I buy harmonicas every so often (because I use harmonicas every day, and they do wear out). A recent sale on Suzuki Manjis in all the popular keys happened to take place at Rockin Ron’s on the very day I decided to buy some. So there you go: need coincides with opportunity. I have eight new Manjis.

The last time I bought a Manji was over a year ago, and something changed in the meantime. Suzuki, perhaps responding to comments by yours truly among others, upgraded the cover plates on the Manjis. Those plates used to be the flimsiest I’d ever seen on a production harmonica. Now they’re stiffer, and opened up at the back end to project more volume.

That’s progress, innit? Anyway, I’m glad to see a good harmonica get better. I’ve always liked the Manjis for their basic responsiveness–if you have to play a line at speed, a Manji is a good place to start. Kudos to Suzuki for making the investment in quality.