Re: [Harp-L] re: Why Brendan Why?

["bbqbob917@xxxxxxxxxxx" <bbqbob917@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

-- Jonathan Ross <jross38@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
Daniel Bernard writes (all quotes are his):

"OK you want to field Suzuki questions?  Why the heck are you  
marketing ultra high priced harmonicas with wood combs.  Every other  
manufacturer seems to be able to come up with a wood comb harp that  
sells for about the same price as their plastic combed harps. "


This is like comparing a Ferrari to a Hyundai: Hyundai is able to  
make a two-door sports car for a fraction the price of a Ferrari, why  
isn't Ferrari making a two-seat sports car for the same price as  
Hyundai (or Honda, etc...)?


"Hohner, Hering, and Seydel let you pick and choose your comb 
material."

I couldn't have said this better myself because you're dreaming if you 
think you can get Rolls Royce quality while trying to get by paying 
the price of a crappy, garbage can quality Yugo!!!!



"Why don't you market some other tunings, like Natural Minor and/or  
Melody Makers instead."

Truth be told, the average harp player knows almost next to nothing 
about even the most basic of music theory and they will rarely ever 
buy them, and the large majority of players that will tend to be more 
highly skilled and FAR more theory knowledgeable as a general rule.
"The Japanese love Natural Minors"


"Hohner, and Hering give you a choice of Equal Temperament or Just  
Intonation."

"I just don't understand the marketing logic of selling high priced 
wood combs as  
the first expansion of the Suzuki product line."


They wanted to create a new market, actually: high-end, high-quality  
mass produced harmonicas.  That market didn't exist prior to the two  
Suzuki models (with the possible exception of the Suzuki Overdrive,  
and maybe Hohners MB Deluxe, though that hasn't gotten the same  
glowing reviews as the Suzukis).  The wood combs are a nice selling  
point, but not significant to the quality level or performance of the  
instrument.

As for the supposed high price, well, think of it this way: the new  
Suzukis (and the new Seydel, to be fair) are the diatonic harmonica  
equivalent of a Steinway: a truly world-class instrument as good as  
can be purchased (well--nearly, the best would be a custom harmonica  
from people like Richard Sleigh, James Gordon or Pat Missin, but  
that's more like a Fazioli than a Steinway).  A new 7-foot Steinway  
costs, let's see...OK, the closest I could find (piano companies  
don't like to give out their prices) was $54,000 for a 2002 model 7'  
Steinway.  That's 720 of the high-end Suzukis.  Not bad.  I won't  
even go into what the new organs for Disney Hall in LA or the Verizon  
Hall in Philadelphia cost--you're talking tens of thousands of  
harmonicas then.  So even at these "high" prices, we're still getting  
off cheap.

If you want a comparison to our guitarist friends, a new Martin D-45  
(the high-end dreadnaught, sp) lists for over $9,000.  That's 120  
harmonicas.  If you never bought new reed-plates or got your  
harmonicas fixed, you could still go through ten sets of high-end  
harps before it cost as much as a single equivalent quality guitar.

This is not aimed at anyone in particular, but I often wonder if  
harmonica players don't choose our instrument because we're too cheap  
to shell out for a guitar.

JR, this post really tells the truth here, especially this last part!!!

Sincerely,
Barbeque Bob Maglinte
Boston, MA
http://www.bnarbequebob.com
MP3's" http://music.mp3lizard.com/barbequebob/