German harps...how much "German" are they?

["Jens Bunge" <jensbunge@xxxxxx>]

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German harps are not really German any more...as far as I know, since =
1997 Hohner has been owned by the HS Investment Group Inc. in Tortola, =
British Virgin Islands, a subsidiary of the K.H.S. Musical Instrument =
Company, Taipeh/Taiwan. So the parts of their harmonicas are mainly =
produced in Taiwan, P.R.China, Czech Republic etc. Some of the =
instruments are then assembled in Germany. I once got in trouble, when I =
needed reedplates tuned at a pitch of a =3D 440 Hz for a recording =
session in Chicago. The piano there was regularly tuned at 440 Hz. =
Hohner's standard tuning is about 444 Hz, so I ordered reedplates at a =
lower pitch from them. Having waited for 6 weeks for the delivery, I =
called them and had to learn that they couldn't make it before my flight =
to the USA, because they had trouble with the company which produced the =
reedplates, located in Czech Republic.=20

Some years ago I also heard complaints from other non-professional =
harmonica players about instruments with parts that seemed not to fit to =
each other. This was because the parts are produced elsewhere, and the =
people in Trossingen then have to try to make them fit, with sometimes =
lousy results.=20

>From then on, I rather try to buy old instruments from ebay and work on =
them to adjust them to my needs, than buying expensive new harmonicas =
directly from Hohner's. In both cases, I don't know exactly what to =
expect before I finally receive the instrument, but at least the old =
ones are much cheaper.=20

Recently I sent an old (German) Hohner Chromonika III, probably from the =
1930's or 1940's, which I won in an ebay auction, to an American =
customizer with Greek ancestors, who restored it with some of his =
original parts, and made a new pair of coverplates from Indian rosewood. =
I plan to take this fine instrument to Hong Kong and play it at the Asia =
Pacific Harmonica Festival this August. Hehe, so it's really an =
international, "globalized" harmonica now; the reedplates and the slider =
- - apart from me - are the only German components left in this =
instrument...

By the way, pictures of this beautiful instrument can be viewed at: =
http://groups.msn.com/harmonicaclub/harmonica.msnw?action=3DShowPhoto&Pho=
toID=3D54=20
(continued at: =3D55/=3D57/=3D58).

Jens Bunge (born in Germany, but with a Danish name, loving music and =
loving people - no matter where they come from...)