wheezer
35 posts
Sep 22, 2008
5:24 AM
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Hi guys, I just took a chance and bought one of these Star Performers, key of G. What a pleasant suprise! My only experience with a Huang harp had been a Silvertone I changed some reeds, gapped and tuned for a friend of mine. The Silvertone was o.k. but to my mind not that impressive even though another guy I know refuses to buy any harp other than a Silvertone.
Anyway, back to the Star Performer. What a chunky harp. It is only slightly lighter than the alloy comb Suzuki. I had never played a harp with the 'Golden Melody' rounded shape and as I only had one G harp I thought I'd try one. The price was pretty good. On Ebay the harp was £6.98 and from the U.S.A the p&p was only £2.71 (take note other international sellers!).
What does it play like? From the box it was fair I suppose
but for a plastic comb harp with 7 screws holding the plates together it seemed a little leaky. Removing the plates exposed the problem. The plate mating surfaces of the comb were a pretty coarse and uneven finish. This was soon rectified with a piece of 1200 wet and dry laid on a piece of glass (for a dead flat surface). While the harp was apart I gapped and arced the reeds, and opened up the back of the coverplates. Job done so I got the amp and gave it a try. This is a loud harp, the tuning when I checked it was spot on and although I do not like the overlap on the reed plates it is not uncompfortable to play. On the reed plates, they are the thickest I've ever seen.
So, o.k. you have to do a little work to get 100% out of these harps but compared to what has to be done to a Marine Band (I have just done 2 MB rebuilds, sealing combs and fixing reed plates with screws etc. they take forever) it is only going to take you about half an hour. For that 1/2 hour and less than £10 you end up with a pretty good harp.
If you want to give one a try go to fred-swflorida (26089) on Ebay. He also does a deal for 2 harps (you choose the keys) for £16.24 inc. p.& p. I have nothing to do with this guy but I think these forums are there to pass on a good deal to other harp players.
My other new arrival is a low F Suzuki Promaster 350v (from bluzerd on Ebay). No work needed on this, plays perfect out of the box. Eat your heart out Hohner this is how a harp should be made.
Last Edited on 22-Sep-2008 8:49 AM
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oldwailer
201 posts
Sep 22, 2008
5:40 PM
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Interesting--I had a Huang once for about 30 minutes--it didn't fly very far when I threw it away. I thought "Huang" was a Mandarin word meaning a lump of excrement. I'll have to see if I can find it and work it over.
Sigh--now you've done it--now I gotta go buy a Suzuki Promaster 350v--I've been hearing so much about them, I just have to know for myself! Will you help me explain this to my wife?
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gene
9 posts
Sep 22, 2008
11:12 PM
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I replaced all my Promaster MR350 harps with the MR350v after trying one, then I continued to complete my set with the MR350v harps. I'm thinking now that this may have been a mistake.
With the valved harps, you can blow bend the low end and you can draw bend the high end. That's a good thing...or is it? Most of the "new" notes you can bend to are on the harp, anyway.
Valves are supposed to make bending easier, but the Promaster MR350 harps are already easy to bend.
The valves have a tendancy to rattle.
Overblows and overdraws are impossible on a valved harp. (I can't do those, anyway, but I'd like to learn someday.)
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Gray
26 posts
Sep 23, 2008
4:05 AM
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My first harp 15yrs ago was a Huang silvertone and man I learned to love blues harp because of it.My pockets were thin but my focus was set.
These harps are cool all rounders.Its better to harp cheap than not harp at all!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X_te5-suhKs
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Genesis
Guest
Sep 28, 2008
3:18 AM
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Dont slam the Huang! Star Performers are the best $16 harp made. Thats the ONLY harp Norton Buffalo will play.
Thats all I bought for 10 years. I still would buy em if I didnt build harps myself. Granted, embossing, arcing, etc
doesnt have quite the same effect it does on a Marine Band
or Golden Melody. The Star Performer has some pretty thin reeds.
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BlueX_China
1 post
Sep 28, 2008
4:04 AM
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haha interesting that you guys are fond of Huang.
I think it's a Chinese brand and made in China?
But i think we prefer Hohner and Suzuki.
star performer costs 60 RMB
silvertone costs 55 RMB
Marine Band 190 RMB
most of us agree that Silvertone has some air-leak problem.
and we always but it for customizing cuz it's cheap ha.
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kaolin
Guest
Sep 29, 2008
9:14 AM
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Hi guys, just like to jump in to provide some information about Huang harmonica. Huang in Mandarin means yellow though Huang harmonica is named after its founder, renowned chromatic player Cham-ber Huang. He also designed harmonicas for Hohner before he founded Huang. About the harmonicas themselves, I own a star performer as well, it is a little leaky, but I agree with OP that with some proper modification it can be great. Todd Parrot on youtube has a video review of some Huang harmonicas he own: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X_te5-suhKs
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LI'l Stinker
Guest
Oct 10, 2008
8:30 PM
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Huang harps ruined me. They bend so easily and you can make some some really sweet sounds (they're incapable of producing a harsh sound). But I got use to that harp and now when I play marine bands I just don't have the feel for them. They're a lot harder to play.
