Hoolines
27 posts
Nov 28, 2009
11:27 AM
|
Hi:
I was visiting SEYDEL's website and it was very interesting. I also saw a huge list that was titled as SEYDEL's artists (http://www.seydel1847.de/epages/Seydel.sf/en_GB/?ObjectPath=/Shops/Seydel/Categories/Artists). What does it mean? Does it mean they are all using SEYDEL's harps? So why aren't SEYDEL's harp as popular as Suzuki'es or especially Hohner while SEYDEL claims to be one of the first which made harmonicas and I heard many good things about their harp quality and especially about there support and customer service quality.
My real question is why you can see Hohner everywhere and Suzuki (which I own one) is becoming a name that I hear everywhere but SEYDEL is not the one which you can see everywhere. For example my harmonica shop in my area has great Hohner and Suzuki'es but no SEYDEL. If so many artists are supporting the brand why isn't it the most popular one or maybe I'm wrong and it is! :D
Hoolines
|
belfast_harper
80 posts
Nov 28, 2009
12:06 PM
|
Some of seydel's artists are also hohner endorsers, LD Miller, Howard Levy ect. James Cotton used to be an endorser for suzuki and seydel at the same time, but he seems to have been taken off the suzuki website.
It is all marketing.
Most music shops don't make there money from selling harmonicas, they are happy to stock a few well known brands to keep up with demand. I don't think they want or need to stock a variety of different models or brands.
Last Edited by on Nov 28, 2009 12:06 PM
|
nacoran
465 posts
Nov 28, 2009
1:25 PM
|
Seydel got stuck on the wrong side of the Iron Curtain after WWII, so they were basically unheard of in the West for a long time. It takes time to penetrate foreign markets. I talked to someone at my local music shop and they hadn't even heard of a Marine Band Deluxe, let alone a Cross-Over, so imagine how hard it is for a company other than Hohner to get well know. Tombo makes harps beside the Lee Oskars, but you can't get them in the U.S. There is a brand called the Bends you can't get here. You can't get Herings at the local shops, or Huangs, or Swans (except maybe a chromatic.) It would be nice if one reputable shop would stock all the brands.
|
Tuckster
276 posts
Nov 28, 2009
4:28 PM
|
I doubt harps are a big money maker for music stores,big or small.Most of them are clueless about the stuff they have in stock let alone a name they never heard of.Hohner has THE distribution system,it would be tough to break into that. With the internet and on line stores,you don't need to leave your chair to find what you want.
I know a Seydel endorser and they take pretty good care of him. Mark Hummel told me he endorsed Hohner for 20 years and they didn't even give him free harps!
Last Edited by on Nov 28, 2009 4:30 PM
|
barbequebob
136 posts
Nov 28, 2009
5:23 PM
|
Most people believe getting an endorsement deals means free harps but more often than not, for the endorsee, it`s usually about 10-15% below wholesale (what a store pays a distributor). Paul Oscher was one of the last ones to get free harps from Hohner and that was in the late 60`s, the last time they did that and what Mark says is true and has been confirmed by a number of Hohner endorsees I know personally.
----------
Sincerely,
Barbeque Bob Maglinte
Boston, MA
http://www.barbequebob.com
CD available at http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/bbmaglinte
|
Tuckster
277 posts
Nov 28, 2009
7:34 PM
|
Rereading my post I seem to imply the Seydel guy gets them for free. Sorry,although he get's them at a nice discount,they ain't free. He has donated one quite a few times as a raffle prize at charity events held by our local blues society.I assume Seydel gives those to him.
|
kudzurunner
816 posts
Nov 28, 2009
8:21 PM
|
The folks at Seydel flew me over for their festival a year ago and I got a chance to visit their factory. The thing to understand about them is...well
1) They're the oldest still-extant harmonica manufacturer in the world. They were founded 10 years before Hohner and they're very proud of that fact;
2) They languished behind the Iron Curtain for a long time, so yes, they're playing catch up vis a vis the behemoth that is Hohner;
3) They're situated in a part of the world--their part of Germany--that has a very long history of producing high quality accordions and harmonicas. In their own way, their little river valley is the harmonica equivalent of what the Mississippi Delta is to blues. Harmonicas are what they do. Being there really felt like being at the source.
