I went back the recording studio today, to add some tracks for my demo reel. A couple of months ago, I had the opportunity to play some (blues) harp (a.k.a. “harmonica”) with a couple of different groups. I quickly realized that (because you have to have a harp for the specific key the song is in – one harp is not gonna cut it), that I needed to buy some harps in other keys. 

Playing harp is kind of a Zen thing – it’s both intuitive and counter-intuitive, deceptively simple on one level, and fiendishly difficult on another. Part of that has to do with the nature of the beast – half the notes you blow (exhale) and have the notes you ‘draw’ (inhale). The layout of the notes on a diatonic harp determines what kinds of sounds you can get out of them. And the whole key signature thing is a head trip, too…to get the notes you want in the right places for bending, you don’t play a harp tuned to the same key as the song (most of the time) – you play it in a fourth above. For instance, if you’re in the key of E, you want a harp tuned to the key of A.

When I was a kid (and acquired most of my harps) they were cheap. Strong dollar – weak Deutschmark. Made for some inexpensive imports for Hohner in Germany. Today, prices have gone up. A lot. A Hohner Blues Harp runs around $28 in the music stores. I was going to need to buy a bunch of them, too. Not good. 

Keep in mind, Hohner is the market leader in harmonicas. Their stuff is top-quality. So when I saw that Hohner had created a line of lower-priced harps, and packaged a set of the “most popular keys” in a nifty carrying case – and that the price was just $27 – I bit, and bit hard. Their catalog states:

The Piedmont Blues set presents the beginning harmonica player with an affordable way to sample playing in seven different keys (G, A, Bb, C, D, E, F).  Each harmonica has a matte black finish with gold trim and the entire set comes in a zippered case.  Packaging includes a cardboard sleeve with printed instructions and a key chart to get you started.

Now I knew they wouldn’t be as good as the Hohner Blues Harps, but I figured, they wouldn’t be bad – maybe just lacking in a little tone or something elese I could live without. I forgot the cardinal rule of purchasing – if it’s too good to be true, it probably is. 

Turns out, Hohner cut some corners making these harps. Most of each harp is made from genuine black plastic. The reeds are metal – but based on my experience today, they must have gone with a cheap alloy. 

I was wailing away today in the studio (with the clock running, adding up those hours) when the most critical note on my Hohner genuine black plastic Piedmont Blues Harp in the key of A suddenly started playing a decidedly different note. Nothing I tried made it any better. In fact I only made things worse, if such a thing was possible. 

The plastic harp was toast. 

I had to drop the harp solo from the track – not what I wanted to do – and go buy a replacement harp (ditto). Of course, I’d planned to replace all the plastic ones eventually (the key word here being “eventually,” but not now. But I had no choice, with gigs tomorrow and next week. 

Essentially, the $27 bucks I blew got me through a couple of gigs. But now I realize I’ll have to accelerate my purchasing plans, so I won’t be caught with a defective harp in the midst of another gig. 

What ticks me off is that by releasing this inferior product under their own brand name, Hohner has effectively cheapened their reputation – and by extension – their name. Hohner to me used to mean “quality harmonicas.” Now it means “harmonica maker,” which is a vastly different thing. 

If you’re into harps – give the Piedmont Blues collection a miss. If you’re into marketing, don’t make the classic marketing error of thinking you can extend your brand downmarket, without paying the consequences of tarnishing your name. Or to make a hideously obvious pun – from a marketing perspective, if you go downmarket, you’ll blow it.