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Preliminary note:
Since I am purely a classicist, the tests carried out on these pages are my points of view, gathered from personal experience. Therefore they fall within the parameters of that experience and it is possible therefore, some points contained in these critiques will have little meaning for any jazz or blues musicians who may read this.
Many original compositions for harp are impossible to play, due to the fact that the higher octave is missing. This is agravated conciderably by the missing d''''. However with sensitivity and experience, the existing B sharp ''' can be tuned upward.
Replacing broken reeds or exchanging the internal lying valves is only possible for players who are also skilled engineers...
The reason the instrument does not perform well in the sound-volume area is because it is so small. This smallness is also the major cause of difficulties which arise when playing octaves. The fingers holding the instrument come into contact with the lips and therefore special positioning of the hands becomes necessary. (especially the right hand) Also, when playing single notes in the ''' octave, special care must be taken or movement of the thumb (operating the slide) is restricted.
However, for beginners and players who are happy using three octaves this is a very commendable instrument.
Processing and quality of components:
Covers: No complaints. After approximately 60 hours practicing time, no changes in colour or signs of wear were discernable.
Main Body: The durability of the wooden comb and internal valves are fine, the comb is well produced, very thick and absorbency is increased immensely because of it. In my opinion the design and fastening of the slide package is not suited to repeated dismantling and reassembly, however in order to check this thoroughly the test period would need to be increased.
The reed-plates and reeds (straight order) are 1.05 mm thick and with a few exceptions the reed-gaps are adjusted well, however when playing very loudly some correction is necessarily.
Tuning: Varies between a1 443 and 444.
Reeds: Centred very well. No corrections necessary.
Slide package: Very pleasant design, very flat. However when practising for long periods (tongue playing) the mouthpiece holes become a problem, the edges are too sharp and make the tongue sore. I prefer rounded edges on the drillings. Very thick. Gets dirty very quickly. The distances between the holes are larger than those of the four-octave instruments, (Hohner, Hering and Suzuki), measuring approximately 87 mm to 83 mm over the 10 drillings. When you change to the above mentioned models you will need a time to get used to the different distances.
The Slide movement: (approx. 5 mm) Works excellently, moving easily and quietly, though for my comfort the return spring could be a little stronger.
Rubber buffers: After approximately only 20 hours of practice, the buffers became useless and after dismantling them three times I replaced them with Hohner buffers.
Spacers: Quite sufficient.
Mouthpiece screws: Fastening the mouthpiece with woodscrews instead of bolts and nuts, will in the long-run lead to problems. However to discover how long this deterioration will take requires a longer testing period.
Overall assessment: The "out of the box" performance was outstanding.
Quality of assembly: No defects were discernable. (Except for the unusual tuning between 443 and 444!!!)
Basic tuning: Good quality, but the pitch seems to 'float' in some octaves.
Reparability: The nailed reed-plates make it almost impossible to replace a broken reed or exchange the interior-lying valves.
The use of Allen or Torx screws, and the renunciation of providing a special nut wrench for remounting the covers would make home repairs a lot easier.
Assembling the slide-package is a difficult procedure entailing a four-part execution. The rubber buffers are too weak and therefore quickly and easily destroyed.
Fitting the covers requires patience and luck. It is very difficult to centre them into their correct positions and absolute accuracy is vitally important when re-assembling them, plus the screws can only be tightened with great difficulty, using a customised box-spanner.
Response over all octaves: Excellent response. Restricted volume in the second octave however. The three striped ( ''' ) octave is outstanding.
Air consumption: Very little air consumption is required over the entire instrument.
Volume at highest: The "out of the box" volume is relatively high but with some restriction in the one striped (') octave, which sounds a little forced at high volume.
Volume at lowest: Very quiet playing is possible.
Tone - volume (subjective): Too thin for classical music, it produces a thin very light sound and in order to even partially compensate for this one must develop an entirely different embouchure. The small, slender design is probably the major reason for this rather thin sound.
Note bending ability (subjective): Very good bending is possible over all octaves.
Stability of the reeds: "Very stable - after aproximately 60 hours of practice, (some of it placing the instrument under extreme stress) only minor changes in tuning were evident and could be easily rectified. There was some small damage to the g''' reed but this was also repairable.
Stability of the valves: No damage, sticking, or plopping of the interior lying valves was detected. After approximately 60 hours practice, a perfect function was still possible. Also there was no sticking or plopping of the outside-lying valves. Therefore it is sufficiently comparable with all other harmonicas.
Stability of the slide: Very durable, with professional treatment, regular cleaning and regular lubrication, a very long life can be possible.
Feeling when playing: The "out of the box" feeling is outstanding. Well formed covers. Height very pleasant, however the short narrow design presents a problem for me. However for players mainly using a microphone, the design is probably ideal. The sharp edges on the mouthpiece holes is a small problem and becomes more intense after several hours of testing. Also the slide moves too easily for my taste.
Total evaluation(subjective): Speaking personally, for beginners and players who like the three octave set-up this is a very commendable instrument. However for elevated classical performances, the lack of a fourth high octave restricts the player enormously. Since however, reed repairs are feasible only with great difficulty or not at all, and the supply of replacement reeds tenuous, the danger of finding oneself stuck with one or two unreplaceable broken reeds is frightening. To what extent the Seydel company is offering repairs at an affordable price and in an acceptable time period is still to be determined. Furthermore, it will be interesting to see, in the event of a broken reed, whether the entire plate must be traded in?
Improvement suggestions: The mouthpiece drillings must be made softer on the mouth, rounder edges. (soft radii) must be provided. (This is very important!)
A centring device for the covers is also absolutely necessary, or the fixing screws refuse to engage.
Unless there is a particular reason for it - e.g. when playing jazz or blues, then changing the type of screws on the lids would be preferable to bending your note from the high B sharp to high d''''.
For classical harmonica players, the slide package requires a stronger spring, providing a slightly stiffer return.
Tuning: The tuning of my test instrument varied between A443 to A444.
Increase the width from approximately 36mm to approximately 43mm.
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