Re: [Harp-L] Spirit Harmonica

[David Payne <dave@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Yall... I dug around on the Tribal planet. Joe, you'll be pleased, I'm sure, to see they have a chromatic for 25 pounds. This operation was founded by two guys who left Hohner UK. Below came from the press section of their Web site. Words 7-9 in paragraph No. 2 will ensure I will never buy one. 


Tribal Planet from Birtley, led by business partners David Wright and Philip Sutcliffe, expects to secure at least 5% of the world market - over £1m turnover - inside three years.
The company says its Planetone harmonicas, made in China, will revolutionise the market like James Dyson did with the vacuum cleaner.
Tribal Planet say the new instrument represents the first thorough re-design of the harmonica in 100 years, and will capture sales from market leader Hohner.
Mr Wright and Mr Sutcliffe, who have both worked for Hohner in the past, have spent three years developing their new style of instrument with legendary harmonica player Johnny Mars.
The bluesman has played with some of the biggest names in music, including BB King and Robert Cray. One of the Planetone harmonicas features several design innovations including round holes rather than square, numbers featured on the front of the instrument rather than the back, and a textured surface to help novice players feel what notes they are playing.
The instruments will also come in a range of different colours.
"It's a Dyson for the world of harmonicas," says Mr Wright.
Mr Wright, director of international sales, said: "There is a demand in the market for an improved harmonica, and we have a full range of harmonicas that suits both beginners and serious players.
"We know that the beginner has a much better chance of learning with a better quality instrument and we expect to grow the market by converting more starters into serious players."
Mr Wright said there was a gap in the market as Hohner, with 80% of the world market, had become complacent. He said: "They have not thought of making any changes. When I worked for them I was constantly made aware of shortcomings of the harmonicas, but the company was not interested. Their main comment was to say, `But we're Hohner!'
"Johnny Mars has been unhappy with the harmonica he's been playing for years."
Tribal Planet is best known for its innovative gig bags, which are sold around the world to musicians to carry their instruments, and has plans for a percussion product, too.
Mr Wright said he was confident Tribal Planet, which already boasts a seven-figure turnover through the gig bag business, would soon capture a significant slice of the world harmonica market.
He said: "The global market is worth about $45m and we expect to get 5% pretty quickly - in two to three years.
"We already have a distributor network worldwide for our guitar bags and we've designed a point of purchase display to attract people's attention."
The harmonica
The harmonica is known by many names, especially in the world of blues music. These include: mouth organ, blow-tube, Indiana Mating Call, mouth harp, Hobo Harp, French harp, Reckless Tram, harpoon, tin sandwich, blues harp or Mississippi saxophone.
Shortly after Matthias Hohner, a German, began manufacturing harmonicas in 1857, he shipped some to relatives who had emigrated to the United States and the instrument rapidly became popular. President Abraham Lincoln is said to have carried a harmonica in his pocket, and frontiersmen Wyatt Earp and Billy the Kid are also believed to have played the instrument.
The first recordings of harmonica were made in the US in the 1920s and since then the instrument has entered the main- stream of popular music.
Well known players have included such diverse names as Larry Adler, Bono, Captain Beefheart, Bob Dylan, Roger Daltrey, Woody Guthrie, Mick Jagger, Billy Joel, Van Morrison, Stevie Wonder and Neil Young.
Playing the harmonica can help develop a strong diaphragm and deep breathing using the entire lung volume. Pulmonary specialists have noted that playing the harmonica resembles the kind of exercise used to rehabilitate COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease) patients. Many pulmonary rehabilitation programmes have begun to incorporate the harmonica.Source: Wikipedia