Re: [Harp-L] Re: was Seydel Endorsement, now Hohner quality

["steve warner" <10reedsbent@xxxxxxxxx>]

About 6 years ago I hammered a  4 hole draw in less than 1 hour playing in
my bedroom on the wood 1896.  Those I'd blow out faster than any other
harp.  The BLues Harps didn't blow like that.  Odd.  I like and continue to
play primarily Special 20's because I like the warm tone and the way they
feel on my lips and tongue (recessed plate) and the fact that they're much
warmer than Lee Oskars and Suzuki's  with that comb style and, to me, I
get a better full sounding octave with Sp 20's.

Note:  I'm not blowing them out like I used to and I think it's due to
hitting the notes a bit softer at first (like amp sag) and they may be a
little better quality like Steve Baker said.  Hohner had to do something
because they were losing alot of customers and with the internet it
allowed the smaller harp builders the access of  Mass Means Of Communication
throughout the world via the net.

The local music store gives me them to me for 25 bucks out the door and
that's 5 bucks cheaper than any online store without paying for shipping
too.  That's another huge factor in staying with Hohner.  That's still a far
cry from the 17 I used to get them for 5 years ago though, but their all
more expensive across the board.



On 7/5/08, David Payne <dave@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
>
> Steve, I played Hohners for 25 years, from age five till my late 20s and
> for those 25 years, I wouldn't even consider buying a harp if it wasn't a
> Hohner, seriously, I didn't play a non-Hohner harp until I was in my 20s.
> But quality control issues I was getting as a rule, not an exception, from
> 1999 probably and the next few years until I stopped buying them altogether,
> made me lose a lot of trust. Maybe I wouldn't be so enternally bitter if I
> hadn't been such a faithful customer for all those years. I don't know what
> Trossingen was implying with the proeduct back when I boiught my last
> Hohners, but I inferred that they expected me to bend over and take it.
>   Maybe it's better now than ever, I don't know, I don't buy a lot of them
> anymore. Earning trust is not so hard. Regaining lost trust is.
>
> Dave
>
>
>
> Steve Baker <steve@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
> Mike Wesoöowski wrote:
>
> It's no secret that Hohner's quality for harps straight out of the
> box has diminished
>
> Though I certainly can't claim to be impartial, having worked for the
> Hohner company in Germany as a consultant for many years, Mike your
> statement doesn't seem either fair or correct to me. Hohner has
> invested a lot of money in retooling in recent years and my direct
> comparisons with instruments made by other manufacturers lead me to
> believe that the Hohner Classic reed plates used in the Marine Band,
> Marine Band Deluxe and Special 20 which are currently being produced
> are of the highest quality Hohner has made since the 1950s. I
> certainly prefer them to anything else on the market. Reed life is up
> considerably too. When did you last try a new one?
>
> For a listing of recent improvement see index.php?1335>
>
> Steve Baker
> steve@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
> www.stevebaker.de
> www.bluesculture.com
> www.youtube.com/stevebakerbluesharp
>
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-- 
steve
www.thunderharpmics.com
fattest tone on earth!