SWAN Harmonica in C Key 10 Holes 40 Tone Mouth Organ Stainless Steel Chromatics Harmonica SW1040

This is a very nice instrument if you are learning or getting back into playing the Chromatic harp (as in my case).Back in the day, I had a brand name, $400+ 16 hole chromatic that simply disappeared one day and I was left with a Chrometta 8 and a Chrometta 16, both belonged to my Dad and he purchased them new back in the 50's. They still play OK, but I wanted an instrument I could carry with me and leave lying around the home. Even one I could lose or damage without too much angst. I don't know what I would do if my Dad's old Chrometta disappeared or was damaged badly.Enter this little gem. Every note played pretty well out of the box. The tone is very good, for the price point. The slide stuck a bit but it was an easy repair to make on my own. I just made sure nothing was in the way, and I added some lubricant where the most friction happens. Now the slide snaps back as it's supposed to, while before it stopped a millimeter short. Short enough to let some air through.Aside from that issue, I am very happy with this Harmonica and I am thinking of purchasing the larger one, while I wait to get back in the grove and be able to justify investing a boatload of money for a serious Chromatic harp.To me this is the perfect harp for someone curious about playing the Chromatic or someone that, like me, hasn't played in a long time.Does it make me sound like Toots? No. But for the money it is unbeatable.Of course, I cannot speak for manufacturing consistency or other issues. If I didn't know how to fix mine I would have been pretty upset at the stuck slide, but if you can live with a bit of uncertainty and you are the handy type, this is a great deal.I'd buy it again in a heartbeat.

I love my Swan 1040. Learning an instrument is something I've always wanted to do. I started looking into different harmonica types and found that chromatic harmonicas let you play a wider range of music due to having twice the number of reeds as a diatonic. I played this for several months and really enjoyed my time with it. Recently, I purchased a Hohnor chromonica, thinking it would be worlds beyond this Swan 1040. Honestly, the hohnor is slightly more air tight but as far as tone goes, they're not far off. Also, I feel like the Swan is a bit easier to play as it's more forgiving of to your technique. If your technique is just a little off with the hohnor, it can sound awful. The Swan harmonica has a pleasent tone no matter your skill level which is what I love about it. Great harmonica for the money hands down!

This harmonica is not in anyway performance ready. What it is, is a great, cheap, starter, Chromatic Harmonica that can be used as a trainer. I find this product to work perfectly as an educator model that is significantly cheaper than the Hohner educator. Again, this isn't going to be something you will go to a gig with, but if you are looking to seriously learn chromatic harmonica, or are just curious about what can be done on one and looking to just try it out, then this is a perfect economical harmonica for that. Also, while it isn't gig-worthy, that doesn't mean that it isn't family/friends worthy. It's great how large the amount of christmas and holiday songs that I can play on this, and just more types of music and songs can be played in general on this. A Chromatic Harmonica is more comparable to a piano for your mouth than a normal harmonica, so as a diatonic and piano player, switching over to the chromatic was very easy for me. So why only 4 stars? Because it is actually cheap. You do get what you pay for and may end up going through a couple if you are seriously looking to learn, which is why this is a great starter and trainer as your first one or two chromatic harps before deciding to go for something serious.Also, yes those two holes are supposed to play the same note, that's how a chromatic's set up. It's no different than on a diatonic harmonica where the 2 draw and 3 blow are the same note.

I like it

I've been playing harmonica for over 20 years ... mostly diatonic. Despite having a few (now old) chromatic harmonicas, I never really got good at playing them. I purchased this Swan harmonica because I wanted an inexpensive, compact instrument to develop my chromatic harmonic skills. For the price it can't be beat. It's reasonably airtight, has a nice solid feel, has a well-engineered slider, and produces a pretty good sound. I've already gotten much better after a few weeks of practice. One note: the tuning for this 10-hole surprised me a bit. The bottom 8 holes are two sets of 4, tuned like the middle range of a normal diatonic harmonica (so each from C to C, with a double C on 4 blow and 5 blow). But the last 2 holes are tuned to let you get all the way up to G -- so like this (without the slider engaged): 9 draw = D, 9 blow = E, 10 draw = F, 10 blow = G. This might not be ideal if your eventual goal is to learn a 12-hole chromatic, because it would be a different transition between octaves at the upper end of the harp (and if like me you have lots of experience on diatonic harps, that transition across the double C is one of the hardest things to get used to). Personally the compact size of this 10-hole is worth the trade-off for me, and of course the upper end tuning will be familiar to any diatonic player as it is the same as the 8 and 9 holes on a standard diatonic.

still learning but this harp should last a long time and is a quality unit. if you want to learn it is always good to have a good instrument on which to do so. this is a good one.

