The New Suzuki Fabulous.

[salmon]

There's been a lot of excitement lately on some of the Harmonica
forums regarding a new release from Suzuki of their "Fabulous"
harmonica. Being a Suzuki fan, I thought I'd try and get more info
about it. Apparently it comes in "equal" or "just" tuning and the
price appears to be Euros 129. A bit pricey for my playing standard
unfortunately.

It looks identical to the ProMaster with the solid alloy comb but I
can't find out how it differs to warrant the extra cost. Hopefully,
they will think of bringing out a version with the plastic comb
because although I love my ProMaster I do find the BluesMaster a bit
gentler on the lips and hopefully, a plastic combed version will be a
little cheaper.

Would love to know if there are any early adopters out there who may
have tried one. There are quite a few videos on YouTube with Brendan
Power using one but I'm on dial-up and don't have sufficient bandwidth
to watch them.

I wonder whether Brendan was "Instrumental" (forgive the pun) in
getting Suzuki to manufacture a new model, seeing as he works with
Suzuki now.

There's a link below for those who want a closer look.

http://www.music-direct-shop.de/SUZUKI_1/Suzuki_Fabulous_10_Hole_F-20_E/suzuki_fabulous_10_hole_f-20_e.html

[salmon]

Just watched the YouTube video (very slowly) and saw Brendan
demonstrate the Fabulous. Apart from the comb being silver plated
brass and the cover plates being silver plated I couldn't find out a
great deal more about it. However here is a link for those interested
to see it themselves. I wonder if the reeds are phophor bronze?

[m***@gmail.com]

The whole reason the Fabulous was created is to show off the main
feature: it's a long-slot reed harp (like a Marine Band). Short slot
reeds make the Delta Frost and all Suzuki's have a very bright and
"buzzy" tone. The deep, darker and crunchier tone the Marine Band is
famed for is because it has long-slot reeds. Long slot reeds also make
overblowing *much* easier. That and the fact that it's finally offered
in just-intonation, this should be a huge hit among pro blues players.

I could never stand Suzuki's Equal-temperament tuning. The chords
sound so harsh for blues.