Re: [Harp-L] Hohner Reeds: Damned if you Do, Damned if you Don't

[Joe and Cass Leone <leone@xxxxxxxx>]

I don't see any way out of the reeds dilema unless something I was  
thinking about years ago is implemented.
I was sitting around one night thinking (oooh, danger Will Robinson),  
and it occurred to me that what the harmonica world needed was a sort  
of Consumer Reports  type study. This would be a study that wasn't  
beholding to ANYONE.

My first problem was deciding just WHO would test the harmonicas. Ok,  
I had made a statement right here on harp-l about 8 years ago, when  
we were talking about lesson plans that were offered for sale, and  
allowed as how I would NOT purchase anything from someone who was  
down the food chain. In other words, if I were to buy (or take)  
lessons, the instructor would have to be a known quantity that  
everyone recognized as being at the ne plus ultra level. In other  
words a first string player.

I was quickly shot down when several brainy people advised me that  
just because a person is a good player, doesn't mean they can teach.

Ok, after a lot of thought, I had a turn around and realized that  
they were right. Unfortunately this doesn't work for a 'tester'. The  
tester would HAVE to be at the top of their game. How else would they  
suck every possible nuance from the harps. Of course I broke it down  
into 2 categories. Diatonic & Chromo. So, what we need is a NON  
affiliated tester in each category to LIVE with harps of various  
manufacturers, brands, models and after exhaustive tests, give an  
opinion based on a multiple point matrix.

Therefore, anyone could look at it, and take it with a grain of salt,  
BUT decide what was best for them on the order of priorities. Things  
like :
1... Appearance  (really, who gives a sh*t. The audience doesn't see  
or hear appearance.)
2... Tightness
3... Robust reeds
4... Bendabilty
5... OVER bend ability
6... Even response to all reeds
and around 4 to 6 more. Then for Chromo, one could add:
1... Slick slide  ( This is where Hering will win..I guarantee it)
2... Tone/Timbre/Sound/ whatever you want to call it.
3... Lazy reeds
and a whole bunch more.

 You get the picture. Now there IS a series of write-ups on  
someone's site, but he is (basically) a classical player and I think  
that limits his ability to be objective. Another wonderful player has  
a Klepto for a particular model that is unshakable. Sooo, what we  
need is someone totally unbiased from the start. And HEREIN lies the  
crux. Any established pro has ALREADY made up their mind as to what  
they like.

Conclusion: try as many harmonicas as you can and decide what's best  
for you and remember my grandfather's joke. My father would complain  
about the price of something and my grandfather would take out a pen  
knife, offer it up with the words '"Ok Charley, whittle me one". This  
is important because I have made parts from scratch and it AIN't  
easy. After spending anywhere from 4 to 28 hours on a project, I find  
that the $100.oo or so is cheaper in the long run.

This harp world is just like all other groups inasmuch as the well  
informed make up an infinitessimal amount of the actual master group,  
and like all other endeavors, the people at the top of the pyramid  
have a lot more questions. Becauuuuuse, they are a lot more experienced.

smokey-joe