East topDiatonic Blues Harmonica Set of 12, 10 Holes Diatonic Blues Harp Mouth Organ Set, 12 Keys 008K Harmonicas set for Beginners and Professionals with Black Case, as Gift(12)

East Top HarmonicasI bought my first East Top Harmonica for Christmas. I was wondering about them. They were looking great on the pics, cheap as well but...I have been hesitating for a while before ordering those harmonicas. Usually, cheap chinese harps are not good: leaky, bad tuning, razor-sharp plates...I will explain thereafter how they are build, assembled, tuned and how they play. Anyway, I have been playing them since more than 6 month of intensive gigs and performances.East Top Harmonicas T008K and 008K model are pretty similar except for the first which is blue coloured and the 008K which is Black Satin coloured. They come in handy carrying cases, similar to the actual Hohner Individual Zipcase you get when buying a Marine Band, Special 20 or Rocket... Of course, you can also order a set (6 or 12 harmonicas) that will come with a nice softcase (see pics belows).At the first approach, the harmonicas feel good in hand. Their size is similar to a Suzuki Manji, the cover plates, made of metal, are Marine Band shaped with a closing at the opening, just like Special 20! The paint reminds me the old Hohner Pro harp. This does not affect much the slide and comfort.The Comb is made of plastic. Well made, sanded and flatened, I have not much to tell about it as it does the job!The reeds are phosphor-bronze, just like Suzuki but are riveted like any other brands.Reed-plates and comb are assembled with 10 philips screws, plus 2 for the cover plates: that makes 12 screws to attache a single harmonica.Added to thick chrome-plated reed-plates, similar to the old Hohner Meisterklass, we have a heavy harmonica (84g/3oz) while a Marine Band is around 60g/2.1ozThey feel good in hand and you feel you have Something strong, quality, good!!Because of the thicker reed-plates, the embouchure is a little bit wider, but we get used to it fast! Particularly because the harmonicas are easy to play!Let's talk about the settings now: gapping and tuningWell, gapping is probably the most controversial point around harmonicas. Some people always need to take the harmonica appart to re-gap (Howard Levy, Jason Ricci, Dennis Gruenling...) some other like to play harp straight out of the box (Adam Gussow, Guy Davis...).As far as I can say, this is the first brand of harmonica I can play straight out of the box without needing to re-gap. Well, you might want to lower the gap on the first holes of the low harmonicas like G, Ab or A, but I could reach my three full chromatic scales on all other keys out of the box!!The tuning is also an issue for us, harmonica players. It will be affected by your mouth, your embouchure, your breath... I must admit that on East Top harmonicas, the tuning could be better, but I am fuzzy about tuning, very fuzzy (I use a Conn Strobe Tuner to work on my harmonicas!!).For most of players, the tuning will be fine, even very good if you are a heavy breather!!Other important aspect: the tuning is a compromised between JI and ET, just like modern Marine Band, Seydel, Suzuki...The harmonicas sound really cool and powerfull!Bottom of line, we have well made harmonicas, comfortable, playable straight out-of-the-box, in tune. Next question is: will they last long?Indeed, that is our main concern. Who has never experienced that 5th draw that goes out after 20 minutes playing on our Golden Melody or Lee Oskar?As far as I can say, those East Top Harmonicas last long! I have been playing them for over 6 month and did not have had to re-gap or re-tune!So, they are well made, they last long, they sound bright and powerful! They are good for acoustic playing,I was very pleased to ear them throught my microphones and amps!There are some holes on the cover-sides (just like Marine Band), but they are easy to cover with your hand once you've been working on your cupping. Then, you can modulate your treble-medium-bass balance at your own taste!Bottom of line: East Top provides very cool harmonicas at a cheap price! I have also bought their Mini Bass Harp and the 160 Holes Chrom (looks like a Hohner Super 64X with a Suzuki Slide and mouth-piece).I have been professionnal harmonica tech for over 15 years, Weltmeister and Yonberg Endorser.I write that review on my free will and have absolutely no Relationship with the East Top Harmonica Company. I just want to share my point of view and experience!Don't hesitate to ask me for further questions!

Music is magic! Harmonicas allow magic to happen easily!

The product looks good

Good quality and nice tone. Makes a good gift.

I am an experienced harp player, and own and have owned Seidel's, Hohner crossovers, Golden Melody's, Special 20's, custom harps, Hohner Proharps, Marine Bands and other cheaper practice harps. These definitely compete with some of the pricier $40 and up products. They bend easily and are louder than several of the brands mentioned above. Very happy...and come with a very nice case.4-24-19 I am adding to my review. Though I just got these, I wanted to comment on what I have discovered when I opened them up to emboss and gap them and set them up for overblows. Several of the keys required no set up for overblows - i.e. they allowed an overblow right out of the box!!! The others were pretty easy to set up to accomplish that. This is the first set of harps I've ever had where that was the case, including a B Radical and Seidels. Although I'm disappointed about reading some of the comments about the reeds blowing out, so far I am amazed with this set of harps.

I bought these for my husband to learn with. He has really enjoyed them and said they are great quality!

These East top Harmonicas play and sound better than my Honner Blues Harps ... I Love Them...Thank You East top... I needed New Harmonicas But I Could Not Afford To Buy New Honner Harmonica Set of 12 Keys....

They play pretty well but they are too thick and the reads on the high draw notes stick on most of the harmonicas D and above. The C harp plays fairly well. I prefer my Hoener Marine Band and Golden Melodies but for the price the East Top are okay. I do not regret buying them.