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For the music band from Cologne, see Höhner
Höhner

De H?hner is a band from Cologne, Germany. They sing in the local dialect of Cologne, K?lsch language.The group was founded in 1972 by Peter Werner and Janus Fr?hlich....
.

Hohner Musikinstrumente GmbH & Co. KG is a company specialising in the manufacture of musical instrument
Musical instrument

A musical instrument is an object constructed or used for the purpose of making music. In principle, anything that produces sound can serve as a musical instrument....
s. Founded in 1857, Hohner is identified especially with harmonica
Harmonica

The harmonica is a free reed aerophone wind instrument which is played by blowing air into it or drawing air out by placing lips over individual holes or multiple holes....
s and accordion
Accordion

The accordion is a portable box-shaped musical instrument of the hand-held bellows-driven free reed aerophone family, sometimes referred to as a squeezebox....
s. The Hohner company has invented and produced many different styles (chromatic and the XB-40 are two of the most important), and most of the harmonicas used by professionals. The company also makes kazoo
Kazoo

The kazoo is a device fitted that adds a "buzzing" timbral quality to a player's voice when one vocalizes into it. The kazoo is a type of mirliton - a device which modifies the sound of a person's voice by way of a vibrating membrane....
s, recorder flutes
Recorder

The recorder is a woodwind instrument musical instrument of the family known as fipple flutes or internal duct flutes — whistle-like instruments which include the tin whistle and ocarina....
, melodica
Melodica

The melodica, also known as 'blow-organ' is a free-reed instrument similar to the accordion and harmonica. It has a musical keyboard on top, and is played by blowing air through a mouthpiece that fits into a hole in the side of the instrument....
s, guitar
Guitar

The guitar is a musical instrument with ancient roots that is used in a wide variety of musical styles. It typically has six Strings , but Tenor guitar, Seven-string guitar, Eight-string guitar, Ten-string guitar, Eleven-string guitar, Twelve-string guitar, Thirteen-string guitar and doubleneck guitar string guitars also exist....
s, and bass guitars
Bass guitar

The electric bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a plectrum.The bass guitar is similar in appearance and construction to an electric guitar, but with a larger body, a longer neck and Scale length, and usually four strings tuned to the same pitches as those of the double bass, whic...
, along with its one million harmonicas a year.

During the 1960s and 1970s, the company also manufactured a range of innovative and popular electromechanical keyboard instruments
Electric piano

An electric piano is an electric musical instrument. The popularity of the electric piano began to grow in the late 1960s, reaching its greatest height during the 1970s....
; the Cembalet, Pianet
Pianet

The Pianet was a series of electric pianos built by the Hohner company of Trossingen, West Germany from the 1950s to the 1970s. The designer of the early Pianet models was Ernst Zacharias, basing the mechanism closely on a 1920s design by Lloyd Loar....
, Guitaret, and Clavinet
Clavinet

Not to be confused with clarinetA Clavinet is an electrophone keyboard instrument manufactured by the Hohner company. It is essentially an electronically amplified clavichord, analogous to an electric guitar....
.

The roots of the Hohner firm are in Trossingen
Trossingen

Trossingen is a town in Baden-W?rttemberg, Germany. It is situated in a region called Baar, between the Swabian Alb and the Black Forest. Stuttgart is about an hour away, Lake Constance about half an hour, and the source of the river Danube can be reached in about twenty minutes by car....
 (South Germany
Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered to the north by the North Sea, Denmark, and the Baltic Sea; to the east by Poland and the Czech Republic; to the south by Austria and Switzerland; and to the west by France, Luxembourg, Belgium, and the Netherlands....
).

he Marine Band has been Hohner's most popular model for generations.






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For the music band from Cologne, see Höhner
Höhner

De H?hner is a band from Cologne, Germany. They sing in the local dialect of Cologne, K?lsch language.The group was founded in 1972 by Peter Werner and Janus Fr?hlich....
.

