[Harp-L] Re: Sydel endorssment

["mike wesolowski" <mwesolowski@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

   Hey guys,
    I didn't mean to start something bad here with my post about Hohner Marine Bands.  Like I said before I've been playing them "Exclusively" ever since  I started to learn how.  I guess that's been about 35 years or so.   It's not that I'm real unhappy with them, it's just maybe time to move on and try something else.
Several years ago when all my harps got stolen (before I was even on this list), my friend Steve Warner put up a post about my dilemma and several folks on this list sent me brand new Marine Band harps.  Theses are folks who had never heard of me or met me.  I can't tell you how humbled I was when that happened.    Ben Bouman wrote me and asked a mess of questions about my playing style and later on he sent me a Seydel 1847 that he had tweaked for me.
I had never played one before and have not bought another since, but my point is that the Seydel harp played so much easier and LOUDER than the Marine Bands that I've got in my arsenal.   The production quality seemed to be superior to the Hohners.
Everyone has got their own preferences when it comes to the harps they dig and I just want have the best harp for me.

Now..........................to answer Joe's question about what does an endorsement mean ::
Well Joe,   there are all kinds of different levels of endorsements.
Some pro players who are in the constant public eye get the full endorsement deal where they get all their stuff for free.   I don't know if that includes a monetary supplement from the manufacturer or not.  I'm guessing not.  Basically I guess they are getting a free product to go out and promote the product.
Anyway...................my level of endorsement is that I get my harps at cost.
It's not the full endorsement deal but on the other hand I'm still not paying retail price.
My relationship is has always has been a good one and I have tried a lot of other harps and always thought that Hohners were superior until fairly recently.   Another thing that I'm not too happy about is the relentless price increases.  Ouch !

Getting to Steve Bakers' question about when I tried one last.
I would guess it's been about 3 months ago when I ordered 3 different Marine Band Deluxe keys.   I had read a few articles about them being one of the best out-of-the-box harps made today.  I heard that they were louder and well built.    I didn't find much difference between the regular Marine Band and the Deluxe except that the cover was a little different.
I appologize if I have  ticked anyone off about this matter, but I'm not MARRIED to Honer.


Mike "Wezo" Wesolowski
www.bluesworldorder.com 
www.myspace.com/harpwezo