OK Joe, I'll pick up the "reality checking" gauntlet that you've so forcefully thrown into the midst of Hohner-GATE. I'm coffeed up, revvvvved up and in full "whine" mode!
Here are some questions I have with respect to your post. They are intended to be clarative rather than to be confrontative.
...I don't see any diatonics comparable in quality to Hohner handmades ...
Just to clarify, when you say "Hohner handmades" are you referring to out-of-the-box, mass-produced Marine Bands or are you referring to Marine Bands that you've customized further, by hand?
By what criteria are you defining and assessing "quality"?
...Personally I don't feel like the Solist is even remotely close to being a better harmonica.
What are the important comparative criteria to you, in assessing the "betterness" of one versus the other?
What ratings / score would you give to the Soloist and MB on each of these criteria?
The only thing cheaper-than but I guess maybe-for-some-guys-comparable-to a handmade Hohner that I saw was a couple Suzuki models.
Which Suzuki models are you specifically referring to?
....you'll have to retune it if you want smooth chords....
Do you mean retuning necessary due to spurious tuning inconsistencies during manufacturing or rather due to conscious tuning choices made within the design process?
If these tuning choices were selected during design, is this because the harmonica is intended to be more suitable for a different musical style then the Marine Band?
And besides that they don't play the same.
Again to further clarify:
Do you mean that you like the way that Marine Bands play and that the Soloist does not fulfill these same expectations? Or do you mean that each instrument has its own distinct subtleties which various players may or may not care for?
BTW the Suzuki Harpmaster was around ten bucks cheaper than it is now, about the same time that the Hohner handmades were about ten bucks cheaper than they are now. I don't recall anyone raising a fuss when that happened.
No price increase here ... therefore nothing to fuss about ...
Are you sure the Harp Master jumped in price? Could it be that you are confusing past Folk Master prices with current Harp Master prices?
Suzuki Bluesmaster prices haven't budged in the last 13 months, here. C$30.95 in December 2008; C$30.95 in Jan 2010. I believe this to be true for Harp Master model as well. Folk Master pricing same over the last 12+ months also. And, Mr. Suzuki, don't you even THINK it's time to bump prices up!!!
On the other hand, Hohner Golden Melody has gone from C$30.95 in December 2008 to approx. C$41 in April 2009 to C$42.95 as of Jan 2010. Similar proportional price behavior with Marine Band and Special 20.
Lee Oskar, solid harps but right now they're more than the current price for a Special 20.
Again not true here. Currently Sp20 C$38.95. Lee Oskar the same or less ...
As far as blister packs, yeah that's kinda weird...
I agree it does seem strange given the established harmonica sales process.
Usually blister packs are used for very low-end, low-value, low-priced instruments or novelty items such as plastic recorders and Jaws harps. Introducing BP to a long established lineup of iconic musical instruments does NOT enhance one's perception of Hohner's quality nor value.
Given various unsolicited remarks made to me by retail sales staff over the last few weeks, it definitely DOESN'T seem that blister packing will enhance the accepted selling process. Given this, I would expect that sales staff will be more likely to recommend non-blister pack competitor's products, putting Hohner at a competitive disadvantage needlessly.
Of course, music retailers may just ignore Hohner's inititiative and remove the harmonicas from the blister packaging, stick the harps in their cases and display the Hohner's alongside the competition, as before.
A musical head-scratcher to be sure ...
BTW, I'm still feel'n thirsty for some German beer. Anyone up for a quick long distance road trip, to meet up with the locals and swap "harmonica war stories"?
Also it should be noted that harmonica sales channels are different in Canada than the US. May be true in many other countries too.
I'm not aware of any online-only Canadian harmonica retailer. And if there is / were one, I'm not sure that they would give better pricing than the national bricks and mortar stores linked below. Cross border purchasing from Coast2Coast, Musician's Friend, etc. is cost prohibiitve, all-in.
Canadian pricing info links:
http://www.tomleemusic.ca/main/musicgifts.cfm?list=1&id=33&page=1&rpp=60&s=1
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