Re: [Harp-L] Re: The Future of Blues Harmonica?

[Matthew Smart <matthewsmart@xxxxxxxxx>]

I'm going to go out on a limb here...i think people are being a little too critical of this fabulous innovation. If you want a hand tweaked harp out of production it will have to cost way more! Harrison tried to hand tweak every harp (for the same price) and they went out of business. Harp players have to learn how to tweak their harps or be willing to pay a customizer to do it for them. Every time i get my amp tuned up its at least a 100 bucks for new tubes etc. Just imagine if most guitar players could not change strings or tune their guitars. There would be lots of howling dogs I'm sure!

As we manufacture parts, I know what it costs to tool up to make this kind of stuff and it would not surprise me if it was a quarter of a million cost to start production on this harp. For example: a new cover plate stamping die would cost at least 10k to make. From the looks of it Suzuki is not recycling any parts here except maybe some reeds.

Hats off to mr power and Suzuki! I applaud them for pushing the envelope. 

Matthew
Hetrickharmonica.com

Sent from my iPhone

On Sep 10, 2012, at 4:32 PM, Robert Rowe <robertrowe2@xxxxxxx> wrote:

> Thanks, Brendan, for the positive perspective on the SUB30. Being severely scorched by the initial offering, it'll be a few years before I warm up to them again. I really admire the design and think it is an elegant engineering concept. I find fault with Suzuki for rushing a half-baked execution to market, especially at the current price point. 
> 
> I will say the new bends were easy to achieve, so that design objective was met well. But the rest of the harp, the basics, seems to have been neglected. 
> 
> I expect Suzuki will address the problems I, and others, have brought up and make a wonderful 30 reed 10 hole diatonic that plays beautifully right out of the box. I'll be back on that wagon when it comes. Again, it's a brilliant idea. Suzi just has to bring the rest of the harp up to the same level. 
> 
> RKR
> 
> On Sep 10, 2012, at 1:20 PM, Brendan Power <bren@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
> 
>> I think Richard Sleigh's easy taping mod to the Suzuki UltraBend is an
>> excellent one for those who want to combine the best of the old and the new.
>> Personally I like its low octave blow bends, but for traditional Blues
>> tongue blockers Richard's tweak is perfect to combine the old-style feel of
>> the bottom end while retaining the expressiveness and chromaticism of the
>> new blow and draw bends in the middle and top octaves.
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> In answer to Richard's rhetorical question, I think triple-reed harps ARE
>> the future of blues harmonica. I'd be the first to agree that the UltraBend
>> is not yet the perfect embodiment of the design out-of-the-box. However,
>> Suzuki have a great track record when it comes to making small incremental
>> improvements to harmonicas over time. As an example, compare the modern V2
>> SCX chromatics to their earlier versions: the difference is like night and
>> day.
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> The same will happen with the UltraBend. Prices will drop and quality will
>> improve. But even now it does what it claims to do: give the player 10 new
>> easy double-bends that expand the possibilities of the familiar 10 hole
>> Richter harp in exciting ways. It really rewards giving it some time to get
>> used to the fantastic new possibilities, and you don't have to emboss it to
>> play good music. The following videos were all played on un-embossed
>> UltraBends:
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H1_5M9mQ79w
>> 
>> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5emY-a_ZfWU
>> <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5emY-a_ZfWU&feature=related>
>> &feature=related
>> 
>> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EZDLEKMMFB8
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> All the UltraBends so far came from the first small production run. The next
>> one is at the end of this month. You can be assured that Suzuki will work
>> hard now and in the future to improve OTB playability.
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> I predict that in a year's time a lot of influential players will be playing
>> and recording cool new-sounding harmonica music on the UltraBend in their
>> favourite configuration, whether with Richard's taping tweak, alternate
>> tunings, with custom combs - or just out of the box. 
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> The future of Blues harmonica has definitely arrived - maybe not with a
>> resounding bang, but the example of top players and customisers such as
>> Filip and Richard will show the possibilities, inspire others to try the new
>> format, and momentum will gather over time. Other manufacturers will jump on
>> the bandwagon, and the general playability OTB will improve markedly. 
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> The triple-reed diatonic is just such a fantastic Blues machine! I predict
>> in five years the improved quality and its seductive expressiveness will
>> have convinced even the most trenchant non-believers to try it, and in ten
>> years the triple-reed design will be approaching the norm. 
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> Heaps of great new licks impossible up to now will have entered the harp
>> player's repertoire, and harps that can't get those extra bends will just
>> seem so limited. Watch this space.
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> Brendan Power
>> 
>> WEBSITE: www.brendan-power.com <http://www.brendan-power.com/> 
>> 
>> FACEBOOK: www.facebook.com/tethnik
>> 
>> YOUTUBE: www.youtube.com/BrendanPowerMusic
>> 
>> 
>>