Hohner Crossover vs Marine Band Deluxe

Hohner's Crossover and Marine Band Deluxe are both popular premium harmonicas with many fans across a wide range of musical genres. Let's take a look at how they compare.

Both harmonicas are part of the Marine Band range, and can trace their lineage back to Hohner's venerable harp. This means, wood combs and a traditional look and feel. The main differences between the Crossover/Deluxe and the 1896 are the comb material, sealing and construction, making both of the more modern harps more durable and easier to maintain.

The Deluxe and Crossover differ from each other the most in intonation and comb material. The Crossover has its own compromise tuning that is closer to equal temperament than the Deluxe, which is slightly nearer to just intonation. The difference is slight, but makes melody lines sound slightly purer on the Crossover, at the expense of chords, which sound with a little more clarity on the Deluxe.

In terms of comb material, the Deluxe sticks with the pearwood of the 1896 model, but updates it with triple lacquering and bolted construction. The Crossover, in comparison has an extremely swell resistant and super light bamboo comb. This produces a bright and lively tone, and a harmonica that is very easy to play for long periods of time. In fact, many players will argue that the Crossover is the best diatonic Hohner makes.

Ultimately, the Crossover is the superior harmonica, but it is slightly more expensive than the Marine Band Deluxe, and whilst this may only seem like a small difference in cost, when multiplied by an entire set of harmonicas, the difference is more significant. In short, if you can afford it, go for the Crossover, but if cash is tighter you won't be disappointed with the Marine Band Deluxe.

	vs
Harmonica Name	Hohner Marine Band Crossover Harmonica	Hohner Marine Band Deluxe Harmonica
Harmonica Type	Diatonic Harmonica	Diatonic Harmonica
Number of Holes	10	10
Comb Material	Wood	Wood
Number of Reeds	20	20
Spare Reeds Available?	Yes	Yes
Tuning	Richter	Richter
Valved?	No	No
Musical Styles	Blues, Rock, Pop, Folk	Blues, Rock, Pop, Folk
Available Keys	A, B Flat, D, G, C, F, E, B, E Flat, G High, F Sharp, D Flat, A Flat	A, B Flat, D, G, C, F, E, B, E Flat, D Flat, A Flat
Price from	£64.99	£48.99
	View details & Buy	View details & Buy