This should be no suprise to anyone. With all the Custom harp makers out there, why you would want to wait for a harrison harp that made promises and some waiting 2 years for their orders is rediculous.
I would ahve canceled my order along time ago! and ordered a Joe Spiers or the likes.
For all we know the new ones might be as good or better. I doubt it but it is possible since the company has supposedly been around for 49 years. I am sure they may have either better equipment or more of it.
We just have to wait and see once the new company ships out their product and let people who own an original try them out and compare.
I do hope they change the name, though. Get away from the HH stigma altogether.
My worry is whether the new company will be able to put in the handcrafted labor that Brad promised, or whether it will be 100% automated. Is it going to be $180 worth of in-tune? Is it going to be gapped $180 accurately? My hopes say "yes" but my head says "don't count on it." Disappointing. I kind of wish Brad did sell his design to Suzuki now. At least that's a brand name we can all trust.
Wow! You folks are brutal! Harpninja is right. Great idea handled poorly. I doubt Brad ever intended to deceive. Clearly he didn't anticipate the problems with delivery he had. Its not uncommon to use profits from new orders to finance the old. You see this all the time in business. The B-Radical is a fine harmonica. I got my "A" after the first year of production. Now, as for the claim there are other customizers out there. Yep there are, and the good ones are either not taking new orders, or their lead times are long as well. As for the risk? I sent Chris M $700 one month before he passed. Be thankful there are those still willing to take a chance to do something great. Harrison did that. I'm certain Brad is hurting big time. This was his dream, remember?
Last Edited by on Aug 05, 2011 1:23 PM
One thing is for sure. Brad Harrison set out to make the best harp in the world. Second thing is that he didn't set out to deceive anyone.
I find it interesting that no one is putting any blame on consumers. I mentioned before that people had bought 'a flying car'. I meant that as a metaphor for something that doesn't really exist. Sure, they can probably make a flying car, but it wouldn't be a cost effective thing to put into common production.
The diatonic harmonica is certainly the most customised instrument I know of. You can't even get a full range of notes without at least gapping, but Harrison pitches up with the Holy Grail and everyone wants a piece.
I feel for the people who've laid their money down in these times. I also feel for Brad Harrison. He's going to need a miracle to repair his reputation.
I'm not thumbing my nose in the slightest. I've been in manufacturing and I know sometimes having a really cool product that everyone wants can actually kill a business rather than make it.
I've said this a number of times. Call your card companies. They are 100% on the consumer's side. I don't see that any clause stating that they won't refund on a part worked on instrument could hold any water. Think about it. They could lay a bunch of screws out on a bench and say that 'production has commenced'. It's BS and far too open for abuse. Delivery is part of the essence of the contract. Otherwise, everyone and his brother would be setting up businesses offering stuff and never delivering.
I hope people get their money back, or their harps, or at least a promise of delivery.
I don't see how it would be the fault of the consumer that the Harrison company couldn't follow through. I don't think the 'flying car' analogy quite holds. A flying car is one thing, a high quality harmonica that works right without having to open it up and has replaceable reeds is another.
But what a great customizer and designer. I'm guessing he'll return to customizing, unless he sold the farm for a big chunk and retired. Doubtful. Most new businesses take around 5 years to show a profit..
well i am certainly not a happy camper but it's one harp as opposed to 2 or more. i'm going to wait for some new info before deciding on trying for a refund or trusting the new business to come through. what a helluva saga. ---------- http://www.reverbnation.com/jawboneandjolene
The amount of money Brad Harrison sank into this and lost exceeds the amount all of you paid collectively, if that makes anybody feel better. I know how much money he made too... he made the same amount I did. That's of course, when he drew a paycheck and he worked quite a bit without one. These illusions of him laughing and rolling around naked in a bathtub of cash is complete BS.
OK, I admit I am being a little provocative and on reflection, I apologise as my post did sound like I was in fact thumbing my nose, which is the last thing I intended.
What I mean is that us harp people want an OTB overblow harp so bad, we're willing to drop money down on a business that has no tried and tested business model. Would you do this for any other item? Imagine if I marketed a hologram TV? Cameron Diaz could jump right out of the screen and stand in your living room. I can make it, but one catch: I want a 50% deposit of 10 times that of a normal TV and you'll have to wait until I decided it was ready for delivery. You'd tell me to fcuk off.