Hohner Musikinstrumente GmbH & Co. KG is a company specialising in the manufacture of musical instrument
Musical instrument

A musical instrument is an object constructed or used for the purpose of making music. In principle, anything that produces sound can serve as a musical instrument....
s. Founded in 1857, Hohner is identified especially with harmonica
Harmonica

The harmonica is a free reed aerophone wind instrument which is played by blowing air into it or drawing air out by placing lips over individual holes or multiple holes....
s and accordion
Accordion

The accordion is a portable box-shaped musical instrument of the hand-held bellows-driven free reed aerophone family, sometimes referred to as a squeezebox....
s. The Hohner company has invented and produced many different styles (chromatic and the XB-40 are two of the most important), and most of the harmonicas used by professionals. The company also makes kazoo
Kazoo

The kazoo is a device fitted that adds a "buzzing" timbral quality to a player's voice when one vocalizes into it. The kazoo is a type of mirliton - a device which modifies the sound of a person's voice by way of a vibrating membrane....
s, recorder flutes
Recorder

The recorder is a woodwind instrument musical instrument of the family known as fipple flutes or internal duct flutes — whistle-like instruments which include the tin whistle and ocarina....
, melodica
Melodica

The melodica, also known as 'blow-organ' is a free-reed instrument similar to the accordion and harmonica. It has a musical keyboard on top, and is played by blowing air through a mouthpiece that fits into a hole in the side of the instrument....
s, guitar
Guitar

The guitar is a musical instrument with ancient roots that is used in a wide variety of musical styles. It typically has six Strings , but Tenor guitar, Seven-string guitar, Eight-string guitar, Ten-string guitar, Eleven-string guitar, Twelve-string guitar, Thirteen-string guitar and doubleneck guitar string guitars also exist....
s, and bass guitars
Bass guitar

The electric bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a plectrum.The bass guitar is similar in appearance and construction to an electric guitar, but with a larger body, a longer neck and Scale length, and usually four strings tuned to the same pitches as those of the double bass, whic...
, along with its one million harmonicas a year.

During the 1960s and 1970s, the company also manufactured a range of innovative and popular electromechanical keyboard instruments
Electric piano

An electric piano is an electric musical instrument. The popularity of the electric piano began to grow in the late 1960s, reaching its greatest height during the 1970s....
; the Cembalet, Pianet
Pianet

The Pianet was a series of electric pianos built by the Hohner company of Trossingen, West Germany from the 1950s to the 1970s. The designer of the early Pianet models was Ernst Zacharias, basing the mechanism closely on a 1920s design by Lloyd Loar....
, Guitaret, and Clavinet
Clavinet

Not to be confused with clarinetA Clavinet is an electrophone keyboard instrument manufactured by the Hohner company. It is essentially an electronically amplified clavichord, analogous to an electric guitar....
.

The roots of the Hohner firm are in Trossingen
Trossingen

Trossingen is a town in Baden-W?rttemberg, Germany. It is situated in a region called Baar, between the Swabian Alb and the Black Forest. Stuttgart is about an hour away, Lake Constance about half an hour, and the source of the river Danube can be reached in about twenty minutes by car....
 (South Germany
Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered to the north by the North Sea, Denmark, and the Baltic Sea; to the east by Poland and the Czech Republic; to the south by Austria and Switzerland; and to the west by France, Luxembourg, Belgium, and the Netherlands....
).

Popular Diatonic Harmonica Models

The Marine Band has been Hohner's most popular model for generations. Made in Germany on a wood comb, most blues artists play a Marine Band.

The Old Standby is another model beloved by generations of harmonica players. Up until the 1990s, this model was a quality instrument made in Germany on a wood comb. Where the Marine Band was the choice of blues players, many Country players preferred the Old Standby. In the 1990s, Hohner began manufacturing this model in China on a plastic comb with a significant decrease in quality. Among harmonica fans the downgrade remains unpopular.

The Blues Harp has been around since the early 1970s. Made in Germany on a wood comb, this model has thinner reeds which allow easier bending of notes. The harmonica's profile was thinner as well. At one point, Johnny Cash
Johnny Cash

Johnny Cash was a Grammy Award-winning American singer-songwriter and one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century. Primarily a country music artist, his songs and sound spanned many other genres including rockabilly and rock and roll , as well as blues, folk music and Gospel music....
 promoted the Blues Harp. In the 1990s, Hohner made the Blues Harp part of its Modular System (MS) line. This new Blues Harp lost its uniqueness and is interchangable with the other models in the MS line.

The Special 20 was introduced in the mid 1970s. It was the first harmonica to have a plastic comb, which not only made the instrument more air tight, but also eliminated the swelling wood combs go through as they moisten from use. Made in Germany, this model quickly became the preferred choice of many rock and blues players. Now, most harmonicas being manufactured from all companies are based upon the Special 20.

The American Ace has been a popular choice as a beginner's harmonica for decades. Originally made in Ireland on a wood comb, this model is currently being made in China on a plastic comb.

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