Re: [Harp-L] B-Radical

[David Payne <dave@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

I wanted to add a little something to Don's post. Don is dead right about not 
rushing to get a mediocre product out. People not in the know think that means 
sitting around gawking at the instruments or something, and why don't they just 
hurry etc., but that's not what it means at all.
After working there, I can come back and run Elk River better than ever because 
of the skills i learned from brad and the workload in a hundred different 
directions i learned to work under and i'll tell y'all right now Brad worked 
harder than any one of us. You could not imagine the pressure that bears down on 
HH to get product out faster. When I was client relations manager, oh boy, did I 
ever feel it! We were all working full bore, 100 percent of the time.

Here is an example of what not rushing to get a mediocre product means, from 
something I saw when I was there: there was a time last fall when the 
coverplates we were supposed to get weren't there when they were supposed to 
have been and we ran out of coverplates, again, you can't imagine the kind of 
pressure that was on us to get instruments out the door. when the parts finally 
arrived, it felt so great, we had coverplates and we could start getting B-rads 
out the door again. But, no, there was some imperfection in them. 200 
coverplates, all with some kind of imperfection.  i don't remember what it was 
exactly, but Brad rejected the entire batch because of those imperfections. we 
were not about to send them out like that, because that's not how HH rolls and 
it's not how Brad rolls. that was about three weeks lost. Any idea how precious 
that three weeks was to us? damn precious. 
When you are in a situation like that, with that kind of pressure, you have to 
have a set of brass balls to stop production to keep from sending out a 
substandard product. 

 
By the time i left in february, most of those types of things had been ironed 
out and they were still working on improving when i left. even if everything 
runs to perfection, it doesn't mean that everybody gets their instruments 
tomorrow, but it means that there is a tangible end to the backlog nobody 
anticipated. there's no machine where you pull a lever and out pops a b-rad. 
it's still a hand-built instrument.  under the best of conditions, that takes 
time. 

 
Also, there was a post a few days ago requesting that a maker retool and mill 
reeds vertically. Vertically-milled reeds has been this holy grail makers have 
been after since at least the 1930s, I've seen documentation going back that 
far. The B-radical is the only harmonica with vertically-milled reeds. Having 
seen it done at Harrison, I can see why has done it. It's not easy to do, not 
easy at all. 

 
 
David
www.elkriverharmonicas.com
 




________________________________
From: "dzeller@xxxxxxxxxxx" <dzeller@xxxxxxxxxxx>
To: harp-l@xxxxxxxxxx
Cc: dzeller@xxxxxxxxxxx
Sent: Thu, April 14, 2011 9:13:17 PM
Subject: [Harp-L] B-Radical





Regarding the B-Radical, I would like to offer the following input.  As a guy 
who placed an order on the first hour of the first day that one could do so,  I 
can say:  good things are worth waiting for. I ordered 3 harps that day after 
playing Jason Ricci's prototype B Radical which completely blew my socks off.  
This is coming from a guy who maintained and used great custom Marine Band harps 
from Jimmy Gordon for years (until he started rivetting them back together to 
prevent my own reedwork which apparently wasn't up to standard!). I received the 
B-Radical C harp 5 months ago and have played it extensively since then at home 
as well as at gigs, and was so pleased with it added several more harps to my 
order immediately.  I will be receiving 3 more within the next several weeks: 
thankfully got the email stating they are ready to go out.  I have spoken to the 
folks at Harrison numerous times during these months, and gather that this labor 
of love conceived by Brad Harrison did have some stumbling blocks and unexpected 
delays, along with its triumphs.  But rather than rush through with a mediocre 
product to satisfy impatient clientele he has stuck to his mission to create the 
finest quality harmonica ever produced,  and to produce every individual harp 
with the handmade and individualized quality that went into his first harp.  I 
cannot even imagine the crap he had to go through to stay the course, nor the 
financial shortfall likely suffered due to insisting that nothing less 
than perfect leave Harrison Harmonicas.  I want everyone out there interested in 
Harrison to know, and believe, that the playability, quality control, tuning, 
timbre, tone, overblowability, loudness, and durability of the harp are 
unsurpassed.  My C remains in good tune and as airtight as the day I received 
it.(and I have been know to blow out Speccial 20s on DAY 1) 


I have never met Brad and have no connections to the company: this is 
unsolicited and honest feedback. 




 Perhaps Brad is guilty of not accurately anticipating/predicting the problems 
and delays inherent in breaking such new ground in initiating this collossal 
project and producing harmonicas of this high caliber, but trust me when I tell 
you that he is succeeding.   Those of you waiting: hang in there, and know that 
when you get your harp it will be great.  Those like Bob waiting and watching to 
decide whether they are worth the cost of 5 stock mass produced harps, I can 
only say they are the finest thing you'll ever play!  Keep up the good work Brad 
and all the fine folks at Harrison Harmonicas! 




Zig 



(Following up on: 

 $500 B-radical on ebay 
So did anyone ever explain what's happened to the B-Radical harp folks? I 
was trying to follow the thread and see but may have missed it. If so, 
please e-mail me off-list. Curious mind wants to know. I looked at the 
Harrison Web site and it appears the same as ever, yet we are told no 
B-Radicals are available. Wassup? 
Thanks and Happy Webtrails, 
Bob Loomis)