Customer Reviews

Hohnica Educator 10 Chromatic Harmonica, Key of C

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

First of all, don't let the name "Hohnica" fool you; Hohnica is indeed a licensed subsidiary of the Hohner company and this is a quality product worthy of the Hohner name.

Range: The Hohnica Educator 10 is an entry level chromatic harmonica; it starts at C and goes up to F# two and a half octaves above. This range will get you through most folk melodies and quite a few classical and jazz tunes. While the range is limited, the over all tone of the reeds is quite uniform (which is nice). I would love it if they made a 12 hole (3 octave) version.

Construction: This thing is very solid. It has a plastic comb. It doesn't have wind savers. It comes with a soft case. It will last.

Sound: This harmonica is relatively quiet (volume wise) and muddy (tone wise) for a chromatic harmonica. This is probably because of the lack of wind savers and the low cost of parts. I actually like this aspect; I can play this harmonica at night and not upset my housemates! The notes are clear, but lack the punch of your typical harmonica (which can be a good thing...)

Playability: This is where it gets controversial... The Hohnica Educator 10 uses a new system for chromatic harmonicas that doesn't use windsavers. The result? It's complicated...

The good: Not having wind savers means not getting them "stuck". There's nothing more annoying than having to stop practice because your "E" is stuck! You won't have to deal with that problem here. The Educator 10 is always ready to play no matter what! This is great for beginners (like myself) who have have bad technique; my bad technique renders my other chromatic unplayable which means less practice time! This harmonica is reliable; a rarity amongst chromatics...

The bad: It take A LOT more breath to push the reeds! Sustained notes are okay, scales will wear you out! Once you get a reed going its okay but that initial push requires more energy; if you are doing a complicated passage you will run out of breath. This is not a "virtuoso" instrument; it is best for sustained melodies where you hold notes for a duration.


Overall: This thing is great for what it is. I love sight-reading with it! The notes don't stick! I do prefer my Hohner Chromonica but this is a great backup. I really hope they make a 12-hole version.

I'm a diatonic harmonica player, and this is the first chromatic harmonica I have ever used, so my review should be understood from that perspective. I wanted a chromatic harmonica to help me learn to read music, and I settled on the Educator 10 because it was relatively inexpensive ($38) and because it got good reviews. I'm pleased to say that it does not disappoint.

First, some odds and ends: The Educator 10 says right on it that it is "by Honica", a name that might throw some off, especially since it came in blister packaging that said "Hohner". It is indeed a genuine Hohner product, and is listed on their website. I believe it is intended to be an introductory chromatic harmonica. Like most of their inexpensive offerings, the Educator 10 is made in China, but the only indicator of this was a sticker (yes, sticker) on it that said "Made in China". Chinese-made harmonicas are a mixed bag, and the Educator 10 is light-years ahead of any of the others that I have used, including ones made by Hohner. My first thought after I played a tune on it was "why aren't their other inexpensive harmonicas this good?"

Second, the construction. This is a sturdy harmonica with some heft to it. If you're used to diatonic harmonicas, the weight will surprise you. The comb is plastic, the reed plates are brass, the mouthpiece chromed brass, the covers chromed steel. The covers are very thin, and I would have preferred thicker. However, they are each supported by two thick plastic posts, making it difficult, if not impossible, to crush them. The button at the end of the slide is held in place by some sort of epoxy. The slide requires a little bit of force to push, but not a lot. The Educator 10 should be able to stand a lot of use.

Third, the sound. The sound is far better than most of the other inexpensive harmonicas I've used. Perfectly in tune? Probably not, but to my ear it sounds fine. None of the reeds needed any tweaking, which was nice. Other reviewers have said that the Educator 10 requires more air than other chromatic harmonicas. Frankly, I haven't noticed. It's very responsive. And the it's very open in the back, meaning you get a lot of sound out of it.

As an added bonus, the Educator 10 comes with a rather nice padded and zippered pouch, not a cheap, ill-fitting, hard plastic one.

They got their act together when they made this one: the Educator 10 is a robust, inexpensive, responsive instrument with good sound to boot. It's price should make it attractive to the beginning chromatic player, or to the experienced player needing an inexpensive practice or travel instrument. I highly recommend it.

The only thing wrong with this is that before I went on Amazon, I casually stolled into a local music store looking for a good diatonic, and this was on sale for fifty bucks. Had I known Amazon offered it cheaper.....

