[Harp-L] Cheap Harp Set

[JOSEPH LEONE]

Pretty much falls in line with what I was saying big George. Two scenarios:
1.. One dude has an income that is 1 1/2 times the per capita average. He also gets a trust fund. The only way he can collect on the trust is to hold an actual job. His wife works as an interior decorator at a top shelf furniture store. They have no children. He drives a new Porsche roadster, lives in a hig priced home and has a 35 ft. sailboat in his back canal dock. 
2.. Second dude has an income 2/3 the per capita. His wife is a stay at home mom raising 3 children, lives in a mobile home, and drives a Scion Xb mini station wagon 16 years old. Yet he put the children through college. 
Conclusion? It doesn't take an orthopedic shoe shine boy to see that there is a 'disposable income' issue in scenario #2.

Ok, so here's the way 'I' see it. If one is supplying the harps they can't be expected to shell out beau-coup lira for an individual harp. I would say that $2.56 PER harp is junk and should be tossed aside. $8.64 is my starting point. For the first 5 MONTHS. If the student 
is supplying the harp, I would temp them to go for something better. 

And if they are still around a year and a half later, I would talk them into at least $29.oo.
Five year mark? Go wild. 

smo-joe



> On December 5, 2019 at 11:13 PM George Miklas <harmonicat at xxxxx> wrote:
> 
>     Gary and Joe,
>     I agree with both of you, in part. Hohner advertises harmonicas made in several countries. But the only handmade Hohner harmonicas are made in Germany. When this topic comes up, as it does quite often, it is easy to give opinions that point people to only buy and play the German-made Hohners. In a way, it's not really that simple. Three common model names of Hohner harmonicas are (1) Blues Band, (2) Blues Bender, and (3) Blues Harp. Lets compare these.
> 
>     Country of Origin
>     Blues Band and Blues Bender are made in China. 
>     Blues Harp is made in Germany. 
> 
>     MSRP
>     Blues Band $9.50, 
>     Blues Bender $31, 
>     Blues Harp $65.   
> 
>     It's my humble opinion that the Blues Bender is the best harp that Hohner imports from China, and the price difference kind of supports my opinion. 
> 
>     When I teach large harmonica classes, I give away Blues Band (or Clearly Colorful) harps because, obviously, they are the cheapest. But when a start a beginner in private 1:1 lessons, I recommend the Blues Bender. My rationale is simple... I know that a new player is going to make mistakes. He is going to blow too hard and draw too hard and he is even going to try to stick his finger in the holes (well not really, but he might stick a pencil in there). I know that the first harmonica is going to be a guinea pig. 
> 
>     But with that said, I don't want my beginner to have the cheapest harp with the least amount of handwork in gap setting. So for me, the Blues Bender is really the best choice for the beginner's first harp.  Finally, it's my own humble opinion that the China-made Blues Bender Harps play almost as good as the German-made Special 20 Harps, but with a significant difference in price.
> 
>     George
>     --------------------------
>     GEORGE MIKLAS   www.GeorgeMiklas.com http://www.georgemiklas.com/
>     Harmonica Gallery www.HarmonicaGallery.com http://www.harmonicagallery.com/   Click here for  Sales http://sales.harmonicagallery.com/  or  Repair  http://repair.harmonicagallery.com/
>