Re: [Harp-L] Re: cheap harmonica

[richard perkins <judoblues2@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

  I've found this question interesting. I think the Harmonica God has smiled on me. I use both the Huang's and Johnson harps on stage with certain tunes. Ive been lucky with not having to do much more then some gapping and occasinally retune the reeds that are out.
   For such a cheap harp as the johnson's they actually stand up pretty well. I  like the tone when put in a turbolid for some tunes because its pitched pretty high and works with the tune. I think one important thing is using them playing amplified. 
    I've also retuned a lot of them to natural minors with blue tac. The rest of the cheapies Ive tried have been really bad. most are completly unplayable.
    I've been playing for long time and I've got pretty good tone and breath control. I agree that beginners should learn on a a decent harp. Its the more advanced players who can work around the limitations if they they want to.
  

________________________________
 From: Richard Hunter <turtlehill@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
To: harp-l@xxxxxxxxxx 
Sent: Monday, July 8, 2013 11:04 AM
Subject: Re: [Harp-L] Re: cheap harmonica
  

Rafael Veggi wrote:
<http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hWFnimpXFuM
<starts at 4:48 and goes to 5:42
<
<looks like a less than $5 harp and sounds great to me

It sounded okay.  It sounded like a harmonica.  Not easy to tell from the video whether it's in tune.  Impossible to tell from the video how long it will stay in tune, or remain playable, both of which are big issues with any harp, let alone one designed to last a few days at most. Also impossible to tell from the video what percentage of any given production run of those $5 instruments are actually decently tuned and playable out of the box.  We take it for granted now with Special 20s, Lee Oskars, and other mid-priced harps that the thing will work properly out of the box.  In the bad old days of Hohner, I used to go through 3-4 Marine bands to get one that played decently.  Want to bet that these $5 guys are better than that?  What's their incentive to make an instrument that lasts?  

I don't plan to spend any of my time looking for $5 harmonicas that are playable enough to bet a gig on.  I suggest that it's more worthwhile to look for a $25 Cadillac or a $15 diamond ring, since if you find one of those you can sell it and make enough money to buy plenty of good harmonicas, and it shouldn't be any more difficult than finding a $5 harmonica that'll last more than a week.

Regards, Richard Hunter

author, "Jazz Harp" 
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