Re: [Harp-L] Hohner whiners, or not

[Grant Walters <grant@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Ok..so I get the message about the  Hohner price  increase yesterday and 
I am ready to start a revolution..but then realize I need an (in tune) A harp by 6pm
for my gig...
I rush over the music store and buy the only thing they got...Special 20
and could have gotten a Golden Melody.....(not my style). (lacks bite)
The guy gives me a pro discount...(pro what?) $32.

What was my choice?
By the way..it was in perfect tune and I threw out all the packaging ...(lots of packaging/blister pack)
(any way to recycle these jewel cases into something else?)
Played perfectly for me right out of the box and easy on the mouth.
No I did not do any over blows and the audience did not get angry about that.

The gig only payed $70 bucks and I could hardly stomach the comp meal..


so I'm thinking of all the Harp-l guys thinking I'm some loser for 
1) not stopping to retune my old harp
2) not overblowing
3) paying to much....

I vow to retune..(I say this every time...but get lazy)
I vow to be a proficient over blowist..( we did play some jazz)
But dudes...what is a better choice of harmonica that plays like...feels like...
sounds like...that special 20 out of the box...for that price...(and lasts too)
I am dying to know..

I did go to the Hohner Factory in Trossingen and was very impressed that the German ladies 
were in this little room tuning the harmonicas by ear and hand...(1986)
A scientist friend told me that the People of Trossingen have evolved over generations to where they have a high
propensity for perfect pitch...
That was cool!
But I am cheap!

Tell me, sages of the Reeds...
what is my choice...
for this price...
Ok...
what is a harp I will enjoy that has the characteristics of the special 20...even at a higher price...(I will get a few)
But I must act now because the next time I need one in a hurry...you can't beat the only one in stock...at the "pro" discount...down the street.

thanks

Grant

On Jan 22, 2010, at 12:09 PM, Pic2318834@xxxxxxx wrote:

> And when you come down to it, the harps cost me less than a tank of gas in  
> my SUV.  
> 
> 
> In a message dated 1/21/2010 7:58:57 P.M. Eastern Standard Time,  
> joemopar@xxxxxxxxxxx writes:
> 
> While  just now checking prices at Coast2coast, I don't see any diatonics  
> comparable in quality to Hohner handmades, at the prices they can easily  
> be 
> acquired for. Even Seydel's el-cheapo wood comb harp is over 10% higher  
> than 
> a Marine Band. Personally I don't feel like the Solist is even  remotely 
> close to being a better harmonica.
> 
> 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. You'll save less 
> than 
> a  whopping two bucks and you'll have to retune it if you want smooth 
> chords.  
> And besides that they don't play the same. 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.
> 
> Lee Oskar, solid  harps but right now they're more than the current price 
> for 
> a Special 20.  Again, possible retuning issues for trad blues players if 
> you 
> decide to  switch to that brand, after the 8% price increase.
> 
> As far as blister  packs, yeah that's kinda weird. But on the other hand I 
> bought my first  harp in some cute little packaging while waiting for a 
> table 
> at the  Cracker Barrel. Had it not been for that moment, I might still be a 
> 
> drummer. Of course if it had costed 40 bucks I would've gone for the  
> mimicking parrot  instead.
> 
> 
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