[Harp-L] Over-priced Custom Big Rivers and the Future of the Blues

["Tom Halchak" <thalchak@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

I have been enjoying this conversation that has been sparked by comments
about the SUB-30. It has gone off in some interesting tangents.  It really
feels like there are a bunch of guys sitting around, perhaps sipping on
their favorite adult beverage, and having an open and honest discussion
about what is important to them.  So many great points have been made and I
would like to add my commentary to some of the things said by a variety of
people.

 

In the interest of full disclosure I think it is important for you to
understand where I am coming from because my comments will certainly be
influenced by my perspective as an after-market harmonica parts guy.  I have
been playing the harmonica for right at 40 years so I have witnessed
first-hand the escalating prices of harmonicas over the years.  I have also
been in the after-market business since January 2011 so I have torn apart
and reassembled more harps than the average guy. At this particular moment
in time I have over 500 combs in stock, about 200 sets of powder coated
cover plates and easily 200 harmonicas.  This is not meant to be an
advertisement.  I'm just sayin..

 

Let me start by pointing out that the people who read and post on harp-l and
other harmonica centric forums are a different class of people.  Not better
or worse - just different.  My guess is that the average harp-l contributor
is far more knowledgeable about and been playing the harmonica far longer
than the average harmonica player.  Brendan stated that "The diatonic
harmonica is the biggest selling instrument in the world - in terms of units
sold."  On some of the old Marine Band boxes Hohner printed words to the
effect of, "Hohner employs 6,000 workers and produces 20 million harmonicas
a year."  Twenty Million a year for the past 100+ years!  That's a lot of
harmonicas and a lot of harmonica players.  How many subscribers does harp-l
have - 200, 500, 1,000?  Whatever the number, it is a very small percentage
of the harmonica playing population.  Most of the stuff we obsess about
never even enters the mind of the "average" harmonica player.  Does that
mean this stuff is not important?  No. Of course it's important.  After all,
SPAH is the Society for the Preservation and ADVANCEMENT(!) of the
Harmonica.  We're the ones who want to see progress!  But let's understand
that as far as the harmonica is concerned, we have much higher standards
than most.

 

Ken Deifik asked, "Does anybody like the Suzuki UltraBend out of the box?"
I do.  It plays as well out of the box as any other good harmonica.  Could
it be made to play better with some "customization"?  Of course - but name
one harmonica that can't be similarly described.  The last guy who tried to
build an "Out of the Box harmonica that was as good as a Custom" famously
went down in flames.  I'm not saying it can't be done, but so far nobody has
built a successful company that could make this claim.

 

Look at it this way.  Take what most would describe as an "Intermediate"
player.  They are proficient at draw bends on the bass end of the harp and
blow beds on the treble end.  They can't over-blow.  They can't do single
reed valved bends on a valved harp.  Hand them a SUB-30 and, without any
improvement in technique or skills and you've just added 6-8 notes to their
repertoire.  Out of the box!  Give the average guy a choice between buying a
$65 Crossover or Session Steel and tell them that it will be six months to a
year before they can use over-blows or valved bends musically, or they can
spend $200 and be able to play the same notes TODAY and I suggest to you
that many will fork over the $200.  So yeah, out of the box it is a pretty
damn good harp. 

 

What about the price of harps and custom harps?  Harps, like everything
else, are getting more expensive.  Does it really cost Suzuki that much to
make a SUB-30 that than say a Manji?  I dunno.  I have no idea how Suzuki
determined the price.  But if the 30 reed diatonic is indeed the harmonica
of the future and given that the patent has expired and anybody can build
them, how long will it be before others enter the market.  Supply and
demand.  Maybe competition will help drive prices down.  Maybe not.  We'll
see.  I'll tell you what I find ironic though is that interspersed among all
this talk about paying $200 for a SUB-30, we've got Mike Fugazzi advertising
a custom Golden Melody for $250.  No offense to Mike.  I'm sure his custom
harp is worth every penny.  A Golden Melody is a $35 harmonica that has been
turned into a custom harp with an asking price of $250.  

 

So let's talk about customizing harps.

 

Matt Smart has made a number of excellent points in his posts recently.  He
brings a lot of experience to the table and makes a lot of sense.  Matt
posted a comment recently on Facebook urging customizers to teach their
customers some basic skills, such as gapping.  I couldn't agree more.  Matt
and I are both very comb centric because we are both in the business but
here's my take on the subject.  If you take the average harmonica, flat sand
the comb (or replace it with a quality custom comb) and flat sand the draw
plate to eliminate leaks, then adjust the gaps  - nothing more than that -
you will have a harmonica that will meet the needs of 95% of the harmonica
playing population.  A perfect example of this, by the way, is a direct
response to the question posted by Michael Montgomery about the Big River.
In the beginning of the summer I picked up 30 new Big Rivers at a very good
price.  I offered them on my website with your choice of any custom comb for
$35.00.  All I did was flat sand the draw plate, replace the comb, check for
leaks and ship them out.   No gapping.  Just like they came from the factory
with a better comb and flat sanded reed plates.  The feedback has been 100%
positive.  They all turned out to be nice playing harps.  Are they over-blow
monsters?  No, but I don't think that's what my customers were looking for.
These simple steps are something that anybody can do.  Reed work is another
story all together.  With the exception of the Marine Band which is still
assembled with nails most harps nowadays can be taken apart with a
screwdriver and made into better playing harp very easily.  Doesn't it make
sense to acquire some of those minimal skills?  If more people did you would
hear a lot less comments like, "I played the XXXX-Harp 20 years ago and it
was a piece of junk" (therefore all XXXX-Harps are junk).  It is entirely
possible that all that piece of junk needs was to adjust the gaps on the
reeds and it would have been a perfectly good harp.  Not every out of the
box is a winner and neither are they all lemons.  But it my firm belief
that, unless you are talking about $10 Chinese toy harp, the vast majority
of harps from the major manufacturers, Hohner, Suzuki, Seydel and Lee Oskar
can be made to be good playing harps with a little bit of TLC.

My friend Harvey Berman in New Orleans, a wonderful gentleman and a very
fine customizer, created a thread on MBH asking if you really needed a
custom harp.  Here's the link:

 

http://www.modernbluesharmonica.com/board/board_topic/5560960/1568722.htm

 

If you watch Dave Barret's interview with Joe Spiers, you will come away
with the same impression.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ie7tsb28Ywk

 

Most people really don't need full blown custom harps.  I do not believe
that customizers are guilty of overselling but I do believe that many people
buy custom harps because they think it will magically make them better
players.  I hope these are not the same guys who are complaining about $200
for SUB-30.  Wouldn't that be ironic?

I know this post has run on kinda long.  Sorry about that.  I've been
following the conversation for a few days and just haven't had time to
inject my thoughts until now. 

 

Tom Halchak
www.BlueMoonHarmonicas.com

Clearwater, FL

 





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