Richard wrote:
<I am also simply puzzled why people who buy the
allegedly rubbish and unplayable modern Golden Melodies, Special 20s
and Marine Bands don't complain and send them back?>
I'm not sure if I understand what you're getting at here. Who exactly
alleges that modern GMs, Sp.20s & MBs are rubbish and unplayable? I find
the quality of these Hohner Classic models to be generally pretty good at
the present time. I wouldn't play them otherwise. Of course out of the
box harmonicas from all manufacturers may have fine tuning problems, some
examples of any given model will be better than others and you might have
the misfortune to get a lemon, but to imply that the above harps are of
generally poor quality is misleading at best. My experience of playing
them for nearly 40 years leads me to believe that the overall quality of
the current Hohner Classic reed plates is the best it's been since the
1960s.
All Hohner harmonicas are sold under a warranty which covers
manufacturing defects, and if you purchase an instrument which is
genuinely defective then you certainly shouldn't hesitate to send it
back. It will certainly be replaced. However, what constitutes such a
defect is not always easily recognizable for the layman and I've seen a
lot of perfectly good harps sent back without due reason. We usually
replace them anyway.
I have yet to find a harmonica from any manufacturer (and I've tested
them all in the course of my work for Hohner) which I would want to play
out of the box. Factory settings need to be a compromise aimed at
satisfying the broad customer base. Personally I tune and offset all my
harps to my own preferences before playing them. I realize this doesn't
exonerate manufacturers from the obligation to deliver the best possible
quality from the factory, but I can only recommend players to learn the
basics of tuning and offsetting. It will empower you to make the best out
of your instruments so why not give it a try?
Steve _______________________________________________
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