[Harp-L] B. Thomas 12/10 suggestion help...

[RUSSEGR9@xxxxxx]

Just my own preference:  I have been buying my harps from Fand R Farrell for 
quite some time now. (I have not placed an order in the last year however).  
Whenever i did check prices from other online companies they were always the 
cheapest and always good service.  They have been around for a long time and are 
probably the original harmonica focused catalogue company (this is just a 
guess on my part).

In terms of what harmonica you buy, for me you cant go wrong with a special 
20, although truthfully I teach teenagers to play harmonica and i start them on 
Blues Bands bechase they are cheap.  I also play a Blues band when i play 
with them and i personally am amazed at what good harmonicas they are and how 
well they hold up.  Although i teach the kids a lot of first position stuff i 
also do a lot of bending and wailing to show the kids where they can go and those 
blues bands just keep on giving.  They are only 3 to 5 bucks so if you want a 
harp to abuse this is the one to get.



Personally i also like the Old Standby It is a good solid harp that I dont 
have a problem taking on stage it comes in all keys and it is cheap.  To me the 
only difference between the Old Standby and SP20 is that i believe that maybe 
the SP20 lasts longer (but this can be just a product of my imagination).

Sometimes I really believe that the reeds and plates of many of Hohners 
diatonics are stock and they just stamp the coverplates differently. (i know this 
is different with the MS series.

Hohner 3 row accordions all use the same reeds, the cheaper ones to the more 
expensive ones - however, the more expensive ones have more quality control 
and finishing touches.  The best Coronas are made in China, in the same manner 
as their cheaper cousins, but then sent to Germany for finishing touches.

Russ



In a message dated 12/10/2004 2:36:03 PM Eastern Standard Time, 
harp-l-request@xxxxxxxxxx writes: 
> B. Thomas 12/10  suggestion help...
Around my small town there are two music stores, both catering to school 
band and churches. L.O. are $38, S-20 are $26, Bluesband, $28, Old Standby 
$12, Big River $18.