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Post by jawbone on Sept 14, 2021 6:40:46 GMT -5
As hard as I try and as much as I want to I can't keep up with all the new harmonicas coming out. Lately every year sees at least one new maker and several new models appearing. The competition has become pretty fierce as new makers challenge the old guard, which consists of Hohner, Seydel, Lee Oskar, and Suzuki which are the big 4 in my opinion. Each of these except Oskar has brought new better models to the table in recent years to satisfy a more exacting customer requirement, brought about by the boom in enthusiasm for playing we see in the past 15 or 20 years or more. It's a thriving industry! This is a heyday for us players but you need deep pockets, which I don't have. A fellow player or two has extolled the virtues of this harmonica to me recently- rockinronsmusicsd.com/dabell-story-diatonic-harmonica-1101-includes-free-usa-shipping.htmlSo since I needed a spare D harp, yesterday I gave Rockin' Ron's a call and ordered one. It should arrive by Thursday, Ron's is great about shipping fast. This harp competes with the basic Hohner Marine Band model, which is still nailed together and has an unsealed wood comb, which will swell with time and use. The DaBell is a plastic comb so that's never a problem. Its price point beats the heck out of the comparable plastic comb Hohner, the Special 20, which has been around since the mid 70's. And it beats the price of Marine Band Classic as well. $12 bucks cheaper is considerable especially if one is buying several harps- I'm not but it's worth considering. I will wring this one out when I get it and do a review in case anyone here is thinking about buying a harmonica.
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Post by whitefang on Sept 14, 2021 10:47:44 GMT -5
Seems I can't get into rockinronsmusicsd.com to see what he's got without registering. But looking elsewhere it seems those harps are made in Korea and cost WAY more than I ever paid for a harmonica.
But, when you consider I haven't bought a harmonica since the '70's, well......
Whitefang
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Post by jawbone on Sept 14, 2021 13:11:06 GMT -5
But looking elsewhere it seems those harps are made in Korea and cost WAY more than I ever paid for a harmonica.
Considering a Marine Band was $4 when I began buying them and are now up past $50, $38 is not a bad deal. And the reviews I've seen on this DaBell are mostly favorable.
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Post by whitefang on Sept 15, 2021 10:24:25 GMT -5
Well like I said.... Been 40 years or so since I bought one.
Whitefang
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Post by jawbone on Sept 15, 2021 13:21:25 GMT -5
You can find harps that play pretty well for $25 but I have found they don't last as long generally.
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Post by jawbone on Sept 18, 2021 16:49:27 GMT -5
Well FINALLY! Usually anything I order from Ron is here in 2 days. He shipped on the 13th. Thanks USPS. 6 days from San Diego. But I did get the harp and first blush this is a work horse. Time and use will tell.
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Post by jawbone on Sept 23, 2021 21:48:33 GMT -5
I've played the harp on several songs in different positions and it's done a very good job so far. It's in my gig case.
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Post by whitefang on Sept 24, 2021 10:21:51 GMT -5
I like hearing that(or reading it, really ). I get tired in other forums reading people gripe about how this or that online site screwed them. Whitefang
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Post by jawbone on Sept 24, 2021 10:52:52 GMT -5
DaBell is the newest player in the harmonica market from what I can tell. It's a South Korean company and its founder Benny Yoon just joined my harp players' group the other day. I gave him good reviews both privately and publicly. I think the danger with new products of any kind is, the first runs are really great and then as time passes the quality slips and maybe the price rises as well. My usual harps as discussed before cost $65-20 each, so at a bit over $40 with tax for a competitive harp, that's a good thing at least for now. I will keep the faith and as I need a new harp here or there I will likely fill gaps in my kit with these DaBells.
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Post by jawbone on Oct 5, 2021 10:10:46 GMT -5
I'm continuing to play this harp every chance I get and so far it's holding its p\own very well. I do admit I like the sound of a Hohner Marine Band better but the price point and good performance of this harp is keeping it in my case for sure.
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Post by whitefang on Oct 6, 2021 9:47:56 GMT -5
Y'know, all this talk is giving me a notion to invest in a decent chromatic harp just to figure it out and give me another way to spend my time indoors this winter. I'll just have to check out prices to help make up my mind though. Whitefang
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Post by jawbone on Oct 6, 2021 10:52:55 GMT -5
I'm not up on most brand/model prices but the Suzuki SCX48 models are a very good harmonica. Swan, Hohner, and Seydel along with Eastop all have chromatic harmonicas as well.
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Post by whitefang on Oct 7, 2021 10:23:48 GMT -5
Thanks. And if I do ever take that plunge, I'll probably be after you for tips. Whitefang
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Post by jawbone on Oct 14, 2021 15:10:31 GMT -5
The Dabell story is still working well. Some would say the Marine Band with wooden comb sounds better and I think this is true to some tiny extent, but still, for the value this harp is a great buy. I have yet to have any issues with it, all the notes play the way I want them to.
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Post by jawbone on Oct 24, 2021 7:19:44 GMT -5
Had that harp out on the street yesterday, it did very well!
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