[Harp-L] Original Hohner Pro Harp/painted covers

["John F. Potts" <hvyj@xxxxxxx>]

per Pat Missin by way of JR:
“PH covers were not simply S20 covers with a black finish. The HM PH
had aluminium alloy covers and there were at least a couple of
different versions of them - one was matt black on both sides, another
had a gloss grey finish on the underside."

Having played old style Pro Harps harps for a long time, I think  
there may have actually been more than 2 versions.  Some were matte  
black, and later models were more shiny or glossy black.  Some were  
black on both sides and I think some were actually unpainted on the  
inside, but I may be confusing this with the gloss grey interior  
finish that Pat Missin talks about.

When I used to play these harmonicas, some players would make fun of  
me for buying Pro Harps since they cost more than the Special 20s.   
These players thought the only difference was the color of the  
covers. They would laugh at me when I insisted that the Pro Harps had  
a darker tone.  But I felt sure about this, whether anyone agreed  
with me or not.  Naturally, I was delighted when JR told us that Pat  
Missin actually proved this to be correct.

I was very disappointed when Hohner stopped making the old style Pro  
Harps. I was never happy with the MS version.  But I shouldn’t feel  
too badly about it since that is what eventually led to my  
discovering Suzuki Hammonds. Now, I love playing my ET Hammonds even  
more than I did my old Pro Harps. Evolution aided by discontinuation?

JP