What Harp to buy?



I am new here on the Harp mailing list and was surprised (and *very* happy)
to see the volume of discussion bounced around in the *1* day I've been here.
 :-)

Anyways, I've been playing (fiddling with) the Harmonica for about 5 years or
so, among my other instruments.  I recently got a copy of HIP (Vol. 4) and
was in heaven.  It is *very* cool.  Ramble on ... anyways, I first heard
Howard Levy play the Harp when I saw the Flecktones live several years back.
 Needless to say, I was blown away.  I couldn't figure out how he was getting
a chromatic scale out of a Golden Melody, but I was hooked.  Until then, I
was simply a blues player.  I tried to figure out how he was getting those
extra notes, but I never got it.  Seeing the article on overblowing in HIP
has finally given me the direction I need to expand myself further.  But
here's my problem.

When I first started playing, I used Hohner Blues Harps because they seemed
to be easier to bend.  But I played too hard and snapped reeds like crazy and
really got sick of the wooden comb.  So I decided to try out a new Harp.  So
I talked with a guy at the music store and decided to try a Golden Melody
(influenced by the fact that that's what HL played) and a Lee Oskar.  For
blues playing, I fell in love with the Lee Oskar and love everything about
the Harp.  The Golden Melody wasn't nearly as impressive as the Lee Oskar,
but it was still HL's Harp, so I kept at it.  But after reading the article
on overblowing, I am very anxious to learn this new technique.  However, the
Lee Oskar doesn't seem to be the best suited for this (I need all the help I
can get).  So what I'm looking for is a good Harp recommendation that will be
very suitable for overblowing, but has a good feel and sound like the Lee
Oskar (which I love the sound of for blues).  HIP suggests harps that are
customized by Joe Filisko like a Filisko Marine Band.  Here is my criteria:

After playing Blues Harps for a while and then switching to a plastic comb,
I'm pretty sure I don't want to go back to a wooden comb - it hurt my lips :(
(does the Marine Band suffer from this problem?).  I also don't want to spend
a fortune on them (since I'm still learning, I don't want to thrash an
expensive harp, plus I play other instruments that cost bigger $$$).  I
realize that I could continue to use Lee Oskars for blues and a new one for
chromatic stuff, but that would cost more money.  Therefore I'd like to find
a harp that works great for blues and overblowing.

Can someone give me some suggestions with pros/cons?

B.T.W. - Sorry for rambling so much, but I am still stoked about finding this
list, etc.  Promise it won't happen again.

Chris






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