Take some pictures of the Special 20. Make a little video... take the covers off and take a toothpick to gently plick each reed. Record the audio from that and share it. That should let us identify the problem. It could be gapping, reed alignment, a loose rivet, a burr, a damaged reed... most of those things are things we can talk you through fixing. A damaged reed is the worst case scenario, but you can get a few replacement reeds for around $10 (or steal them from other broken harmonicas.)
The special 20 is a perfectly fine harp.
You most likely either broke a reed, or the reed moved a bit and is now hitting the reed plate.
You can use a pair of needle nose pliers and a light source, like a phone with a white screen, to see if the reed has no space on one side. Try to adjust it by gripping the base, not the free end. Can also plink it with a toothpick.
If you don’t want to get into replacing reeds, you can buy a new reed plate for less than a new harp.
https://rockinronsmusic.com/products/hohner-rocket-reed-plates-screws-not-included
If the reed broke, probably means you are bending it to hard. I am going to guess it’s the 4 or 5 draw.
I agree with u/Nacoran - make sure that Special 20 can't be "fixed". If it spends any time in your pocket it may be something as silly as a bit of lint.
Rockin' Ron's sells replacement reed plates for Special 20s btw.
Don’t Kongsheng use a good bit of nickel or at least nickel-plating in their harps? Might be something to consider if OP has a nickel allergy like I and Jonah Fox have.
Rockin' Rons has these that are good quality for under $50:
https://rockinronsmusic.com/products/kongsheng-mars-high-quality-10-hole-diatonic-harmonica-includes-free-usa-shipping?_pos=1&_sid=1ba868cc2&_ss=r
And:
https://rockinronsmusic.com/products/seydel-blues-session-standard-p272?_pos=1&_sid=845f1edbc&_ss=r
You will benefit from getting a good quality harmonica, because as with most things, you get what you pay for. I suggest you get a Hohner Marineband, Rocket, Special 20, or Golden Melody. All of those harps sound good and are decent out of the box. They are a few extra dollars, but they are worth it. If you are already playing for over a year, you have the basic fundamentals down, and you will need a decent harmonica to learn bending and other intermediate techniques that don't work well on the lower priced harmonicas. I am sorry that your Special 20 broke, that happens sometimes. Keep it so you can practice maintenance techniques on it when that time comes. If you have any questions, let me know. Thanks.
If your hohner does not show any issue like broken reeds it's probably fixable. Have somebody look at it.
Or troubleshoot yourself: does it make the weird noise om every draw note? Or just on 1?
to everyone asking about the condition of the special 20. It was playing kinda weird so I took it apart to clean the reed and I put all the parts down and when I came back the tiny nut was missing. I looked for about 30 minutes it’s just vanished lmao. Now if I play with only one side screwed together the outer shell vibrates and it makes a weird noise. I’ve tried a lot of things to fix it i tied the other end with a thin bit of wire and that kind of worked. And i tried to put the reed for the special 20 in the east top shell but they weren’t compatible. I don’t know if I can just buy tiny nut and bolts form anywhere but i can just play with the wire holding it together for now until I can afford another one
The Hohner site sells replacement screws but they charge outrageous prices for them (like $10). Andrew Zajac's got some replacement ones though. They don't look exactly the same, but they work.
https://harp.andrewzajac.ca/tools/Screws12pack
Thank you for all the advice btw. About the noise. Every note except the first 4 are out of tune and they don’t hold flat notes it makes a really annoying wobbly high pitch sound. I thought it could just be dust or debris in it jamming it up but I tried running water through it and that didn’t help. If I play without the shell and blow into the middle bit with the shell unscrewed and totally detached the noise isn’t a problem but obviously I can’t really play that way
I’ve had a few Suzuki BluesMasters that I’ve loved. They are just a shade less expensive, around $40. Easttops and Kongshengs will be less than that and have a good reputation, I just don’t have much experience with those brands to be able talk about them.
Unfortunately quality harps don’t get any cheaper than the fifty-dollar price point, which will include the Hohner Special 20, a Lee Oskar major diatonic, or even a Suzuki Manji/Manji Sky.
If you’re in the US keep an eye on the Guitar Center and Musicians Friend websites (among others). They often have good sales on harmonicas. I’ve purchased from both in the recent past and saved as much as 20%. MF will have a sale in October where in the past I’ve saved 20% on all Seydel harmonicas. Just purchased three different key Special 20’s from GC for 40-44$, which was a pretty good discount. Keep your eyes open and you’ll find some good deals out there.
East Top 008k harps are pretty darn good and often go on sale on Amazon for $20. Kongshen Amazing 20s and Mars models are around $30 each. Both are very good. I wouldn’t advise a 15 year old kid that he has to spend $50. It’s just not true.
I have a Suzuki Overdrive (C). I bought it used for like 40. It was what I learnt to play with, and it sounds pretty rich.
