[Harp-L] Reeds and Hohner bashing

Hey All,

Brendan, you know as well as anyone how psycho I can get over these things... You're the only harmonica tech I know that's
ever fired me! But it doesn't come out of a vacuum. I talk to others about this stuff before I decide I'm not completely insane.

As far as the average person buying an out of the box chromatic, I can't even comment. I am an elitist. Someone has to set a standard, don't they? I don't have a conventional embouchure, and play differently than just about anybody else I know. So maybe they shouldn't manufacture harmonicas just for me........ But if not me, then who? Who did they ask?

I would like to know who Hohner interviewed and tested when they developed the new system. And why do it across the board? From what I've heard, diatonics and chromatics alike have all gone through these changes. In the US alone, even if I'm at the bottome rung, there's only about 30 - 40 guys who play the chromatic harmonica at a very advanced level. Who was it? Did they send the prototype out to Galison? Is Robert Bonfiglio switching to the new Hohner 64 Chromatics? Brendan, you switched to Suzuki plates years ago, putting them in Hohner bodies. Did Hohner ever ask you what you thought? Did Toots chime in and say "I like the new reedplates"? When they make a CX-12 "Jazz" model, who was the artist that played Jazz that endorsed the idea? The logic behind a lot of these decisions completely mystifies me.

Steve, you're a great guy and an awesome diatonic player, but which chromatic players did Hohner EU use to determine the changes they made?

There's a parallel here with saxophones - the whole debate about Selmers from the 50's, serial numbers, etc... So much of it seems like B.S... but when Yamaha or other companies in Japan are going to make changes with their instruments or come out with a new line, they fly musicians to Japan and use them as guinea pigs, take surveys, loan them instruments, sometimes give them horns. I've heard the stories, I know the musicians and know this is true. I've never heard about this happening here in the US with Hohner.

Did anybody on this list who plays chromatic get a prototype from Hohner for a survey? I have never once in the umpteen years I've been a Hohner endorsee asked my opinion on anything. Maybe I need to practice more. But if I'm not in the pool, it would at least be comforting to know that one exists.

One thing I've learned over the years is, it really comes down to what you get used to. For years I used to blow my instruments pretty hard. I never
stopped to think that it was because they were tuned at 444 - 448 and that I was just doing everything I could to play in tune. After a lesson with Tommy Morgan
last year, I got some insight and started tuning my instruments down to 442, which is about right for me. That took 20 years for me to figure out.

The instrument has improved. The reed thing just blew my mind, though. If I had absolutely no choice, I could get used to it. I even prefer having a not so powerful instrument in some rare situations. It was just so frustrating finally getting to a place where I thought I figured out a system, only to have the carpet pulled from under me feet. They really do play like Herings to me. Everything is gauged so precisely that there's no longer room for me to adjust it the way I like it. That's the #1 complaint I have - They decided to fine tune everything for me, and didn't ask wether I wanted it that way or not. If there aren't enough professional players out there to form an opinion one way or another, I'm screwed.

I wonder what Franz Chmel thinks about the new 64. I'll have to learn German and email him.

I play only 4 octave chromatic harmonicas, which is what stopped me from using the Renaissance. Brendan, when you made me a CX-16 and we finally got it right,
the only reason I couldn't continue is because I would need 10 of those instruments, and I couldn't afford it. I'm not a guy who can just switch back and forth from one instrument to the next.
Even with 10 different Super 64 chroms out of the box and customized, 3 or 4 of them will be useless to me. So I just started figuring out how things could work, then these changes came along. It's so frustrating! Of course, how much of this has to do with Hohner, and how much in my head? Well...

For now, I'm on Ebay.

Brendan, contact me off list. If "for a song" is a US$ song and not a Euro$ song, I think you've got a deal.

D


Damien Masterson http://www.damienmasterson.com
or enter my name in any search engine
http://www.myspace.com/damienmastersonmusic
http://cdbaby.com/all/damienzm
415 305 7138 dzm@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Damien Endorses Hohner Harmonicas and Audix Microphones


On Jul 7, 2008, at 8:32 PM, harp-l-request@xxxxxxxxxx wrote:

Message: 13
Date: Tue, 8 Jul 2008 04:32:48 +0100
From: "Brendan Power" <bren@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Subject: [Harp-L] Hohner Reeds: Damned if you Do, Damned if you Don't
To: "Harp-L" <harp-l@xxxxxxxxxx>
Message-ID: <000001c8e0ab$4b6cf380$0200a8c0@SonyBaby>
Content-Type: text/plain;	charset="us-ascii"

Poor old Hohner are getting a hard time, and to me a lot of it seems
unfair. Though I work for Suzuki, I feel a protective urge to leap to
their defence!

My friend Damien Masterson wrote:


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