Subject: [Harp-L] Harrison Harmonicas

[EGS1217@xxxxxxx]

Well, that was entirely your choice not to buy a B-Radical. I didn't wait,  
but ordered two early on. Got both of them, some months apart. 
 
BUT - I already knew I would, since Harrison made it clear they would work  
on first one key and then begin work on other keys separately. C's were 
first  up, and out. 
 
There were only a scarce handful of employees at the most at any point in  
time. At the end, Brad Harrison himself was working (by the account of 
someone I  highly respect who was there and called Brad Harrison the best boss 
he'd ever  had and his job with the company the best job he'd ever had) 24 
hours  a day with scarcely a couple of hours' sleep, attempting to fill the 
back  orders.
 
>From day one people like me who placed orders were NOT asked for 'payment  
in full' as these other customers seem to be alleging. I was asked for a $35 
 deposit for each harmonica which would then get me $10 off each. I 
considered  that more than fair since another customizer had already charged me IN 
FULL for  4 harps I'd ordered from him and taken many months to deliver. I 
consider myself  fortunate. I finally received mine a few short months prior 
to his very  unfortunate and untimely death which, besides being a terrible 
loss, left many  people without their paid-for harmonicas (not that it 
became a priority over  his death by any means). Those are the chances one takes 
in life, and the  customs he made for me were not being made from scratch 
but being built from  MB's and GM's, far less time-intensive.
 
Using logical thinking, I extrapolated how much longer it would take  to 
put together a brand new space-age design with every part (including the  
tiniest screws, rivets, brand new and differently milled state of the art reeds) 
 being manufactured in the US, AND with Brad Harrison having to teach the 
people  he hired how to build these instruments to his very high and exacting 
standards.  Despite the delays it made perfect sense FOR the delays given 
my prior  experience.
 
All of us wanted THAT harmonica - the B-Radical. Not something thrown  
together in the shop by an under-trained apprentice, didn't we?  We wanted  THE 
perfect instrument made by Brad Harrison and it to sound like the  prototype 
as played by those people we'd already heard. So, I for one was more  than 
willing to give them the time to build these perfect harps.  This made 
perfect sense to me, anyway.
 
MY patience more than paid off. I got first my B-Rad in key of C, and then  
a few months later my 2nd in key of Bb, both engraved with my chosen  
name/initials as requested. They are both stunningly beautiful and  incredibly 
responsive instruments - far better than I deserve as a player (I'm a  
chromatic player -decidedly still Amateur in status (so I'm not some 'preferred'  
or 'star' player put to the head of the list). When my instruments were ready 
 (two separate occasions), I was informed of such by email - sent my final  
payments via PayPal and received my harmonicas in the mail a few days 
later,  very well wrapped.  
 
To reiterate: I was not 'ripped off'; the company is/was not a 'scam'; and  
I am still extremely pleased with my purchases from Harrison. I full intend 
to  notify the Illinois Attorney General of my experiences and hope other 
satisfied  customers do so as well. Those of us who got what we paid for need 
to at least  present another point of view.
 
What happened as far as I've subsequently learned is that the actual costs  
to produce these instruments far exceeded the original set price  he was 
actually charging us as customers but it was much too late to charge  more or 
'take it back'. So the $180 per was insufficient to make up the  costs for 
the succeeding instruments or to pay employees real wages so he  had to let 
first one then others go. At the end it became a struggle to continue  trying 
to build them on his own. 
 
ONE person cannot run a customizing harmonica company if there are dozens  
of orders still to fill although it looks as if he kept trying. Ask any  
customizer how difficult it is to fill their few orders. It's physically  
impossible but I believe that's what Harrison was actually attempting to do  
towards the end, when his energy finally gave out and he was forced to give up  
this lifelong dream and sell to another company who promised to build the  
remaining harmonicas to his standards. At least, that's from the information  
I've gleaned thus far.
 
IF Brad Harrison was trying to cheat his customers and 'run off with the  
money' he could easily have declared bankruptcy a long time ago without all 
the  'wear and tear' which would have ensured that the customers still 
waiting would  lose their money. He didn't. I don't believe there was money left 
to speak of  when he sold the company...and he at least tried to ensure that 
the back orders  would be filled. 
 
I don't think it's fair to try him in public nor to toss around all the  
libelous comments I've read until all the facts are in.
 
None of the people filing their complaints and bashing him on harmonica  
blogs seem to have done their homework up front. Many sent in payment in full  
from the beginning despite not being asked to do so. Why would anyone do so 
 if not in an effort to try to expedite their own harmonicas over other  
customers? Seems a foolish move when it wasn't required. In fact one blogger  
admitted he did so in a move to 'jump the line'. 
 
There are a couple of customers who've written in  public that after their 
final orders were ready their money was taken and  the harps not delivered. 
I'm mostly curious about those, because they seem  to have fallen during the 
same timeline when I received mine, if their accounts  are entirely 
accurate. 
 
I read this article VERY carefully. It simply states in the end that  only 
a handful of complaints are being worked on and one has already been  
resolved. Customers were told to apply to their credit card companies. That was  
the very same advice given to those people talking about this weeks ago on  
the facebook harmonica blogs when the discussion was in full swing. Why 
wouldn't  they already have followed through? It would have been MY first move if 
 I believed I'd been cheated by any company.
 
Elizabeth
Happily enjoying my two B-Rads. 
 
 
Message: 10
Date: Thu, 15 Sep 2011 16:56:41 -0400
From: "J. Howley"  <harpcrawler@xxxxxxxxx>
Subject: [Harp-L] Harrison Harmonicas
To: _harp-l@xxxxxxxxxxx (mailto:harp-l@xxxxxxxxxx) 

Hello Fellow Harpists,

I've been a reader but never posted  before.  But I just gotta know if any 
of
you have seen this?  I've  been interested in this harmonica, been following
it online, but I guess I'm  glad I  waited:

<http://www.wifr.com/news/headlines/IL_Attorney_General_Takes_over_Harrison_
Harmonica_Investigation_129849108.html>
http://www.wifr.com/news/headlines/IL_Attorney_General_Takes_over_Harrison_H
armonica_Investigation_129849108.html

Wow.

J.  H.


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