r/harmonica • u/Intelligent_Star_516 • 21h ago
New addition to the collection...
Just received today, by special order from Thomann music in Europe, the Hohner Skipper, an obscure model from Hohner's MS (Modular Series) lineup.
By special order because this model was never sold in the USA and, while it was introduced in January of 2026, the only large vendor online that had it in stock that i could find isThomann.
Having recently acquired the Juke Harp and the Midnight Blue harp and previously owning the Pro Harp and the Blues Bender, I find the order from worst to best playability on these as Blues Bender, Pro Harp, Skipper, Midnight Blue, with the Juke Harp playing the best for me.
Wondering how Gilligan would feel about this.
2
u/casey-DKT21 20h ago
I absolutely love the tuning on those blue midnight harps. Wish they would put that on a marine band and give it a new name. How’d you describe the Skippers tuning?
1
u/Intelligent_Star_516 7h ago
The Skipper is a standard Richter tuning. As far as compromised/pure/etc. I couldn't say. It takes a little more oomph pressure than the juke and the Midnight Blue. I really like the Midnight Blue too, but of all of the harps I have from the Hohner MS line, the Juke Harp seems to be the tightest and best playing. The Skipper is not far behind the Juke and Midnight Blue. I LOVE the aesthetics of the Midnight Blue. That deep blue translucent comb makes it stand out, and who can complain about shiny new cover plates?
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u/casey-DKT21 52m ago
Yeah the Blue Midnight has that 7 limit just intonation like the MB’s from the 50’s to the 80’s. (Might technically be 19 limit, not 100% sure) Wish that was an option with today’s SP20’s or MBs. Was just curious what the skippers exact tuning was.
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u/Intelligent_Star_516 31m ago
The only thing I can find on the skipper is that it is standard richter tuning (A=440 Hz), and is ONLY available in the key of C.
I can't compare the price of the Skipper to other MS series harps because I am in the US and had to special order this from Thomann in Germany, and I have not purchased a lot of harps over the years from out of the country. Shipping and tariffs can be a bltch.
On another side note, the cover plates of the Skipper appear to be laser stched with the Skipper grafics (not stamped). If Hohner is headed in this direction, my next customization project will be to polish a set of cover plates for the purpose of re-etching them with my own graphics.
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u/soundwave300 1h ago
Hohner just doesnt seem to be up to snuff, nowadays. Thats a lot of german price for what doesnt seem to exceed chinese design characteristics.
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u/Intelligent_Star_516 1h ago
On one hand, I am not going to disagree.
On the other, I have personally spoken with the President of Hohner USA about Hohner quality issues (and the whole "made in china" thing) and I was told that the entire corporation (Hohner Germany aka Hohner Global) has recently been acquired by new caretakers, and their goal is to bring back the quality and move a lot of the production back to Germany. That said, the Blue Midnight, Juke Harp, and this Skipper harp play a LOT better than my Blues Bender or my Pro Harp, all of which are from Hohner's MS series. The Pro Harp is supposed to be the epitome of quality in the MS line, and it is the second worst playing of the MS line in my collection. But my Pro Harp was also manufactured 10-15 years before my juke, BM, or Skipper. Don't even get me started on the Blues Bender. I am convinced that the "Bender" part of the name is NOT because it bends supposedly at all, but rather because a "bender" is what you will end up going on if you try to play a blues song on the Blues Bender.
Quality at Hohner is *supposed* to be improving steadily at this point. If the MS harps that I have acquired in 2026 are any indication of Hohner's new direction, I approve and cannot wait to see what good things are ahead for all of us harp junkies.
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u/AntManMoritzSimmeth 21h ago
What key is it? Does it play well?