Dempsey87897
1 post
May 05, 2011
4:45 AM
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The only store I know of in my city only has harps in white keys(ABCDEF) and none in G. What kinds of stores do you get your harps from? Btw I live in a pretty big city in canada
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KingoBad
714 posts
May 05, 2011
5:29 AM
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www.rockinronsmusic4less.com
Rockin' Ron Rocks.
If you are looking to pick up oddball keys, many online sellers will have specials to get rid of their f#,Db.Eb, etc.. for extra cheap.
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toddlgreene
2960 posts
May 05, 2011
5:32 AM
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I second Kingo's recommendation. High marks for Ron Hobdy at Rockin Ron's indeed. Lightning-fast shipping, no b.s., and he's a nice guy to deal with.
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Todd
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Seven.Oh.Three.
61 posts
May 05, 2011
6:51 AM
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Being a small business owner I try and seek out small locally owned business. Which is where I started buying my first few harps. But they were charging $48 for a standard marine band. I simply couldn't keep doing that. So, I started going to guitar center (I think I only bought 2 or 3 from GC). My local GC doesn't keep more than 10-15 harps in stock. So once I had all the common keys I was searching again. I heard about Rockin Rons music 4 Less on this forum and gave him a shot. Simply put, he's my go to site now. The order came extreamly quick. Priced just right. Small owner/operater business. And a great guy to deal with. Check him out, you won't be disappointed.
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jim
812 posts
May 05, 2011
6:59 AM
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I buy 1847 from Seydel1847.com
I get brass harmonicas for free from my free repair service.
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Free Harp Learning Center
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MJ
297 posts
May 05, 2011
7:32 AM
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Rockin Rons is the man for me. Always fast and fairly priced. I did, however, pick up a 3 pack of Special 202 for $60 and free shipping on Ebay, from a place in Minnesota.
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OzarkRich
450 posts
May 05, 2011
7:52 AM
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1. Rockin' Ron's - Always receive harps within a few days and he has free shipping. I once placed an order at midnight and by 2:00am I received a tracking number!
2. Guitar Center - If I'm in a bind I'll pick up a Big River or whatever they have on sale/clearance.
3. Harmonica411 - I recently ordered from here. It took over 10 days to receive the harp but was $5 cheaper than anywhere else.
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Ozark Rich
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oda
444 posts
May 05, 2011
7:56 AM
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a pretty big city in Canada should have "Steve's Music"
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I could be bound by a nutshell and still count myself a king of infinite space
OdaHUMANITY!
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MEK
34 posts
May 05, 2011
8:29 AM
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Well since you are in Canada your choices are limited. I have ordered from Rocking Rons and he was great but I had them shipped to my inlaws in the States and brought up. UPS is terrible so CDN's have a tough time ordering from US retailers, google "UPS brokerage scam". Mind you USPS is great. In Canada I have used, Musicians friend, Axe music and Long and Mcquade.
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arzajac
510 posts
May 05, 2011
8:59 AM
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Where exactly do you live?
I live in Kingston and the prices at local music stores are somewhat higher than in Montreal. I can get competitive prices online. I have had very good experiences ordering from the US - just don't ship UPS. I have not had to pay duty yet. That being said, there are a few Canadian online stores (with Ebay storefronts) that offer harps at almost the same price.
I also buy a lot of vintage harps for a few dollars on Ebay and fix them up.
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groyster1
1024 posts
May 05, 2011
9:26 AM
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@honkinonbobo
thats a great price for special 20 I like them too-agree with others that rockinron is great to deal with
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12gagedan
29 posts
May 05, 2011
9:45 AM
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Coast2coastmusic dot com
I've had great experience with coast to coast for a few years now. I will only buy harmonicas from a music store in a dire emergency.
On occaison I'll get lucky on Musician's friend or somewhere similar when a sale is going on.
Folks, make sure you negotiate the price if you go a place like Guitar Center. They have a pretty big mark-up, often with different prices in store vs. online. Most of their staff is empowered to wiggle on prices, so give it a shot.
