[Harp-L] Re: Endorsements

[Steve Baker <steve@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Referring to the MB Deluxe, Joseph Bernard wrote:

<one must wonder who Hohner is marketing the Marine Bands to>
snip
 <I can't imagine that the price of a Marine Band Deluxe is any  
reflection of the increased cost to Hohner, rather than recognition  
that Hohner is competing with harmonica technicians like Dave>

To make my own position clear, I was was personally responsible for  
persuading Hohner to make an updated version of the Marine Band and  
was closely involved with the development of the MB Deluxe. I play  
them on around 100 live shows every year.

On the first point: a survey among members of the German online group  
Jack Black in Spring 2008 revealed that 20% of all players polled  
named the MB Deluxe as their favorite harp, topped only (just) by the  
Special 20 and way ahead of any other model or brand. So I would say  
we're marketing it to harmonica players who are looking for a high  
quality wooden comb traditional harp which plays well out of the box  
and is easy to maintain thanks to the screw assembly. One of my  
intentions when developing this model was to save customizers the  
tedious task of drilling holes, bending covers, fitting screws and  
the like, so they could concentrate on the real work.

Second point: the additional features (sealing and beveling the edges  
of the comb, fitting the reed plates for screws, buying new tools to  
open up the covers, brass jacket cover plate screws) added a  
considerable amount to the production costs and were reflected in the  
price. When the MB Deluxe was introduced in early 2005, a standard MB  
in Germany was listed at EUR 25 and the Deluxe was priced at EUR 40.  
I would say that's a fair mark-up considering the extra work involved,

Steve

Steve Baker
steve@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
www.stevebaker.de
www.bluesculture.com
www.youtube.com/stevebakerbluesharp