Re: Subject: Re: [Harp-L] Update on Harrison Harps

[Vern <jevern@xxxxxxx>]

On Sep 17, 2012, at 7:43 PM, EGS1217@xxxxxxx wrote:

> Not quite, Scott. The article leaves out a huge part of the story: that he DID fulfill the bulk of the orders - at least 1,500+ by my count (one of my two is numbered in the mid-1500 range which makes it logical that at least 1,500 others were produced and sold).
>  
It is quite common to start with serial numbers greater than one to obscure the total number sold.  My guess here would be the number 1500!

> Vern: the B-Rad doesn't have plastic covers--they're a black/graphite looking metal but are edged along the back with that same material Chris Michalek made my Buddha harp combs from: Dymondwood, but in black as is the B-Rad comb. The tines are all beautifully rounded and precision made. Even after the covers are unscrewed they won't come off without utilizing the special 'clip'. It's a truly gorgeous instrument--quite the work of art. I've never seen (or played, OOTB) another diatonic to equal it.

I don't doubt that yours are excellent (hand-tweaked) harmonicas with beautiful covers.   The tragedy is that he never figured out how to make them in quantity.  My point is that he should have done that first, not leave it to last.

A certain way to enrage customers is to take their money and then not ship or respond.  A few years ago, I accepted people's money for about 150 stainless steel 270 combs.  The machine shop delayed production for many months but I kept the buyers quiet by weekly mass emails and by offering refunds.  You don't have to correspond with them individually.

It was a business on a vastly smaller scale but when I invented the Hands-Free-Chromatic, I developed and tested the fabrication process and had them in-stock before I offered them for sale.  That way, I could provide next-day shipment which customers love.  I think that is the sequence Harrison should have used.  You need to keep your overhead low while you are solving the technical problems, then you fire the rockets and launch a big business effort.   The collapse of the internet bubble taught us that you can't afford a big burn rate while you are still fiddling around in the lab.

Vern