For what it's worth, I'm a "Lee Oskar Preferred Player" (as far as I know!). That means the distributor for Lee Oskar harmonicas in Norway looks after me very well since I wreck a fair few of their harmonicas every year whilst gigging and recording and need a reliable supply to do my job. Much as a serious mechanic might use "Snap On" tools, I need equipment that WORKS. Lee Oskar harmonicas work AND sound good. I recently bought about forty Lee Oskar repacement reed plate kits since the prospect of being stuck somewhere and having to use another brand of harmonica worried me. It's very useful to be able to blow out a harmonica, take it apart, replace the reed plates and have a good as new harmonica ready to work again in minutes. The alternative is running around shopping centres in towns you perhaps don't know too well trying to find someone who sells harmonicas and buying a cheap "toy" harmonica that sounds useless even before you've sucked the life out of it. If you play another brand of harmonica, at least try a Lee Oskar. I've tried them all and won't touch anything else. They are SO tough and I became sick of harmonicas from other VERY WELL KNOWN harmonica manufacturers dying on me mid-gig. Mick Jagger uses Lee Oskar harmonicas too apparently ....... they're not the cheapest ...........