslow Yerxa. With this combo of books and instrument, the only limitations on where I can go musically are my own.

I was initially forced to join the sorrowful chorus on the bad business end of a poorly assembled 280C. However, having a history of great tone, performance and overall reliability with Hohner harps, I wasn't ready to throw in the towel and cry refund.Sure enough, Amazon sprang into action without hesitation. They immediately replaced my Chromatica and.it quickly arrived ready to rock (actually Jazz, but whatever you feed your reeds is cool). Back to the reason for 5 stars.Anything made can come with issues, we don't buy products from themselves. We look to the manufacturer or sellers to be "stand up" guys. So, I couple my history as a Prime customer with this encounter to call win-win on this one. Very pleased with the instrument. Thanks Amazon and Hohner for coming through again!

-- 09/10/2016 10:12:28 AMI received the harmonica, inspeceted it, then filed a complaint via: A-to-z Guarantee ProtectionNever heard back from amazon, or the seller.SUMMARY:>This Hohner Chromonica 64 was described as "plays great" and only listed minor cosmetic defects.In truth, this harmonica is sadly defective:+ 11 wind-savers (valves) are missing, resulting in leaking air;+ the slide is bent;+ most seriously, the comb is broken so that air leaks and the highest couple of notes don't play. It would require about $100+ in parts to repair and I don't have the skills.Please send a prepaid shipping label and cover the cost of insuring this return - your description completely misrepresented the condition of this product.

The Hohner 64 Chromonica (16 holes) has the Hohner trademark sound. It sounds great, clear, bright and smooth. The look is classical. But the harmonica came with a broken case and hole dot 4, hole 1, 2 played no sound. I contacted Hohner via its Website. I was frustrated.I watched YouTube Hohner Service Workshop on making adjustment on the reeds to make it playable without success. Then, Hohner USA contacted me and asked me to send the harmonica to its reed service under warranty to repair. I just got it back yesterday. The sound problem is fixed but these holes are not responsive and the sound is terrible compared to the rest of the holes. I spent three hours making adjustment myself. It has gotten much better. I will continue to make small adjustment as little as possible each day (small adjustment is better than doing too much).The windsavers on some holes also have issues, too. Occasionally I will hear the buzz sound. Another problem as I just found out after played for 4 hours, my mouth and lips became swollen because the 64 Chromonica’s mouthpiece is brass with nickel plate. I am allergic to nickel.I love the sound comes out the harmonica. I can’t explain but it is different than the Suzuki SCX even though I also like the Suzuki SCX, I love the sound of Hohner 64 Chromonica better and looks of the harmonica.I ordered a Hohner Super 64X. The Super 64X has stainless steel mouthpiece coated with premium materials, no nickel no worries. Heard the sound volume comes out of the Super 64X is much bigger, richer due its double reed structure. Hope every hole works. Fingers crossed.Updates on Hohner Super 64X:The Super 64X came in excellent condition. Nothing was broken and fir the first time of my entire Hohner chromatic harmonicas purchase experience, this one, every single hole works and sounds awesome. The slider is very quiet and smooth. The sound comes out especially from the low octave is very good. The Super 64X came with a very nice zipper case and a Phillips screwdriver in the case, which is very nice and handy. The harmonica felt pretty substantial in weight (much heavier than most), I got used to pretty quickly without problem. The sound from the Super 64X is a little darker than the 64 Chromonica but I definitely noticed the quality is f the sound cons from the Super 64X is on another level than the 64 Chromonica. The Super 64X costs much more than the 64 Chromonica. The Super 64X is a professional performance model. If money is not a big issue, the Super 64X is a better choice.

Excellent harmonica, the top of the notch for the harmonica player. You can play virtually anything on it. Although for the beginner I would advise a 12 note chromatic smaller model, or the basic diatonic harmonicas where the beginner can learn how 'bend' notes and so forth. But for those who have advanced to the 'big leagues', although with several kinds of diatonics there may be nothing 'little league' about them. But if what you wish is the complete instrument capable of playing anything you throw at it, this is it.