I wanted an inexpensive chromatic harmonica for practice and this filled the bill! A little tinnier than my Hohner or Suzuki but I've had used it regularly for several years and it just keep playing without any reeds going bad. Slide is not as smooth as the my expensive chromatics, but it has been trouble free compared the name brand chromatics that often blow reeds and even the lower end reeds on the Swan very reliably playable. The mouthpiece is smooth and comfortable. It is a great practice, travel, and knockabout harmonica. For those purposes, I highly recommend it.

Selbstverständlich kann man immer mehr Geld ausgeben. Vor allem für Musikinstrumente und ganz besonders für chromatische Mundharmonikas. Bei günstigen Mundharmonikas (nicht nur bei chromatischen Mundharmonikas) kann man grundsätzlich schnell ins Klo greifen. Nicht so bei dieser chromatischen Mundharmonika von SWAN. Ich gebe zu, dass sie nicht so harmonisch satt klingt, wie eine Hohner, Seydel oder Hering. Sie hat eher einen scharfen Sound, den man gerne auch als knackig bezeichnen darf. Wenn man sie aufschraubt und sich grundsätzlich mal das Material anschaut , weiß man auch, warum sie so klingt wie sie klingt...Egal! Die Harp lässt sich nach dem Auspacken aber sofort unglaublich leicht spielen. Der Schieber klemmt und wackelt nicht. Die Stimmzungen schnarren nicht und sind 1a gestimmt. Das Case schützt die Mundharmonika sehr gut und ein Putztuch liegt auch noch bei. Die SWAN ist sehr gut für Anfänger geeignet, aber auch Profis kommen auf ihre Kosten. Endlich mal eine Harp, die man bedenkenlos mit in den Urlaub nehmen kann... und die mindestens 10x weniger kostet, als eine vergleichbare Mundharmonika anderer Hersteller und sich nicht verstecken muss.

En bonne partie à cause de son prix : je l'ai payé 16€, là où l'entrée de gamme Hohner ou Seydel commence à 60€.Attention, il s'agit d'un harmonica chromatique, donc plus gros, plus cher et plus compliqué qu'un diatonique, et franchement pas le plus simple pour commencer l'instrument.Par ailleurs, c'est un 10 trous, beaucoup de méthodes d'apprentissage se basent sur un 12.Après une semaine, la qualité me semble très correcte et sans extravagance : plaques en acier, peigne en plastique. Je ne l'ai pas encore démonté, mais le vissage à l'air accueillant.Le passage à l'accordeur est positif : tout fonctionne, tout est dans le ton (à peu de choses près).Au jeu, pas de vrai défaut : le bouton est souple, la prise en bouche est plutôt bonne (il n'accroche pas les poils de moustache, un point important pour moi). Le son est agréable, sans plus, et l'étanchéité discutable : il ne faut pas hésiter à souffler.Petit bémol : la boite est massive, environ 20 cm de large. Loin de mon Marine Band qui se glisse dans la poche avec son étui nylon.Pourquoi seulement 3* ? C'est (ça n'est que) un premier instrument. Je sais déjà que, si je devais jouer plus souvent sur un chromatique, il me faudra investir les ~170€ d'un modèle de marque.

Bon rapport qualité prix.La tirette restait bloqué obligé de mettre de l'huile et apres nickel.La boite est sympa.

I have purchased this product three times which is on record with Amazon. Each product within a very short period started malfunctioning i. e. the 4th hole blow note is completely soundless. In a 10 hole harmonica the C note begins with the blow note of 4th hole and if it is not playing the whole instrument becomes useless. It is a gross manufacturing fault and suggest Amazon not to sell this product till the manufacturer takes care of this repeated faults. The sound and melody is very good apart from the fault mentioned above.

It's nice..But some of the rids are not working smoothly..Late response after drawing air...Need more harder blow to make sound as compared to hohner