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Li'l Stinker
Guest
Oct 10, 2008
8:31 PM
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It's a silvertone that I have.
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Zhin
43 posts
Oct 10, 2008
9:34 PM
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I know this is gonna sound trivial but...
I've tried every harp mentioned on this thread except the Huangs and I'm Chinese living in Malaysia where they are easily available.
What's even more ironic is that my surname/last name/family name is Wong but in Mandarin it IS Huang. Yes, I'm yellow and my family name says YELLOW too. The creepier thing is that my name "Zhin" pronounced in Mandarin is "Tshen" which means Star.
I'm creeping myself out for sure.
The one harp brand I've ignored and never tried.
Maybe it's destiny. :)
I'm going to go pick up a Huang Star Performer today after reading all the positive input about their harps thanks to you guys.
Then maybe I can be a Huang Star Performer myself.. a hyuk a hyuk... *dodges rotten tomatoes*
Last Edited on 10-Oct-2008 9:36 PM
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Li'l Stinker
Guest
Oct 11, 2008
10:26 AM
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Zhin, you're Chinese? I would have never guessed that. Have you ever played a sheng before? They have a very interesting, a very hypnotic kind of sound. I would buy one if they weren't so expensive. One sheng equals about 12 marine bands. But hopefully someday I will have one. Authentic Chinese folk and art music is awesome.
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oldwailer
240 posts
Oct 11, 2008
2:01 PM
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Well, because of this thread I now have a bid on Ebay on a Huang Star Performer. If I don't like it, I'll know where to come to lay the blame--I stand to lose a cool 3 bucks here, guys! I hope you ain't leading me wrong!
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Zhin
49 posts
Oct 11, 2008
6:03 PM
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That's right I'm yellow and quite often not so mellow... ;p I'm 24, lived 22 years of my life in Malaysia but also 2 years in San Francisco learning art and design. I am back in Malaysia now.
I've never tried the sheng and frankly I have absolutely no interest. I grew up being tortured by my Mom with her traditional Chinese music collection... The ultimate Chinese torture is when I hear that high pitched nasal Chinese opera singing which she conveniently listens to in the car... during LONG road trips (Thank God for the discman). Yes, not only is our race advanced in the arts and music... but it truly is advanced in the art of PAIN and TORTURE! HYAH! I love her dearly though. Just not her music... I've played the 4-String Bass, Guitar, and Piano in the past. Though now, I ONLY play the harp and absolutely love it. My mom did play the zither at one time though but got bored of it.
By the way, still haven't bought me a Huang Star Performer so I can be a.. ok, I won't repeat that one.. haha... When I get one I'm gonna come back here and tell ya'll what I think of it jes fer the heck of it.
Last Edited on 11-Oct-2008 6:24 PM
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wheezer
40 posts
Oct 12, 2008
1:55 AM
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Well Oldwailer, I can't wait to see what you post if, heaven forbid, you get a Star Performer and actually find it quite playable. Nothing lost if you don't like it, the reed plates are so thick it's most probably worth more in scrap than you paid for it.
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oldwailer
257 posts
Oct 17, 2008
6:54 PM
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My Star Performer arrived about an hour ago--I gotta say--I'm pretty impressed! It is louder out of the box than I expected. A very hefty harp--feels like some quality in it.
Very playable--the 2 draw is flat enough to make a draw chord sound a bit bad--and the 1 blow is out of adjustment. I haven't had it apart yet--but I commonly have to fix more problems than that on 50 dollar harps--and this one was 99 cents on Ebay!
I never had one of these rounded harps before--very comfortable on the hands.
One bitch--right on the bottom plate, under where my lip goes, is stamped " made in China." It isn't really uncomfortable--but it makes the harp feel gritty and like it needs to be cleaned. Nothing like the deeply imprinted numbers on the top plate of an Oskarmeyer--which really ticks me off. . .
It seems to me that the tone is a little thin--compared to a Special 20 or Bushman--but it sure ain't bad!--I'd like to get a wheelbarrow full of these babies to fix up for the same price. . .
Pretty nice harp--all in all--it'd be nice to get one of those sets of 12 keys for about 50 bucks--just to have a set for banging around. . .
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Zhin
64 posts
Oct 17, 2008
9:43 PM
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I tried looking for them and they're sold out at most local stores here in KL. :(
Funny ain't it? I saw it everywhere but didn't bother... then when I do want it... it's gone.
Sweet irony...
But man, I really want to get hands on them. Sounds like a fun harp to practice on, abuse, and carry in a pocket. :)
I'll probably buy one right at the store and test it out. Always fun doing that here in Malaysia as most store owners usually don't expect any bluesified playing... hehehe...And if I like it I'll most like buy a whole set.
Last Edited on 17-Oct-2008 9:47 PM
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