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mr_so&so
429 posts
May 05, 2011
10:44 AM
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In Canada, muscianswebstore.com (located in Toronto area) and harmonicaland.com (located in Quebec) have both worked for me. I've also ordered direct from the Seydel web site. Orders come from Germany to the USA then via US Postal Service to your door. I've never had to pay duty or extra brokerage fees with any items shipped via US Postal Service. The courier services are a rip-off. I'd also buy from any reputable dealer in the USA that will ship via USPS.
I live in a mid-sized city in Southern Ontario, but my local music stores only stock a few brands of harps, e.g. Hohner Marine Band and Big River, Suzuki HarpMaster and BluesMaster, maybe Lee Oskar. I don't even bother any more. Lots of better harps to be purchased on-line cheaper.
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Last Edited by on May 05, 2011 10:48 AM
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roadharp
66 posts
May 05, 2011
11:03 AM
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Rockinronsmusic4less.com san Diego ca conway ar two days free shipping.
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Hobostubs Ashlock
1502 posts
May 05, 2011
11:13 AM
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rockin rons has alot of good deals but i have only goten a harp rack from him,But i plan on using him more, in the future,I have used Musicians friend alot for various things musical,there my main source for strings and I have got a few harps,Most of my better harps I have got from a local mom and pop music store where I pay about 12 bucks more for em,and there 20 miles away,I didnt plan it that way but just about all my better harps ive got from there.
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Hobostubs
Last Edited by on May 05, 2011 11:17 AM
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MEK
35 posts
May 05, 2011
1:49 PM
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Sorry I meant to say musicianswebstore as said by Mr So&so, not musicians friend, I've never ordered from musicians friend.
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harpwrench
468 posts
May 05, 2011
2:26 PM
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Rockin' Ron rocks!
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Littoral
287 posts
May 05, 2011
3:10 PM
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Now that I FINALLY got the knack of working on my own harps I dredge another from the heap.Quota met. I figure I have over 100 so I don't expect to buy one anytime soon. Thank goodness.
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Spider
24 posts
May 06, 2011
11:44 AM
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Rockin' Ron is the best! His prices are the low, he ships fast, and he aims to please his customers.
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LittleBubba
56 posts
May 06, 2011
12:44 PM
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I get mine from my local music store in Rochester, Mn. He gets as close to the lowest internet prices as he can. Availability is not an issue, because I don't wait until I'm totally out on a key before I buy one.
I get technical info. and modest tech work free from my guy, so I'm gonna try to give him any business I can.
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Sky
1 post
May 06, 2011
3:47 PM
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I like my local music store and the staff there. The manager reduces prices if I show him competitor prices and they can come within a few bucks of Ron's great pricing. When I was building my set I willingly paid the extra and the sales tax on top just to support the local economy... but it took two weeks or longer for them to receive out-of-stock harps (even if just transferring from another store across town!?) and it that's forever when you're ready to play in a new key.
Ron at Rockin' Ron's has always promptly answered the phone himself when I call -- don't you like it when you're talking to the proprietor? -- and he's been friendly, informative and never in a hurry to get off the phone. He's a great guy, his price is right, and he ships IMMEDIATELY. I was always happily amazed at how quickly the next little package arrived!
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52blacklightning
2 posts
May 06, 2011
3:56 PM
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@ peduarte; totally agree re Harmonicas Direct, and I live in New Zealand, a mere 12,000 miles from Bradford!!
Peter is always prompt with orders, and really quick with communicating if there's going to be delays/backorders etc.
Postage costs from the UK take the overall price slightly over what I'd pay from shops here but the fact is that NZ is a comparatively small market (only 4.5 million, and we don't all play harps) that it can take the distributors 3 months to get new stocks in, and that's just for the more common keys. They seem to have the same problems whatever brand you're after, so I'll always go to Peter first and I usually have the harp in my sweaty little hands within a week.
