Jon - That's great. I'm glad that they have started to arrived. Sounds purty dern good !! ---------- Music is your own experience, your own thoughts, your wisdom. If you don't live it, it won't come out of your horn. They teach you there's a boundary line to music. But, man, there's no boundary line to art. - Charlie Parker
Congrats on being one of the first. I hope the key of A is next. Did you receive notice of shipment or did it just show up? How does it compare to your customs? ---------- Ozark Rich
ya i got a bill in my email. then i payed it an they shipped it.
thats what i forgot i was gonna compare it to a custom in the video. it does play better then my customs. its different because its not a marine band so of course its not gonna play the same way. but i would say its just as good as a custom. i think my customs are a tiny bit more responsive to air pressure, but the b-rad feels stronger an more stable. im not sure if that makes sense. like the b-rad feels like an out of the box harp. but the best dam out of the box harp you could possibly own. 4, 5, 6 over blows can be sustained with vibrato an bent up very high an sound just as smooth as a regular note with zero squeeling. i squeeled the 3 overblow i think in the video but that was my fault not the harp. i tried it again an its just as smooth. my room where i recorded the video is kinda small but i went into other rooms an played an the sound really projects.
so would i prefer this over a custom harp? once they have things up an running an you can order a b-rad an get it quickly then yes for that simple reason. to have to wait 8 months for a custom harp or to get a b-radical right away id rather get the b-radical cause it will play just as good. its certainly louder then my customs. i know people are dieing to see the inside. so ill take some pics later. i havnt even looked inside yet.
@oda no i think id keep it just the way it is. it dosnt need any work at all done to it. its perfect. only thing like i said my customs are a bit more responsive to breath pressure but thats the only thing. ----------
Last Edited by on Feb 09, 2010 4:28 PM
the guts. i love the shape of this comb. it smells an taste good too. lol.
it was a bit tricky to get the covers off an back on the first time cause they snap on an basically you can play it with out the screws in an the covers will never fall off. had to have brad guide me through how to do it, but once you figure it out its easy.
i have no idea how the reed plates come off though yet.
I'm actually quite surprised about this. Where is the innovative reed replacement system we were so excited about? Just a reed held on by a machine screw instead of a rivet. Old news surely? What happens when your average Joe wants to change the reed? Your reed set up by Brad & Co dies, what then? replace it sure... looks a lot easier with machine screws albeit a little fiddly (do they supply a nut-driver or is the plate itself tapped maybe?) but then you have to do all the usual tinkering to get the reed to sit square in the slot, gapped correctly etc...
It's clearly a great responsive harp, but how much of that is the setup in production. How much will be lost once a ham fisted lout like me replaces a reed?
I hate to rain on the parade. I have no ill will towards Brad, Jason, MIchael or Dave, but I think the hype led me to expect something more - dare I say it - radical.
Last Edited by on Feb 09, 2010 6:07 PM
Kudos to Brad and the gang! If they can find a way to sell these at a price point below a good custom harp, I may have to get one. I am sure they are amazing harps. However, I would love to hear some really advanced pro players take it through the ringer...not taking away from Sparrow's great work...especially those who are not affiliated with the company. ---------- Mike Fugazzi http://www.myspace.com/niterailband http://www.youtube.com/user/NiteRail http://www.twitter.com/NiteRail http://www.facebook.com/mike.fugazzi
Jon - I'm not a hater. I actually wanted one, but couldn't afford one with import taxes and sucky exchange rates.
Thanks for pointing out the tabs on the reed - that wasn't obvious from the photos. Still would require knowledge of reed work though. It is essentially another custom harp isn't it? I'm sure it plays wonderfully and I'm glad you love it and I truly do wish Harrison Harmonicas all the best in their ventures.
Great review Jon, i think i might get one of these soon. Does it come with a hard case aswell or just the mojo bag? Its alot of money to shell out if that thing bends or breaks if you accidently sat on it or crushed it in your pocket.(its the same with my Seydels, you get a leatherette box which is pretty much cardboard or a leather pouch, which is nice but not very stable to carry) Great lookin harp though and it sounds pretty darn good. ----------
Last Edited by on Feb 10, 2010 12:51 AM
It can be difficult to tell from a picture, but it looks like the reeds are really flat. The gaps also look great. Although, even though I can get the gaps pretty close to where I like them just by looking at them, I have to actually play them to get them just right(for me that is, different people prefer different gaps). But it sounds like they've figured out a way to get them gapped really well.
