Bike&Harp
164 posts
Feb 02, 2018
6:59 PM
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Anyone tried these harps? Was thinking of buying one from Brendan's site.
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SuperBee
5234 posts
Feb 02, 2018
10:29 PM
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I didn’t like mine, but they were all odd keys, therefore very old stock sold out to clear very cheaply. HiG, B, Db, F and Ab don’t sell well, especially it seems in expensive model harps,
Mine are the gold type with anodised aluminium combs.
Anyway they were all dreadful but I can see they are very early production. Some have riveted reeds and reed plate bolts use square nuts rather than threaded Reedplate.
Im prepared to accept the prospect that the valved promaster is currently quite a good thing, most people seem to think they are good
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SuperBee
5235 posts
Feb 02, 2018
10:31 PM
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Oh. Also quite possibly I don’t have the technique to be able to tell whether a valved harp is good or bad.
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Flbl
89 posts
Feb 03, 2018
6:06 AM
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In another thread Brendan had mentioned that Suzuki had changed the valve material, which made a big difference in how they played, I checked the 4 that i have and they all have the newer valve material and they all play fine.
If you buy some, I'd try to find out if they are new or old stock first, could make a big difference between liking them and not.
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Bike&Harp
165 posts
Feb 03, 2018
7:30 AM
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Thanks guys. I might try to contact Brendan to see. I want it in Paddy Richter tuning also because i want it o be able to play fast jigs and stuff for something different. Heard varying reports; some guys love them but i also heard some moaning about valves sticking which i don't fancy. Plus it is £72 here in the UK via Bren's site which is expensive if it's a disaster with sticking valves. But not too much money if it's a nice harp and the valves work well.
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Flbl
91 posts
Feb 03, 2018
8:18 AM
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The valve sticking thing you can't get away from, its condensation on the valves caused by warm breath and a cold harp, chromatics have the same problem.
In sunny Florida this almost never happens, but in the UK, you will get it, a lot of chromatic players use a heating pad to warm their harps before they play, same should work for a diatonic. I wouldn't give up on Half valved harps because of that .
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Bike&Harp
176 posts
Feb 10, 2018
9:11 AM
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Well i was gonna buy one but probably will shelve the idea for now. Contacted Brendan through his site asking for clarification on whether these are old stock or not and no answer! Not good for business Bren!
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MindTheGap
2506 posts
Feb 10, 2018
9:42 AM
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All the talk and vids on your 'jazz' thread, B&H, got my interest in one of these. But at £72 each, no thanks.
It's like a poker game this, the price notches up until you fold. Not careful, you'll end up thinking you need harps costing £100s each.
A while ago I bought a Bb East Top for £10 or something. I carry it around and it's a favourite and I can play the music I like on it, sadly not jazz though! This is how it should be (for me). Is it better than the Crossover I paid over £50 for. Yes it is.
Last Edited by MindTheGap on Feb 10, 2018 9:44 AM
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Flbl
105 posts
Feb 10, 2018
10:49 AM
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You do have another option, buy valves, and put them on a harp you already own, see if you even want to go farther with it, if not you wont be out a lot of money and the other harp wont be damaged.
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MindTheGap
2507 posts
Feb 10, 2018
11:40 AM
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Yes true, but watched a vid from PT Gazell saying how it can be troublesome, he spent a year finding a good material. I can just see a lot of fuss, and the harp should be simple, for me I mean.
But yes, maybe worth a go if I can find some off-the-shelf windsavers.
Seems trivial I guess, but I oscillate between modes of 'tinkering' and 'using out of the box' Currently I'm in latter mode. I want to use stock harps, mic and pedals and spend my free time practising music. Or typing into MBH ha ha!
Last Edited by MindTheGap on Feb 10, 2018 11:44 AM
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Bike&Harp
177 posts
Feb 10, 2018
12:42 PM
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MTG: So true. High price in these cases doesn't always equate to better performance, although it should! The price seems very steep £72. I contacted Brendan on the suggestion of Flbl through his site but he hasn't clarified about the harps yet whether new or old stock. I don't want to shell that money for something that i'm not happy with and going by Bee's advice those early one's were terrible.
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SuperBee
5256 posts
Feb 10, 2018
2:34 PM
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The price on the gold half-valved promaster was very high. I suppose I should have more respect for the fact I have a couple of gold coverplate sets
Maybe if I bought a couple of modern bog-standard promaster I might find they are ok and I could put my Zajac combs and gold covers on them and feel better about the topic.
Sorry this is OT but I’m reminded of my late brother. When I would visit his workshop I could usually tell what his mood would be by observing what was on the hoist. Toyota and usually he’d be ok. Mitsubishi or Hyundai and I should not expect him to show much patience, rather I should be prepared to extend some patience toward him.
Just the thought of Suzuki harps gets my jaw to tighten up. Maybe that’s why I can’t play them
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Bike&Harp
178 posts
Feb 10, 2018
6:34 PM
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Bee: The last bit, LOL!
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pythonbeg
53 posts
Feb 11, 2018
7:33 PM
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Bike&Harp, if you're in the UK maybe try the Seydel Session steel with valves? IIRC it works out to about 70€. 70 pounds is definitely steep for a paddy Richter tuning alone. Maybe just try a stock Promaster and do the retuning yourself.
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