Big Six Blues

I was wandering the streets of Hull (my home town) yesterday with my gorgeous girlfriend, when we decided to have a look in the window of the joke shop in Hepworth's Arcade. The window display has hardly changed since we where young enough to get excited over the stink bombs and fake dog poo so it's nice to have the occasional nostalgia inducing browse. I have always liked this joke shop because it's the best place in Hull to pick up a harmonica, they have a really varied mix although it's a gamble sometimes on whether they'l have what you want in the right key.

This time when browsing, something special caught my eye in the madness, a tiny silver harmonica with a hand written price tag of twenty five quid. At first I thought how can a mini novelty harmonica cost so much, was it not just a daft toy? By this point my nose was pressed against the glass and I realised it looked pretty good quality for a toy, perhaps it wasn't just a novelty piece. I decided to go in and find out more about the unusual item and I was greeted by the owner talking in a funny voice, luckily it wasn't his natural voice as I couldn't help letting out a little chuckle. He told me the story of how some strange man had dropped off a load of these small harmonicas along with a story about their origin. According to this strange guy the company Seydel who make the harmonica are the oldest of their kind and they are renowned for their quality. I was convinced, so I passed the shop owner my cash and to my surprise he passed me a small metal tin with a ring pull top. This thing looked like a tall tuna can ,with a picture of a blonde woman holding a harmonica and the print ' BIG SIX Big Sound' on the label. Different is often cool in my eyes and I really liked this packaging, also I guess you can be sure no one else has played it before you. Anyway, I got the thing home, popped the lid and pulled out the small harmonica by the included lanyard. I instantly recognised that this was a solid proper instrument by the weight and design of the harp. I pursed my lips, inhaled on the second hole and was overcome by joy as a beautiful bluesy sound filled my room. I played a little scale and was shocked by just how natural and comfortable the harp felt in my hand despite it's small size. I made a vow to myself right there and then that I would keep this small and extra mobile harmonica on my person at all times.

Seydel Big Six with packaging

The  'not so big' Big Six

To cut a long story short I'm excited to own this beautiful little harmonica which proves to me that size doesn't matter when it comes to the Blues Harp. Hope you enjoyed reading my rant and have realised that I can't recommend this harmonica enough. It is in my opinion the essence of cool, so go get yourself one now.