Lee Oskar Harmonica, Natural Minor Key of D

This month,July 2012,my Lee Oskar Natural-Dm-Harmonica has just gone bad on 1 hole (reed(s) broken).I bought it in Sept 2002_so it's got about 10 years in service_(Wow !!!).Actually I have more than 40 harmonicas (30 of them are Lee Oskar diatonic major & minor_natural & harmonic).This Dm-Natural is one of my favorites.I've spent a lot of time with it but have to spare time for other ones also.It's hard to say exactly but approximately I think I've done every tricks on it for more than 1,000 hours.( A master-player probably can make its life shorter with his hard-bending,overblowing....a few hundreds hours ).So Lee-Oskar harmonicas are real excellent_you may read other reviews for more.But now is the time to do something for I can not live without a Natural-Dm.Buy a new one or replacing the reed plates ? A new harmonica = $38.00_free shipping,Reed plates=$23.00_shipping included.So you'd save $15.00 (39.5%) but you'll have to do it yourself and the result is not quite sure : So far I've noticed some issues thanks to other reviewers : _The quality of reed plates is not consistent_2 reports of weak volume,1 complaint of the size of reeds (?). _Assembly problem : 2 reports of failure due to holes & screws (?).So far reed plates have just received 3-star rating in general.A few 5-star ratings never go into detail,just ambiguous compliments and so not very useful...To be on the safe side,I've purchased a brand new Lee-Oskar nat.Dm and my favorite minor songs come back soulful,mournful...as ever.Please share your experience with reed plates if you've ever done it.Thanks a lot.

I own many Lee Oskars, used them for 20 years and like them less with every year. It's probably because I love Lee Oskar as a musician and I love War (including the edition playing as "The Low Rider Band" ) that I have been slow to admit that a wooden combed harp, when broken-in, is faster and more flexible to play. A Marine Band needs broken-in and then it plays great, and then, eventually, it plays poorly. There is an arc to its life. The Lee Oskar plays well from day one and stays that way. They have a long life (much longer than the Marine Band) and are consistent throughout their life. Their life does not arc-it is straight as an arrow. But when the Marine Band is broken-in and in its "juicy" phase, it is much more responsive. I think I just might have to abandon that good and faithful Lee Oskar with a plastic comb for that hot little wooden-combed Marine Band and just make sure to keep it nice and... broken-in.

I am a beginner and am in the process of finding the style of harmonica that works best for me. This purchase was an experiment based on the fact that my favorite guitar chord in D minor. This is and the C Major are also my first Lee Oskar harps and I am pleased with both. The construction seems to be very good, the quality of the sound is crisp and the slightly larger holes should make getting the single note easier. Time will tell.

Love these harps! Most durable harmonicas I’ve ever owned.!

....I actually prefer playing minor keys with a major harp 2 half-steps above the song key (good) or 3 half-steps below one (better).I don't mean to impugn a very decently crafted harmonica (though one hole came a bit iffy, but if you're looking to play lead over a minor blues (like the wailing voice in "Great Gig In The Sky" or the guitar solo in "Comfortably Numb") then try using a harp 3 half-steps down from the song key first--I was surprised to find how much better it sounds to my ear.If you're after Eastern, Gypsy, Klezmer, etc then this harmonica is terrific (though the HARMONIC MINOR version might be perfecter).Love Lee Oskar, but this one's just gonna collect dust in a drawer.The more you know....(Bum bum bum bummmmm)

I bought this to add to my harp collection because of being asked to play a specific tune for a gig. It turns out to be the wrong key for the song but a great harp. I have used it on other songs where is fits and would certainly buy another one of these. Although it costs a little more that my Hohner Special 20s it is certainly worth every penny especially for blues backups.

Like the brand. A little pricey and can't buy directly from manufacturer

This is a great harmonica and very fun to play.As soon as I got it I was jamming to D minor backing tracks. Everything I play sounds great.You might think that it would take some getting used to, if you are used to major diatonic harp, but it really doesn't.