Re: [Harp-L] Re: The Future of Blues Harmonica?

["mike@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx" <mike@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Boys!
I believe in the introduction of the SUB 30 .....if memory serves it was Brendan that explained that several people had gone down the 30/40 road and that Epping had filed a patent application ..expired.

Suzuki used it's resource's to push forward.....just business.
But it appeared credit was publicly given too the early efforts of others.

Wouldn't be surprised that a Dutchman was messing with that idea in his work shop back in the 30's
Forgetaboutit !

Mike Wilbur 



On Sep 12, 2012, at 6:02 AM, "Brendan Power" <bren@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

> Mik Jagger states:
> "Seems like an old asian practice of stealing the intellectual property
> from the west, without giving credit to where the idea/ engineering came
> from."
> 
> 
> 
> ??... Seems like the old Western practice of shooting your mouth off in
> total ignorance of the facts.
> 
> 
> 
> The intellectual property behind the Suzuki UltraBend wasn't stolen, I gave
> it to the company under a Non-Disclosure Agreement in 1991 in the form of a
> working prototype I made in New Zealand in 1989. We developed it together
> for two years, simplifying the design and reducing the size, and were ready
> to patent the design by 1994, prior to releasing a commercial 30 reed
> harmonica the size of a normal 10 hole diatonic. 
> 
> 
> 
> Then we discovered a patent by Rick Epping for 30 and 40 reed harmonicas
> (application 1991, granted in two forms 1993/94) that covered the concept,
> and Suzuki stopped work at that point. Only after Rick's patent expired in
> 2008 did Suzuki restart work on our 30 reed design, and that has come out in
> the SUB30 UltraBend.
> 
> 
> 
> You can read a partial history of the idea here, with photos:
> 
> http://www.brendan-power.com/History%20of%20the%20UltraBend.htm
> 
> 
> 
> I say 'partial' because, aside from the three persons mentioned there (Will
> Scarlett, Rick Epping and myself), it now transpires that at least two
> others thought of the extra reed idea and tried to make prototypes in the
> 1980s - namely Richard Sleigh and Pat Missin. Their efforts weren't fully
> successful and they also let the idea drop after Rick's patent came out.
> 
> 
> 
> Though I didn't know it until the mid-1990s, it turned out that Will
> Scarlett was the very first person to conceive a triple-reed harmonica, and
> he showed the idea to Rick Epping in 1982 (not 1987 as I say in the article
> at the link above). 
> 
> 
> 
> I know this now because Will has agreed to tell his story in the upcoming
> issue of the UK "Harmonica World" magazine, due out in October. Will was
> also the first person to use overblows on a consistent basis and try to play
> a 10 hole harp chromatically in 12 keys, which he did in the early 1970s
> (his efforts are recorded on the  first two Hot Tuna albums).
> 
> 
> 
> It's a very interesting read. Will and Rick famously fell out over the issue
> and battled it out in the US patent courts in the 90s, and Will talks about
> that in the article. But whatever you think of their respective positions,
> both men are seminal figures in the modern history of Blues harmonica. Rick
> did undeniably take the extra-reed idea further on from Will's pioneering
> work, and his 1994 patent (plus another one in 2002) paved the way for the
> first commercial harmonica with extra reeds, the Hohner XB-40. 
> 
> 
> 
> Rick Epping has consented to talk of his early harmonica experiments in a
> later issue of "Harmonica World". In addition to being known for the XB-40,
> not many of the thousands of people who tweak their harps today realise that
> Rick is the inventor of the process we now call "embossing". He will
> describe when and how he developed the technique and passed it on to the
> names we know today (Joe Filisko and his many collaborators/followers). 
> 
> 
> 
> Richard Sleigh worked with Joe on advancing the technique, and also did much
> harmonica experimenting on his own in the 70s/80s/90s. It would be great to
> hear his story too!
> 
> 
> 
> The diatonic harmonica is the biggest selling instrument in the world in
> terms of units sold, yet a lot of its modern history is shrouded in rumour
> and secrecy. It's fascinating and important to hear from the pioneers who
> paved the way for the advances that we take for granted today. 
> 
> 
> 
> Brendan Power
> 
> WEBSITE: www.brendan-power.com <http://www.brendan-power.com/> 
> 
> FACEBOOK: www.facebook.com/tethnik
> 
> YOUTUBE: www.youtube.com/BrendanPowerMusic
> 
> 
>