[Harp-L] Re: Bushman Delta Frost or Suzuki Harpmaster, which came first?

["Brendan Power" <bren@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Fernando Bresslau of Hohner quoted some publicity material from Bushman
and Suzuki about the Bushman Delta Frost and Suzuki Harpmaster
diatonics. He found some Delta Frost publicity that he thinks predated
the announcement of the Suzuki Harpmaster. He concluded "...So I guess
that this is evidence enough that the Delta Frost was around at least a
whole year before the the Harpmaster was unveiled..."

Unfortunately this is a little misleading, as in some readers' eyes it
could imply Bushman made the Delta Frost first and Suzuki perhaps copied
it. That's not the case. Here's why:

The first publicity Fernando found for the Bushman Delta Frost was in
August 2003. However, the comb and reedplates of the Delta Frost are
IDENTICAL to those of the Suzuki Bluesmaster, which has been on the
market since the late nineties.

I showed the Suzuki Bluesmaster to my friends Mick Kinsella and Rick
Epping in Dublin in September '98. (I remember Rick, Hohner's harp
specialist at the time, commented on the high quality of the comb
moulding).

The Suzuki Bluesmaster had (and still has) full length covers. Later
Suzuki made new coverplates in a more traditional design, with screw
lugs on each end, which come on the Suzuki Harpmaster. These may have
first have appeared branded with the Bushman name on the Delta Frost (I
need to check), but they were made by Suzuki, and (as stated before) the
comb and reedplates of the Delta Frost are also made by Suzuki. The
Harpmaster has identical stainless steel covers to the Delta Frost, and
the Suzuki Bluesmaster has identical reedplates with Phosphor Bronze
reeds as the Delta Frost. All have welded reeds (only made by Suzuki),
and the combs of all three harps are also identical.

Bushman is not a manufacturer, it is a re-brander and re-seller of other
manufacturers' harmonicas: Seydel in the case of its Soul's Voice, and
Suzuki in the case of the Delta Frost.

Brendan
WEB:  <http://www.brendan-power.com/> http://www.brendan-power.com 

 

Brendan
WEB: http://www.brendan-power.com <http://www.brendan-power.com/>