![]() The 1970s and 1980s saw diversification into electronic instruments, and disastrous financial results, culminating in a takeover by Kunz Holding, a subsidiary of the Taiwanese musical instrument company, KHS, in 1987. Even the use of the instrument by the two biggest acts of the decade – The Rolling Stones and The Beatles – couldn’t seem to reinvigorate the market. The rise of rock’n’roll, however, with its focus on the triumvirate of guitar, bass and drums, led to a precipitous drop in sales of Hohner’s harmonicas in the early 1960s. The pre-WW2 period was, perhaps the golden age for Hohner harmonica production, with numerous popular musicians from the blues, folk and western genres utilising its distinctive sound in their recordings.ĭespite the interruption of the Second World War, and the enlisting of the company by the Nazis to produce detonators for the war effort, Hohner continued to flourish in the 1950s, with large numbers of its harmonicas finding their way to export markets. By 1930, Hohner had acquired a number of its competitors and had become the largest musical instrument company in the world, employing around 4,000 people. By 1879 Hohner was producing around 72,000 harmonicas a year and employing over 200 workers.Īt the start of the 20 th century, Matthias handed over the business to his five sons, who continued to develop export markets and refine the company’s manufacturing processes. Hohner’s Expansion Internationallyĭemand for harmonicas grew throughout the following decades, with export trade to America being particularly high. This, together with the company’s adoption of protective covers for the harmonicas resulted in an instrument that was of the highest quality available at the time, but at a price point that was competitive. ![]() He replaced humans with machines where the latter could be more accurate than the former, instituted division of labour and adopted innovations such as using brass for the reed plates instead of moulded lead. Matthias Hohner, however, beginning his operations 30 years later, was able to see the benefits of production methods and technologies that had begun to appear in the latter part of the industrial revolution. ![]() His instruments were produced by hand, by a single craftsman in the artisan tradition, and, although laborious to make, were relatively crude instruments. Trossingen at the time was the centre of a watchmaking industry, and it was, perhaps, the availability of craftsmen familiar with working with relatively small parts that led to it becoming a hub for harmonica production.Ĭhristian Messner, a former watchmaker from the region, was the first to establish a workshop manufacturing harmonicas in Trossingen in 1827. A Little History Firstįounded in Trossingen in the south west of Germay in 1857 by watchmaker, Matthias Hohner, the company can lay claim to being one of the oldest extant harmonica producers in the world (the honour of oldest actually goes to compatriots and rivals, Seydel, who were established ten years earlier). Whilst the brand ‘Hohner’ might not be quite so interchangeable with the word ‘harmonica’, it’s safe to say that it would probably be the first company the average person would think of if asked to name a manufacturer of the instrument. Hoover is an oft-quoted example of this, but there are others, including, incredibly, ‘Bubblewrap’ and ‘Ping Pong’. There are some brands whose names become so synonymous with the products they manufacture that the brand itself becomes the generic noun used to describe all similar items. As it’s the biggest and arguably best knowm harp maker, we’re starting with Hohner. To help you choose the best harmonica for your needs, we’ve put together a series of buyers’ guides.
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