Seydel1847 Silver Harmonica - Key of D

Purchased for a birthday gift , recipient loved it !

These instruments are the best on the market. I've been playing the harp for 45 years and this is the best value and quality I've ever found.

I bought three new Seydel harps (2 Silver, 1 Noble) for the stainless steel reeds. I'm an aggressive player and tend to blow reeds out of my Special 20's after 6 months or so. If this lasts me a year then it would cost the same as two Special 20's (my current affordable favorite). Time will tell and I'll update this review then.HOWEVER, upon my very first liplock, several hairs were ripped from my upper lip (I'm a bearded man). The description on their own website states that this harp is facial hair friendly. IT IS NOT, and neither is the Noble model I purchased. You can see in the pics that there is plenty of gap between the cover and reed plate for a piece of paper to slip in. I ended up scrapping wax into all edges of all three harmonicas and used a blowdreyer to melt it into the gaps. This has solved the problem, but I'll likely have to repeat the process after each show. We'll see because I'm live tonight! For some reference, I've been using Hohner's Special 20's and Blues Harps for 25 years and almost never have them pull a hair.

This was a great deal when I purchased this - I actually got the wrong key (I got a C, not a D) - I wasn't terribly dismayed I was happy at first because I like lower key harps, but the next day I heard a song I wanted to learn in D - blast!! The harmonica itself is fantastic though - looks nice, sounde nice - and loud also. As others have mentioned I like that there are no numbers Not a huge fan of the logo - but if that is my biggest complaint I'll take it every time. As far as the wrong key goes - keep a sharp eye on what you have before you blow and can't return it. I have only been buying harps on Amazon for 3 months and this is the third time I have received the wrong key, model, etc. Mistakes seem more prevalent on the more discounted harps - so I don't quibble too much.you get a great value anyway.

Harp isn't my main instrument. I normally use Seydel Session Steel harps and I was curious about the 1847s. I bought a Key of A Silver model with the white plastic comb. It was a bit hard to play out of the box because the gaps on four lowest draw notes were too big. After some adjustment, the sound is similar to the Session Steel but maybe a little brighter. Another commenter is right: if you want to tune a reed you need to pop the rivet and work on the reed on a flat surface. I'm not sure what it will take to remove some metal -- I tried re-tuning a bad reed on a Session Steel and the Lee Oscar scraping tools would not remove any metal. I did remove some metal with a high quality sandpaper but the metal kinked slightly near the rivet and snapped off while play testing. I'm not all that put out since I have not had a lot of success tuning bronze reeds either, but if this is important, don't get anything with steel reeds. Or get all of the tools.I wondered if the difference in tone was due to the reed plate, the comb or the covers. So I tried switching plates and covers between my Session Steel and 1847 E harps. Surprise -- the reed plates are different sizes. Changing just the covers didn't make much, if any, difference in sound. If you play without a mic, you may be able to get a better seal cupping one harp vs the other. In my case, I cup better with the Session Steel covers.The 1847 reed plates are a little larger and won't fit on the Session Steel comb. When I put both the reed plates and the covers from the Session Steel onto the 1847, it still played like the 1847 and not like the Session Steel. My conclusion is that something about the comb is making the difference. If you look closely at the pix, you'll see that the 1847 slots are open all the way to the front of the harp. The Session Steel comb is a little thicker and the blow/draw holes have a little edge of plastic top and bottom. This may account for the difference in tone. Personally, I prefer the tone of the Session Steel. In any case, there is a difference in tone that isn't due to the cover and probably not due to the reeds. I assume the plastic is pretty much the same other than color. So, I'm pretty sure that the difference is caused by some difference in the geometry of the comb slot.I didn't test, but I'm pretty sure the screws that hold the plates together (sandwiched around the comb) are the same and in the same configuration. There are special screw drivers for getting the screws in and out. Even so, you can strip the Phillips-like head. They are Phillips-like. A regular Phillips screwdriver will work in a pinch but is much more likely to strip threads. The cover plates on both harps are held on by screws that go into threaded rivets. The screws on the 1847 are shorter and I think a smaller diameter. The Session Steel cover plate rivets are a little harder to remove but probably less likely to get loose by themselves.I like stainless steel reeds and I like the sound of both harps. I am dinging the 1847 because I intensely dislike the way the reed plates overlap the comb in front. The reed plates extend over the comb and overhang in at all the corners. The corners are not sharp but they have bruised or possibly cut both the left and right sides of my upper and lower lips. In order to use this harp I'm going to need to grind the front edges and especially the corners of the reed plates. I don't really know if the corners are the problem or the front edge. Whatever. I'm not liking the feel. You may play differently and it may not bother you in the slightest.

Disappointed by the Seydel session steel (see my 3 star review), I almost did not try the Seydel silver. But I am glad I did. The silver is far superior in engineering fit and finish to the blues session standard and blues session steel models. It is also far superior in playability and sound to the blues session steel. Here's hoping it lasts forever.Bottom line: if you must try a steel reed harmonica, pay more and get this model. If it is your first steel reed model, be aware that the reeds have a thinner sound. You may be happier with a lower tuning like Bb or A.

I alternate between a D harp and six others when practicing and going to open jams. The amount of time with any one key is split somewhat evenly. The sound is better than the Special 20's I customarily use but the 9 blow reed on this harp died in 11 months. I get years out of either a Special 20 or Marine Band before a reed goes out. Regardless of how they handle this under warranty (if they handle it) I won't be buying any more Seydel harps.

The Seydel 1847 is my favorite harp so far compared to the other harps I also like - Hohner Special 20, Hohner Crossover and Lee Oskar. I like the mellow tone, good action and that it is pretty air tight. The drawback and why only 4 stars is that they are so expensive. The 1847 is maybe 15% better than a Special 20 but costs twice as much so I'll stick with the Special 20 for the keys I use less but I'm using the 1847s for the keys I use the most C, D, F, G, A. So far the ones I've had for a while are holding up well with a lot of playing.

Great quality