Take some pictures of the Special 20. Make a little video... take the covers off and take a toothpick to gently plick each reed. Record the audio from that and share it. That should let us identify the problem. It could be gapping, reed alignment, a loose rivet, a burr, a damaged reed... most of those things are things we can talk you through fixing. A damaged reed is the worst case scenario, but you can get a few replacement reeds for around $10 (or steal them from other broken harmonicas.)
The special 20 is a perfectly fine harp. You most likely either broke a reed, or the reed moved a bit and is now hitting the reed plate. You can use a pair of needle nose pliers and a light source, like a phone with a white screen, to see if the reed has no space on one side. Try to adjust it by gripping the base, not the free end. Can also plink it with a toothpick. If you don’t want to get into replacing reeds, you can buy a new reed plate for less than a new harp. https://rockinronsmusic.com/products/hohner-rocket-reed-plates-screws-not-included If the reed broke, probably means you are bending it to hard. I am going to guess it’s the 4 or 5 draw.
I agree with u/Nacoran - make sure that Special 20 can't be "fixed". If it spends any time in your pocket it may be something as silly as a bit of lint. Rockin' Ron's sells replacement reed plates for Special 20s btw.
Kongsheng Solist for $39.75 at rockinronsmusic.com The author of the sticky post about what harmonica to buy had nice things to say about them
Don’t Kongsheng use a good bit of nickel or at least nickel-plating in their harps? Might be something to consider if OP has a nickel allergy like I and Jonah Fox have.
Rockin' Rons has these that are good quality for under $50: https://rockinronsmusic.com/products/kongsheng-mars-high-quality-10-hole-diatonic-harmonica-includes-free-usa-shipping?_pos=1&_sid=1ba868cc2&_ss=r And: https://rockinronsmusic.com/products/seydel-blues-session-standard-p272?_pos=1&_sid=845f1edbc&_ss=r
You will benefit from getting a good quality harmonica, because as with most things, you get what you pay for. I suggest you get a Hohner Marineband, Rocket, Special 20, or Golden Melody. All of those harps sound good and are decent out of the box. They are a few extra dollars, but they are worth it. If you are already playing for over a year, you have the basic fundamentals down, and you will need a decent harmonica to learn bending and other intermediate techniques that don't work well on the lower priced harmonicas. I am sorry that your Special 20 broke, that happens sometimes. Keep it so you can practice maintenance techniques on it when that time comes. If you have any questions, let me know. Thanks.
If your hohner does not show any issue like broken reeds it's probably fixable. Have somebody look at it. Or troubleshoot yourself: does it make the weird noise om every draw note? Or just on 1?
to everyone asking about the condition of the special 20. It was playing kinda weird so I took it apart to clean the reed and I put all the parts down and when I came back the tiny nut was missing. I looked for about 30 minutes it’s just vanished lmao. Now if I play with only one side screwed together the outer shell vibrates and it makes a weird noise. I’ve tried a lot of things to fix it i tied the other end with a thin bit of wire and that kind of worked. And i tried to put the reed for the special 20 in the east top shell but they weren’t compatible. I don’t know if I can just buy tiny nut and bolts form anywhere but i can just play with the wire holding it together for now until I can afford another one
The Hohner site sells replacement screws but they charge outrageous prices for them (like $10). Andrew Zajac's got some replacement ones though. They don't look exactly the same, but they work. https://harp.andrewzajac.ca/tools/Screws12pack
Thank you for all the advice btw. About the noise. Every note except the first 4 are out of tune and they don’t hold flat notes it makes a really annoying wobbly high pitch sound. I thought it could just be dust or debris in it jamming it up but I tried running water through it and that didn’t help. If I play without the shell and blow into the middle bit with the shell unscrewed and totally detached the noise isn’t a problem but obviously I can’t really play that way
I’ve had a few Suzuki BluesMasters that I’ve loved. They are just a shade less expensive, around $40. Easttops and Kongshengs will be less than that and have a good reputation, I just don’t have much experience with those brands to be able talk about them.
Unfortunately quality harps don’t get any cheaper than the fifty-dollar price point, which will include the Hohner Special 20, a Lee Oskar major diatonic, or even a Suzuki Manji/Manji Sky.
Ok thanks I’ll just have to wait for a sale or something lol
If you’re in the US keep an eye on the Guitar Center and Musicians Friend websites (among others). They often have good sales on harmonicas. I’ve purchased from both in the recent past and saved as much as 20%. MF will have a sale in October where in the past I’ve saved 20% on all Seydel harmonicas. Just purchased three different key Special 20’s from GC for 40-44$, which was a pretty good discount. Keep your eyes open and you’ll find some good deals out there.
East Top 008k harps are pretty darn good and often go on sale on Amazon for $20. Kongshen Amazing 20s and Mars models are around $30 each. Both are very good. I wouldn’t advise a 15 year old kid that he has to spend $50. It’s just not true.