[Harp-L] sharing my buying experiences

[Larry Cee <lcharmonica@xxxxxxxxx>]

I just bought 3 Huangs via the web and 2 souvenier-shop tremolos ("Parrot" brand) at a gift shop.  I had never bought Huang before, only Hohner, but I wanted to try them.  Here are my impressions.
  Let me first say Frank Huang International customer service is great.  I ordered the wrong key and called them on the telephone expecting to be told I would pay shipping charges.  Instead, FHI said send it to us and we'll send you the right one.  So I used regular US Post to save money on shipping.  They did the swap, even after acknowledging I was exchanging one I bought at sale price for a more expensive one.  No charge, no fuss, just great service.  
  1)  Huang Silvertone Deluxe in Eb- super comfortable size and shape, even blow/draw pressure on all holes, clear smooth sound.  I love this harp and will buy more of these.  The shape is so comfortable.  
  2)  Huang Star Performer in C#.  I got C# to play "stacked" above my Golden Melody C, for chromatic effect.  (I was doing this with two Hohner Special 20s already.)  The Huang SP has the same outline shape as the GM, but the GM is thicker (has a deeper body).  The Huang SP feels solid and sounds loud and full-like the GM, but not as deep-sounding - probably because the GM has a deeper body.  The Huang SP feels very solid and durable--bends are easy enough and all holes are quality.  Possible downside is that the reed plate edge sticks out far enough to feel it on your lips - might bother some people.  GM sticks out a bit, too, but the Huang SP I bought sticks out a little more.  
  3)  Huang Cadet Soloist in C.  What a great harp.  Tuned solo like a chromo (minus the sharps and flats).  In the web ads it is described as a student level harp, but it plays and feels as solid as the above-mentioned and the Hohners.  For solo tunes it's nice having the extra octave without having to bend.  And you can still bend on the Cadet for your sharps and flats.
  I would consider these Huangs as top-tier harps, even though they are priced lower than some other brands.  
  4) Two "Parrot" brand tremolos-  16 hole and 24 hole.  I never played tremolo, but I saw them at a Chinese-owned gift shop when I took the family to Salem Mass so I wanted to get a souvenir for myself.  I paid $3.99 and $5.99 for these and did not expect much.  When I tried them out I was blown away by the loud, cool-tuning sound that came out of them!!  And they were in proper tune.  Presuming the high-end tremolos on the market are better, I can only imagine how amazing tremolos sound in the hands of a good player.
  LC  

 
---------------------------------
Get your email and see which of your friends are online - Right on the  new Yahoo.com