Are the tolerances pretty close? You can't really tell by looking at the pictures. It doesn't sound like it would need any embossing, of course I wouldn't expect them to.
This looks very cool to me. First thing I notice is that they are not using the diagonal hack marks to tune the reeds. I also like the shape, the comb design. I also love the reed replacement system. To me this is the big draw: simply replace the reed when it goes out of tune.
Things I wonder: how flat is the comb? Is it airtight? Did they really make 500 already?
Looks really nice, and sounds great too. I would imagine that the reason for Dave & co to be joining the company has to do with the setting of the harps. Of course the expertize can be used in new product development & design too, but still I think that's one of the reasons. In that sense I assume there is still many things in the production that needs expert's touch to be perfect. What it means is that: a) It isn't just a machine made harp but has actually top notch customizer's touch in it b) To really make it work after you change many reeds in it, you have to be able to do at least the gapping and perhaps some other basic adjustments
So in practice every coin has two sides.
Anyway, if I ever travel in the US I'll certainly buy one - or perhaps if Harrison Harmonicas will have a dealer here in the Europe at some point. The shipping and taxes makes it too expensive product as it costs lots more than f.ex. Buddha harps.
Thanks for sharing, Jon. Looks great, sounds great. Great job. I know it's only packaging, but that red bag looks so cheap... doesn't do justice to the instrument. What is "FPT 9.0" (on coverplate) for ?
it dosnt come with a hard case. but the bag isnt cheap. its a real nice material. im not sure what it is, but it feels like a velvet silk type thing. FPT 9.0 i think is there reed material? im not sure i could be wrong. i think it has something to do with the reeds. ----------
I can't really say (nor am I really sure) about what comes out when. But I did think the screws were pretty radical. Think about the difference in the traditional way of making harmonicas where you have a reed on a plate and this machine comes out and "kathunk!" pounds a rivet in it, and our way where you have somebody by hand putting those screws, nuts and reeds on. Its radicalness is in its simplicity and elegance.
The comb is flat. It was the first thing I checked when I got there.
Really glad you liked it Jon. ---------- www.harrisonharmonicas.com
no i mentioned that it just looks like that in the pic. its more of a gunmetal charcoal color. i think the flash made it look more black in the pic. ----------
The comb material looks awesome. When Jason first posted a youtube video showing the prototype(and also the original pics that were posted on the HH website), the comb appeared to be made of some black plastic material. I'm glad they chose to use this composite material instead, it looks so much cooler, and makes it look like a higher quality instrument
I'm glad that the comb is flat. It must be done by the machine used to make the combs. I don't really see how it could be flat sanded, due to the shape of the comb, but I don't think it really needs to be sanded to an absolute precision flatness like some custom combs are. It sounds like it's working great just the way it is, so if it's not broke don't try to fix it.
The comb material looks to be the composite wood product Dymondwood,color- silver/black. Also is made in colors -Rosewood burgundy,indigo blue, and others. Would be nice to get this harp in some other cool (or should i say radical)color schemes. Budda,and other pro customizers use Dymondwood for their custom harps. Dave, Brad, or anyone in the know can give us heads up if this is Dymondwood.
Cool Harp Indeed! Nice work Harrison Harmonicas! Sweet OB's Jon! Nice Playing!
If nothing else, the shape of the thing, and especially the comb is radical. I like the looks a lot. The gunmetal grey, the script, the laminated comb material and the gold badge all really look great, not to mention the looks set it apart from every other harp. Screw-on reeds -- that's a first, right? One could even say....hmmm...what's the word....I know: radical!
If I had one of those, the last thing I'd want to do is take it apart, but...that 4OB is not as good as I'd expect. ---------- Kinda hot in these rhinos!
I don't know how you can say that considering you haven't played it. You can't judge how well a harp is set up just by hearing someone else play it. You could have a harp that's been customised and set up to overblow perfectly, but if the person hasn't perfected their overblow technique on all of the holes, then they can still have some problems with it. You simply can't blame the harp for everything.