4) ONE GUY in ONE SMALL ROOM hand-stamps ALL the reeds that go into EVERY Seydel harmonica sold around the world. One guy. One room. No s--t. Hard to believe, but true. So when you hold a Seydel in your hand, you're holding something that is as close to handmade, for a production harp, as you're likely to find. The human element is very strong at Seydel. When they say "handmade" in their promotional material, that's not just an ad line. There's significant truth to it. I stood in a small room and watched the tuning lady--there's one--tweak each reed with a file. She didn't use an electronic tuning device. She used a reference standard reed plate and tuned each reed on the to-be-tuned harp so that the reference reed and the to-be-tuned reed were at the same pitch with a puff of air at some standard pressure. When she's sick, the production line slows, I was told. This is how things worked in East Germany. To some extent, it's how they still work at Seydel.
5) Bertram Becher. His presence is huge. http://www.seydel1847.de/epages/Seydel.sf/en_GB/?ObjectPath=/Shops/Seydel/Categories/AboutUs/Mitarbeiter/Mitarbeiter_01[2] He's a fine player and a general all-around cheerleader for the company.
If you're ever in Germany and feel like making a special trip to Mecca, I'd encourage you to visit the Seydel factory. Please remember: I'm an official Hohner endorser. I'm just an ol' dog and like the shape and feel of Marine Bands. But I'll be the first to say that I was completely charmed and affected by my visit to the Seydel factory. They are a terrific operation. And they're the oldest in the world. They make a great harp.
|
GermanHarpist
717 posts
Nov 28, 2009
11:27 PM
|
Wasn't Christelle on that site at one point?
I live 30km from the old "iron curtain" (western side) and my music shop only had hohner and Lee Oskars. They got some Suzuki Harpmaster after some pressuring and they had never heard of Seydel.
Nope, no money in Harmonicas...
I visited Seydels factory this summer and I can just agree to kudzus post. Nice, cosy little place.
----------
germanharpist on YT. =;-)
Last Edited by on Nov 28, 2009 11:28 PM
|
Hoolines
28 posts
Nov 29, 2009
5:52 AM
|
I asked the music store in my area to see if he can import some Seydel Harmonicas. I asked him for a 1847 Silver plus. I hope they import that so I can buy one. I like the suzuki Harpmaster I own but with what you guys said I really like to have a (at least partially) handmade harp.
Hoolines
|
rbeetsme
42 posts
Nov 29, 2009
8:42 AM
|
All of the above is true, Seydel is the oldest harp maker in the world. About 7 or 8 years ago they were on the verge of going bankrupt, ready to close. An enterprising American investor came to their rescue, ready to buy the company, unfortunately, the deal was in jeopardy without a German backer. A very wealthy industrialist was contacted and he bought the company on his own, out from under the American! Nothing changed for about 2 years and then suddenly Seydel burst onto the scene with a variety of new innovative models. Now they are courting top players and getting good reviews. I think this industrialist must have been challenged to pump a boatload of money and technology into the company. At the same time Suzuki and Hohner must have gotten the message and also started re-inventing the harp. Hering also to a smaller degree has upgraded too. All of these "harp wars" have created a lot of interest in the instrument and now the consumer has some real choices. It will be interesting to see if the Harrison harps up the ante.
|
Hoolines
29 posts
Nov 29, 2009
12:21 PM
|
Why is Hohner so careless when the competition is heating up? I saw a post about a very low quality comb in a Hohner harp and it looked bad even from a newbie's(like mine) point of view. Suzuki's harps are great considering or even not considering the price and as I understood from your posts many other players are entering the game. Is it because Hohner has its own market and asks cheaper manufacturer to make the harps or it was just an exception and Hohner harps are still the best out there. I know anyone has its own taste in harps and I know that many many players love Hohners' but I like to learn about Harps and beside playing the harp which is very satisfying I like to learn more about the companies as it's always fun to talk/learn about instrument brands.
Thanks
Hoolines
|
