See, this is what I'm talking about right here. I've been blowing harp on and off for decades, and as a "pretty good" harp player I experience the same frustrations as everyone else who's not a virtuoso: the limitations of the instrument itself, and the demands of technique to make it sound good. Lee Oskar harps take almost all of that frustration away. The tone is killer... warm and reedy and funky, but never harsh or brassy/tinny. These harps bend themselves... on holes where I can't get a bend at all on a Hohner or a Seydel or a Bushman, I get a semitone on a LO, and on holes where I get a semitone on the other brands I can nail a solid whole step consistently on a LO.So tone and ease of playing are a given. The icing on the cake is the availability of some truly groovy Lee tunings that normally would cost you the price of a custom-built harp (hundreds of dollars). This Melody Maker has allowed me to play the part I have heard in my head on one of my band's songs for months, but simply couldn't pull out of a standard diatonic harp in a graceful, musical way. Yeah, I coulda spent years figuring out how to overblow the elusive notes... but why? I've now got my 2nd and 4th steps that sound out with clarity and authority, I can play a cool major root chord to a minor 2nd degree chord (which is just sexy), and all of the usual bends are there as I expect them to be (although in slightly different places, which takes some getting used to but is actually pretty intuitive once you get the hang of it).Love. Love. Love. This. Harp.I would not recommend this as a first harp for a beginner... start with a standard diatonic in C and learn to play it with some skill. Then, when you're tired of banging your head against the wall, order up a Melody Maker, sit down in your favorite rocking chair or porch swing, and prepare to have your mind opened in the most wonderful way.