Suzuki Sub-30

Connecting Tones

This Easy, Soulful New Approach to Chromaticism on the Blues Harp is Addictive!

In order to play a chromatic scale on the normal 10 hole harmonica (Below: 10H), you have to use difficult overblow/overdraw techniques, which require harmonicas with very delicate reed setup. The new Suzuki SUB30 UltraBend changes all that! Now you can get a chromatic scale by normal playing using a simple bending technique. With the SUB30 UltraBend, you can easliy play phrases and music styles that you gave up on before, because you could not get some notes.

The revolutionary new SUB30 UltraBend harmonica gives you 18 bends of a semitone or more (instead of the usual 8 on a normal harp)! And these are all stable bends, easy to control at the correct pitch, bend up and down, add vibrato etc - just the same as the bends you're use to already. In addition to its chromatic ability, the SUB30 UltraBend you lots of extra expression on every note. Its fresh new possibilities will bring the creativity flowing out of you.

The Secret of the Ten Extra Reeds

A normal 10 hole harp has 20 reeds: two reeds in each hole (one blow & one draw). The 30 reed SUB30 UltraBend harp has an extra Sympathetic Reed in each hole, one tone below the pitch of the lowest note. This reed is normally passive. It only becomes active when the player wants to bend the low note in each hole. (1-6 low & 7-10 draw).

On a normal C harp in hole 4, you can get a bent note C# between C and D, but you cannot bend the C note. To bend C, you need a reed lower then C. That is the 3rd Sympathetic Reed of the SUB30 UltraBend! In hole 4, this reed is tuned down to a Bb. That means you can now bend the C down to B! The same applies throughout the range. Every single low note in each hole can now be bent down a semitone! It is these 10 extra Sympathetic Reeds which allow you to play fully Chromatically by bending technique alone.

The Same Size as a Normal 10 Hole Harmonica

To achieve this compact size, Suzuki designed the major parts from scratch. The upper reed plate for a normal harp has 10 reeds. But using our precision slot cutting and unique reed-welding technology, Suzuki has managed to put 10 reeds in the same space! We also designed a special comb to fit the reed plates, The size of the mouthpiece is exactly the same as normal but the space inside each chamber is wide enough for 3 reeds instead of 2.

This design is practical and functional, massively expanding your creative possiblities. With the SUB30 UltraBend, Suzuki has created a powerful new tool of expression for the modern harmonica player.