Not Your Father's Blues Harp

When I got this harp home the first thing I did was to test it against my old (circa 1967) Hohner BluesHarp. The sound was so different that at first I thought I'd accidentally bought the wrong key - but no, it really was a G. It has a much more full-bodied, heavy tone than the BluesHarp (in other words, the BluesHarp sounds much brighter). The Cross Harp sounds much more like a "regular" (straight) harmonica, but it does bend notes just as well as the BluesHarp - it just has a different timbre, a little more like a chromatic harmonica. Which is better depends on the sound you're going for. The covers are made out of an attractive black non-stick material that's suppose to be slick, but in practice I don't think they're any real improvement over the traditional chrome ones. If you like gold you'll love the looks of this harp - the entire body is done in a very realistic gold tone. I found that it tarnished easy and was difficult to keep shiny, but most people seem wowed by its looks anyway. All in all, it all depends on the sound you're going for.

Reviewed by Harpmaster B on 6/28/2007 who plays christian blues (yes it does exist).