Re: Subject: [Harp-L] Harrison Harmonicas

[Eric Nielsen <ericbarnak@xxxxxxxxx>]

I, too, was NOT asked for payment in full, up front. And I have a hard time
imagining such a beautiful instrument--made from scratch--could ever have
been part of a scam. Why bother to produce something so good if you're
planning to leave custmers hanging.

I have one (only one, unfortunately), but it is clearly the product of a
dream, hard work, and excellent craftsmanship. What bothers me most about
the whole affair (besides the fact that  a visionary talent such as Brad has
been slammed on so many fronts) is that I may never get another instrument
as fine as this in my lifetime.

Eric


On Fri, Sep 16, 2011 at 12:38 PM, <EGS1217@xxxxxxx> wrote:

> 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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