Re: [Harp-L] Fabulous harmonicas

[Richard Hunter <turtlehill@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

S. Kawato wrote:
<In Japan, the catalog from Suzuki tells
<
<Chromatic 16 hole (F-64C) --- 189,000 Yen  (Cross tuning)
<Chromatic 12 hole (F-48S) --- 173,200 Yen  (Straight tuning)
<Diatonic  10 hole (F-20E) ---  14,700 Yen  (Equal tempered)
<Diatonic  10 hole (F-20J) ---  14,700 Yen  (Just tempered)
<
<The price include 5% tax.
<I usualy buy harmonicas 20% off at a store in my city.

14,700 yen at current exchange rates = about US $137.
Minus 5 percent for tax = about US $131.
Minus 20% discount = about $105.

That's $25 more than the price I paid for a Seydel Model 1847 at SPAH 2007.  I thought the Seydel was a very good instrument, certainly better than harps I'd recently paid $35-$55 dollars for.  

At a retail price above $100, I'd expect an instrument that can compete with customized harps.  

I'll look forward to trying one of these instruments out.

Thanks and regards, 
Richard Hunter
latest mp3s and harmonica blog at http://myspace.com/richardhunterharp