Andrew
11 posts
Dec 14, 2008
8:16 AM
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What are your general feelings about these? They don't seem to be as popular as I'd expect. Is that because of price or you can't mod them so easily or what? I was going to buy just one - probably an A, but they don't have them in the shops in London (they don't have any harps in the shops in London, but that's another story!)
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GermanHarpist
5 posts
Dec 14, 2008
8:45 AM
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What do you mean by "they don't have any harps in the shops in London". Please tell that story :-).
I don't know the Marine Band Deluxe. They don't have that one at my local music store either.
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tookatooka
46 posts
Dec 14, 2008
9:19 AM
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Andrew, may be worthwhile considering Suzuki Bluesmasters or Promasters. You can get them mail order from Harmonicas Direct in the UK. They have phosphor bronze reeds which are supposed to be a bit more hard wearing then the normal brass reeds. I use them all the time and the expense is a concern that I considered. When they do finally go kaput, you can just get replacement reedplates which are dead easy to fit with a small phillips screwdriver. My last Bluesmaster took a hell of a beating before it finally gave in but for £10 ish, it now has new plates.
I also am in London and HarmonicasDirect (http://www.harmonicasdirect.co.uk/) can normally get the plates down to me within a couple of days.
Do a search for Bluesmaster Reviews in Google and you'll find an awful lot of people rate them very highly.
Whoops. This should have been in your life expectancy thread.
Last Edited by on Dec 14, 2008 9:21 AM
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oldwailer
366 posts
Dec 14, 2008
9:20 AM
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I love to go to music stores--so I've been doing it for about 50 or 60 years. One thing I never have seen is a music store that takes harps seriously.
There is always the four-sided revolving case that would hold maybe 60 harps or so on each side--but there will be maybe five LO's on one side--a side for about two chromatics--a side for 6 Hohners--and a side for really cheap crappy harps--toys for kids.
This bugs me since I have become a harp player--the only defense for it is to shop online, where you can find all manner of harps.
I don't have an opinion on MB Delux--never owned one--your post just set me off on this rant. . .
Last Edited by on Dec 14, 2008 9:23 AM
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Andrew
12 posts
Dec 14, 2008
11:22 AM
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Germanharpist (and others),
well, Macari's in Charing Cross Rd charged £24 for Marine Bands (it's got jawharps for £70 or £80!) when everyone else (London and Worthing) was charging £22. Now that everyone else is charging £24, I don't know how much Macari's charges. Chappells, last time I went in, didn't have any Hohner harps "because they are bought centrally now, and we can't order any". Rose Morris, off Charing Cross Rd (Denmark St?) had a very depleted selection of Hohner harps "because they are bought centrally now, and we can't order any". The percussion shop in Kentish Town has a small, more or less worthless collection. The Hohner website doesn't sell anything, of course. So where in London do you buy harps? I assume I have to try all those little guitar shops in Denmark St in case they sell harps on the side!
Last Edited by on Dec 14, 2008 11:23 AM
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Tryharp
31 posts
Dec 14, 2008
3:48 PM
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Andrew,
I've got a MB Deluxe in Bb. I like it a lot. The main benefits are that the comb doesnt swell ( much), it is screwed for maintanence, and the back is open for volume. So its a good harp with that marine band sound. I think the reeds, plates, etc seem the same as a normal marine band, so playability, and modding of these would be much the same.
Jamie
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Baker
15 posts
Dec 15, 2008
5:13 AM
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Hi Andrew,
I live in London. There are a couple of shops which I go to to buy harps.
- Rose Morris on Denmark Street (Tin Pan Ally), just off Charing Cross Road.
- Macaris, which is on Charing Cross Road
- Hob Goblin Music, is on Rathbone Place, just of Oxford Street.
None of them are amazingly well stocked but you can usually find what you want at one of them.
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Andrew
15 posts
Dec 15, 2008
12:20 PM
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Baker, as I say, Rose Morris has all but sold out, and Macari's are expensive. However, I know Rathbone Place, but I don't know the shop, so I'll try it out. Thanks.
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x55jgp
Guest
Dec 15, 2008
11:20 PM
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I buy deluxes and think they outperform standard mb's by miles. If i were you then i'd order 1 from harmonicas direct in your favourite key. I dont think you'd regret it and i'd much rather buy 1 deluxe than 2 standard mb's
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Ant138
50 posts
Dec 16, 2008
12:45 AM
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Ive got a Marine Band Deluxe in C and they are good harps,but to be honest i prefer the Hohner Blues harp. The Deluxes are a bit expensive for what you get.They basically play the way a regular marine band SHOULD play. Theres nothing amazingly magical about them,so dont worry too much if youve not tried one yet.
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Andrew
16 posts
Dec 16, 2008
1:26 AM
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"The Deluxes...play the way a regular marine band SHOULD"
Yep, I can't say I didn't suspect that from the start!
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Andrew
17 posts
Dec 16, 2008
1:29 AM
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Incidentally I have adjusted the reed gaps on all my MBs and I do like the MB after adjustment. There are only one or two notes on 7 harps that I can't get to play right. I will buy one deluxe from harmonicasdirect to see what the difference is, but I'm not sure what key yet. Maybe A (my MB in A is at my ex gf's house, so I may have lost that one, but I don't think so!).
A Golden Melody in C arrived in the post (mail) yesterday. It's OK, but doesn't blow my socks off, and I can't really hear the difference in tuning between that and a MB.
Last Edited by on Dec 16, 2008 1:30 AM
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Aussiesucker
106 posts
Dec 16, 2008
1:36 AM
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Must be a world wide thing about music stores not taking Harp Players seriously? Go into any music store in most major cities here and the assortment on offer is pathetic. Mostly toy harps are on show with a few LOs and Hohners but never in the key you need. Still it has to reflect the market ie must not be the demand out there? The size of the Harp and the number of brands and keys + special tunings make it the ideal product for on line stores.
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Andrew
23 posts
Dec 16, 2008
9:59 PM
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I nearly bought an Eb MB from harmonicasdirect 20 minutes ago, but then decided to wait until after Christmas. What do they charge for postage and packing to the UK, does anyone know - I didn't want to give them my card details just to find that out?
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MrVerylongusername
54 posts
Dec 17, 2008
12:19 AM
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They're UK based (Yorkshire somewhere I think) and I've never noticed the P&P to be unreasonable, although I couldn't tell you offhand what it was. Turnaround is always very fast too - although it is Christmas in less than two weeks, so I guess it isn't the best time to wait for anything in the post!
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tookatooka
52 posts
Dec 17, 2008
1:43 AM
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Andrew if you are in the UK I think it is £1.50. Phone the guy up. His name is Pete. He is very helpful.
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Andrew
25 posts
Dec 17, 2008
12:04 PM
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thanks tookatooka. It's a shame it takes it past £20 per harp. Sheehans in Leicester manage it for less than £20 inc postage, but they took two to three months to deliver, and since then they have removed the low-key MBs from their website (I bought a low-D from them)!
Last Edited by on Dec 17, 2008 12:19 PM
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