I have played diatonic since 1985 and have fooled with Chromatics on occasion, but never really took the time to learn (it is a very intimidating instrument for the novice or those who are used to diatonics). After some minor exercises with instruction books, Stevie Wonder and Larry Adler CDs, and knowing what I know from diatonics, I am now having fun playing this by ear. As a previous reviewer stated, this does not have the annoying "sticking" of other Chromatics. I have no intention of giving up the diatonic blues harps, but I have found a second hobby with the Chromatic thanks to this one. I would also recommend it for potential Chromatic beginners. I look forward to soon playing this with the same ease I do with the diatonic blues harp in public.

I have owned two of these....the most recent I just received from Amazon literally days ago. The first was from Musicians Friend. Historically, Hohner has been a great company producing excellent products...until China! The materials/manufacturing used in this harp is atrocious! On BOTH my harps, the blow reed in hole ten slowly lost tuning and eventually broke. Now, I'm not exactly easy on my instruments, but having two fail in the exact same way within days of purchase smacks of a manufacturing issue. ESPECIALLY since I've never had these types of issues with ANY other Hohners and NEVER any Lee's. I like my diatonics and a 10 hole chromatic appeals to me...too bad they don't produce these in Germany...it might be more expensive, but at least you know it'll last. I will not be replacing this latest...I suggest you save your money on this one.

I risked 40 bucks on this, learn from my mistake and do not buy this. The slide is so stiff it makes your thumb hurt after 30 seconds. this is not a flaw that can be overcome by buiding up thumb muscles. It will only lead to dissapointment. The extremely stiff spring tension makes this totally unusable, no one will want it. The sound of it is muffled, not a musical sound at all, more like a toy. I pitched this thing into the garbage 48 hours after getting it.
I picked up a Hohner "Chrometta" in the key of C and the slide works so easily you don't even notice it. It is made in Germany. Ohhhh, and it sounds really musical, resonant.
For an entry level chromatic, you will have a real musical instrument with a Hohner Chrometta 8 or 10 hole (I would check for "made in Germany") Unfortunately that's what you gotta spend to get a decent chromatic. There is no $40 chromatic harmonica! Hohner should be ashamed!

After playing different types and brands of harmonicas, this is the best one I've ever put against my lips! I consider myself to be an intermediate player with three years experience and as far as I'm concerned this is now my harmonica of choice (and my wife's too, she just loves the sound). For the price it is absolutely unbeatable. The sound is great, reeds very easy to play,and almost no air leakage and no wind savers to drive you nuts - all of this right out of the box and I own two of them (with a third on the way)! Get one (or more) and have fun.

This harmonica was a fabulous purchase, because it is everything a chromatic should be. It is real quality, the mechanism is solid craftsmanship, the weight alone tells that, it is totally dependable, the sound is wonderful. I use it eveeyday in my entertainment work. One will not be disappointed with their purchase of this. Thank you for making it available!

I have several chromatic harps of different makes and this one gets the most use. It doesn't come close to a Suzuki but it's 1/3 the price. It's about 2/3 the cost of a Seydel Chromatic Standard and is three times the harp. It's not my go to harp when I'm really serious but it gets the most air time. It lays in front of my computer keyboard and gets picked up and used several times a day. When I stick a harp in my pocket it's almost always this one. It is handy and has been reliable. FOR THE MONEY this is the best harp I've found and the lack of windsavers means you don't have to warm it up before playing. Everybody with any interest in chromatic harps should have at least one.

I bought the Hohnica Educator 10 chromatic harmonica because I was frustrated with sticking windsavers on my Hohner CX-12. It had been said in several chat rooms that dealing with "sticking windsavers" is just something that players of chromatic harmonicas have to accept as unavoidable, UNLESS you want to play a valveless chromatic model, which usually means expensive and more air loss (ie leaves you "breathless").

The Hohnica Educator 10 is an exception to the expensive part. It sells for under $40 and several youtube reviews indicated it was decent quality and played pretty good. I've had mine for several weeks now and agree with the reviews. True, it doesn't have the quality sound of my CX-12 and requires more air, but there are no windsavers to cause problems. The air loss was higher, but acceptable. As I get used to the different sound and adjust my playing style to the different hole-placement I've come to really like this harmonica.

Bottom line... While I intend to replace the windsavers on my CX-12 because of it's overall quality, I'm going to keep playing the Educator 10 also of it's simplicity. I'm glad I bought it, and would recommend it to anyone new to chromatic harmonica because of it's price and reasonable quality. You just might stick with it to avoid the expense and problems that come with a better instrument.

Looks alright but some notes are flat. I was disappointed with this purchase. I am now compelled to buy another harp