[Harp-L] the 95.596808 percentile and harmonicas

[Joseph Leone <3n037@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

This post IS harmonica centric and I will eventually get to that. I have been watching this discussion with great interest. 
Come with me to a program called 'Top Gear'. An English program about cars. The hosts Jeremy Clarkson, James May, and Richard Hammond
drive and evaluate cars. They:
1... Don't have to pay for them
2... Don't have to worry about insurance
3... Most of the cars are several times the price of my house
4... They have no restrictions
5... They can virtually thrash the cars about
6... They are all race car trained
7... They have a large budget
I could add many many more scaps, but this should give you the point.

Now let's transpose this to harmonicas. It was established many years ago that people fit into something called the 95 percentile group. 
So, dismissing the part where people in the U.S. are getting..shall we say..too large, out of the 7 billion people on the planet, 95% fit a 
certain height, weight, talent, mental ability, physical ability, and etc. etc. group. In other words, average mortals. lolol 

So, extrapolating this farther, just like the hosts of that program will drive a car and feel that it is rubbish (their words), chances are that if given to an average person, the average 95 percentile person would find the cars to be just fine. Maybe even beyond their wildest dreams. 

Transferring this to harmonicas, there are players whom are at a level of expertise (or NON expertise), where most harmonicas they play/try will be just fine. And probably even be way beyond their abilities. Then there will be players whom are at a stage in their endeavors where the harmonicas will be garbage.
Or at the very least lacking in some critical way. These may be 'race car trained' players who are used to custom jobbies, hot rods, dragsters, Bonneville record attempt streamliners, turbonique powered go karts, hey, I don't know? In other words, a stock harmonica is like a crummy golf cart to them. 

One person can play a harmonica and say that it is just peachey. When what they 'could' have said was: At my level, this harmonica is fine. Another may play and say that the harp is crummy. When what they 'could' have said was: The action is too slow/the sound is too thin...or whatever.  

I have noticed over the years that EVERY make and model has it's proponents. Some of them are fairly high on the food chain. This tells me something.
If ALL the makes and models have fans, they must ALL be good......for something......for THOSE players. Here's a typical example: Many years ago Jerry Murad received a CBH-2016 in the mail from Hohner. He tried it, threw it across the room, and remarked; "Junk". I wound up with it years later. It had inside damage. I fixed it. I have tried to play this beast, but I just can't get excited about it. On the other hand we have C O N C E R T  grade players who use it almost exclusively. 

See, this is what I'm talking about. Harmonicas are made to the 95 percentile. If you feel you are in a different percentile, you need to upgrade your instrument. I see no other solution. YOU have gone beyond the capabilities of the average instrument. Whereas we mortals haven't gotten there yet.
And as for prices, if you check the inflation index for the past 45 years (as I have), harmonicas are ABOVE that figure. I probably blame that on pensions. 
In WWII many workers were killed and no one ever had to pay them a pension. Today we have 67 years to allow for.  

smokey-joe