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Lightnin' Harp
14 posts
May 06, 2011
4:51 PM
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I go to Hickies, a local shop in Reading UK. Very friendly, good service.
I also use the online firm, The Harmonica Company. Excellent.
One question. Why does it cost twice as much to buy a Hohner harp in the UK than it does in the USA?
LH.
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Dempsey87897
2 posts
May 06, 2011
4:54 PM
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@lightin harp it's that way in Canada too it's annoying;( I get marine bands for about $45
Thanks for all the suggestions! I ordered a bunch of odd keys from rockin ron's
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Aussiesucker
847 posts
May 06, 2011
6:05 PM
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In general I try to support the small local music shop. They keep a small range of harps I like. However with the strength of the Aussie $ and our very high prices in comparison to the US I have during these times purchased over the net and got good savings eg sometimes 50%.
I recently purchased a couple of Seydel Session Steels from David Payne of Elk River Harmonicas. The service was personal, I was kept informed at each step, the service was very good.
I purchased a Fireball Mic from Musicians Friend & the service was great.
Purchasing over the net from the US is preferred for eg low keys or brands that are obscure in Oz (Seydel). I recently purchased a Lee Oskar Low F from my local dealer and whilst they gave me a discount the price was substantially higher than from the US. But for one harp the shipping costs are not absorbed. The nonsense was that the dealer didn't have the low F in stock and had to order it in from the wholesaler. The wholesaler didn't have it in stock & had to order from Japan. This they did but they waited for a combined bulk order hence delivery was months. Buying off the net delivery from the US to Oz is roughly a week.
Australian retailers are complaining bitterly about losing out to online shops for most every form of merchandise from clothes, shoes to electricals. Our very high prices and often unavailability of items is the reason. I would prefer to always buy local but not at twice the price. I would pay 10% to 20% more for the surety of support if needed. Similar surety & back up is offered by the US sellers but the inconvenience and huge cost of shipping something back is out of the question.
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paul45
68 posts
May 07, 2011
5:19 AM
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Rockin Rons, fast, reliable, has had anything i've ever ordered in stock and did I mention he's fast!!!!!
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Blackbird
160 posts
May 07, 2011
5:43 AM
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In Seattle, there ain't much of a market. Guitar Center Seattle has bumped up their stock of Hohners a bit, but otherwise I've relied upon Dusty Strings in town for harps. Online, I've had very good response and service from The Instrument Store via Amazon.com.
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harp honkin
80 posts
May 07, 2011
7:19 AM
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Rockin Ron is the best!!!
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HarveyHarp
251 posts
May 07, 2011
7:41 AM
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I have used the Harp Mart, from Harmonica411, who is actually Jeff Silverman, and also Coast to Coast Music has always been good, competetive, and very reliable
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HarveyHarp
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jawbone
429 posts
May 07, 2011
7:48 AM
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I use http://www.musicianswebstore.com/proddetail.asp?prod=RP250&cat=1338
They are in Mississauga and by mail I got my stuff up in rural Barrie in a few days.
What big city are you in - I didn't think we had any???!!!?? ;-)
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If it ain't got harp - it ain't really blues!!!!
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GEEZER1
104 posts
May 07, 2011
5:56 PM
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Rockin Rons, Where else? Why put up with slow shipping, high prices, and sometimes you feel like they are rushing you off the phone Ron is not that way hes got the goods.
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pistolero
128 posts
May 07, 2011
6:16 PM
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First I find a busker who sucks at harp, then I give him the pistol whippin he deserves and take his harps and his money...
JUST KIDDING!
All mine have come from GC and ebay.
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It's MUSIC, not just complicated noise.
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MP
1670 posts
May 08, 2011
9:57 AM
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now that was funny!
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MP
doctor of semiotics and reed replacement.
"making the world a better place, one harmonica at a time"
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MP
1671 posts
May 08, 2011
9:58 AM
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you could try harrison...
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MP
doctor of semiotics and reed replacement.
"making the world a better place, one harmonica at a time"
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