[Harp-L] Re: Review of Seydel 1847

[Joe <abcdeasy@xxxxxxxxx>]

Sam, Good and accurate review.  I have an 1847 in C that I've played
for over a year now with no problems.  Great harp.  However, I
recently purchased 3 new 1847's (G, A, D) and have to say that I'm
disappointed.  The G harp plays great, just like your review,  but the
A and D have problems.  They are leaky on the low end and not very
responsive or sensitive.  They don't play anything like my G and C
harp?  I sent them back for tweaking.  Perhaps Seydel is having
quality control issues?  Anyone else having the same experience?  I
really like the 1847 but at $90 I expect a good harp.  -Joe

On Jul 16, 3:57 pm, "samblancato" <samblanc...@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
> Hi folks,
>
> I'm posting a review on the two Seydel 1847s I just received last week.
> These two harps are an A and a G.  They are definitely louder than my
> current harps (sp 20s) and it's easier to produce the volume in that it
> doesn't take as much pressure.  They are very tight.  Some people don't like
> this but I do.  They are compromised tuned and the octaves are beat-less.
> One thing that I noticed right away is that I can do a full step bend on the
> lower end - 1 through 5 - with very little pressure.  So, on a song like
> Juke for instance, that ends with a full step draw bend on 2, I can get it
> nice and straight and smooth without bearing down very hard.  This is
> important to me because on a song like Juke, (and this is true in lots of
> blues harp playing) I want to be able to get straight, full bends without
> throat vibrato at low volume.  This is real easy on the 1847s.  I can also
> get vibrato on deep bends at low volumes as well.  So in other words I'm
> getting a lot of control on these harps with less of a struggle than with
> the sp 20s.  
>
> I tongue block throughout my playing both for octaves and tone as well as
> just a way to jump around the comb quickly.  The smooth seal and slightly
> convex profile on the 1847's comb is great for tongue blockers and it's
> great for pursing too.  I incorporate a lot of shimmers (tongue slid back
> and forth over several holes) and glissandos in my playing as well and the
> 1847 comb is great for these techniques.  Oh yeah, through 10 are nice and
> clear and sound much more easily; I can blow bend/trill 8 and 9 with great
> ease and10 bends down a full step with ease as well.  
>
> I've read a post or two about the fact that the holes are just a little bit
> farther apart and I wanted to add that this is true.  I've had to adjust my
> playing a little for this but it was not big deal - took me about 15 minutes
> to get used to this issue.
>
> I also want to add that these harps look great and feel substantial.  Every
> edge and corner is smooth and rounded off, the cover plates fit tightly to
> the reed plates, the finish is very smooth and flawless - this is a very
> nice harp, a very good looking harp too.  They also come in a very nice box
> and although I tend to case my harps and pitch the boxes I'm going to have
> to hang on to these one because they're really nice.  
>
> I guess I'll see how they hold up over time.  I play a lot and I usually get
> year and a half out of my most used sp 20s (G, Ab, A, Bb, C) before
> something goes wrong; and that's after a lot of fooling around with gapping
> and embossing the reeds and slots.  I don't intend to tweak these harps at
> all and I shouldn't have to for $90.  I'm definitely going to buy some other
> keys as soon as I get some more mad money, probably a C, D, and an Eb.  I
> have two Soloist Pros on order, a Low D and a Low F that cost me $70 a pop
> (for just intonation and the fact that they're low octave harps) and I'm
> looking forward to seeing how these play.  I should add that I already have
> a Soloist Pro in Bb and all of the above remarks are true for this harp as
> well except that it's not quite as loud and the 1847s.  
>
> I think I'm turning into a Seydel player.  Ten years ago I got some Suzuki
> Pro Masters and I was really jazzed on them for about three months and then
> I saw all their draw-backs and reverted back to my sp 20s.  I actually sold
> the Pro Masters and didn't even keep one of them.  These Seydels are
> different though.  I really like them a lot.    
>
> Sam Blancato, Pittsburgh
>
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