Hi!
I'm new to the forum since I didn't know much and have never been interested in musical instruments (and music in general). BUT recently I've tried playing harmonica myself and immediately I realized that's some magic in the process of creating sound patterns even when you don't have any skills. AND now I'm so much charmed and think about it so much that I'm creating this thread lol (I normally don't do such things).
Now I consider buying one for myself. I've already learnt some basics from these articles: https://windplays.com/best-harmonicas/ https://wisepick.org/best-harmonica/
Found them quite helpful, but you can comment on them also, every opinion counts.
My main question for experienced players: what harmonica can you recommend for the greenest guy like me to make my learning process smooth and what are the main points should I pay attention to? Theoretically, I can figure it out myself, but I'm sure there're many things that come with experience, so please do share.

There are three main types of harmonicas, chromatic, diatonic, & tremolo.
(There is also bass & chord.)

First we need to see which you intend to play as they are quite different sound & technique.

Diatonic - mainly 10 hole Richter tuned & played for blues, often used for rock & country music. These have the first three holes laid out to play chords. There are also some that are 'Orchestra' tuned, these are Solo tuned, & have three lower notes than regularly tuned.

Chromatic - solo tuned & have all te notes of a scale, including sharps & flats. Play any kind of music.

Tremolo - these have a different sound to the other types, because they play two reeds together slightly differently tuned.

_________________
Keith.
Trying to do justice to my various musical instruments.

(Had to stop writing as my laptop was running out of power.)

The next thing is how you intend to learn.

By ear - you hear a tune & find the notes on the harmonica.

By tabs - you play a tune by using the hole number.

By musical notation - same as all other musicians, learn the notes on the staff.

By ABC notation - a written form of musical notation.


There are lots of harmonica specific forums out there on the internet, but most cater for blues playing.

_________________
Keith.
Trying to do justice to my various musical instruments.

I played on chromatic. More specifically this one: https://www.amazon.com/Hohner-255-Chrom ... 004EBR5VI/
The owner said it's a nice choice for a beginner but I look for a bit cheaper options. Yeah, I forgot to mention this.

Btw my level of musical knowledge isn't good at all. So I guess learning by ear is the way to go for me. If I feel like I need more skill I'll definitely learn tabs tho.

Also, I'm not into blues that much. But as you said I understood that chromatic harmonicas are multipurpose even from that brief experience I had.

Thank you for the detailed answer.