See my point?
Ray:
I want the sh!t out of one of those! Euro Millions tonight. If I win, I'm getting one and if the jeckpot's big enough, I'll get you one too.
Last Edited by on Aug 05, 2011 3:26 PM
Stevelegh: I'm not sure I can agree on some of what you say. 30 years ago who would have given money to some guy who built these home computers in his garage? Steve Jobs did just that. How about a company that didn't manufacture real goods,they wrote software for computers? Who wants to give money to this Bill Gates guy? I don't think there was any malice in Brad. I'm sure he's heartbroken and probably just plain broke. It's the way they handled the customers that leaves a bad taste in my mouth. The perpetual"the check is in the mail" spiel.The old runaround. He really dropped the ball on that front. We'll probably never know the real story of what went wrong. I hope Brad rises like a phoenix from the ashes. But you know, I ate some bad fish once. As much as I like fish,it took me a long time until I wanted to eat it again.
I see two things that set the table for this story. Brad set out to deliver us the sky. Then we lined up and ordered way more than than he could produce and deliver in a reasonable time.
Here's what I hope comes of this: * Brad is involved with the new company "hands on" long enough to deliver his orders; * The new company continues with at least a respectable, dependable product.
Right now, everyone who has a stake in this has "lost". Handled correctly, this could turn out to be a win for everyone, including many of us who have not been involved yet.
@ ReedSqueal,. "The fall and rise of Harley-Davidson. And AMF. AMF! A bowling company buys out H-D." They (AMF) were some of the worst made Harley's ever !!
Not naming the Company Brad sold to,. should give every one a clue as to what kind of quality Harrison Harmonicas will have ,..they will pump em out with out giving a thought to quality !
The only person who made out is Brad himself !! Bet your bottom dollar he made a lotta money selling the company ! ---------- Simply Unique Kustom Mic's By Rharley
It will come out what went wrong. I'm going to write it. It's a long story and I don't have a lot of time right now to do it, but I can put some things in nutshells right now. The price. It was too low. The price was set before they actually knew the true cost of making it. I don't think we (I was there at the time) really had a true understanding of that until well into 2010 and the backlog was already there. You could guess. You could estimate. But you could never truly know until you did it. Production skyrocketed in November and Dec. 2010. We reached a point where we were running at what I considered peak efficiency and at that time I was projecting that we'd be finished with all orders by this summer. It was the point where we were making the most instruments we could while maintaining quality. This was with Brad working about 90 hours a week. It wasn't until then that it was possible to get a true cost of making the instruments. My understanding was we were going to stop taking orders on the B-radical, get the backlog caught up, then come out with a less-expensive model that would have some profit in it. The B-radical would be available, but the price would go up to where it made a small profit, but the other model would be the one to grow the company with. I know there was some small-business loan money from the federal government that they qualified for, but it was locked up for some reason and finally fell through. It is beyond me how a company with a proven track record of sales, awards, etc. and clean books couldn't get the loans it needs. I don't know all the details about that, because when it did, I was out of a job and I didn't talk to Brad for about a month because I was pissed. But eventually, I got over it and started talking to him again. He didn't have a choice, he simply didn't have the money to pay me and keep the company afloat At this point when I started talking to him again, pretty much everybody else had been laid off, too. Brad was making them pretty much by himself. He was back to working-around-the-clock and taking power naps, working till 1 in the morning, getting up at 4 a.m., then maybe take an hour nap at noon. I have no idea what Amanda was doing on customer service... but I can tell you this, I was answering about 30 calls a day and maybe a hundred e-mails. I'm sure it was worse for her. Death threats? You betcha. Here's an example from a few days ago (before the announcement was made): I saw on the HH Facebook page from a Mr. Danny Auckland to Brad: "DON'T MAKE ME SAY THE WORDS... BUT DO YOU WANT TO DIE IS GOING TO BE PART OF THEM IF I DON'T GET THE HARP AND AN APOGY AND MY MONEY BACK AS A GOOD JESTURE." I had to deal with that kind of stuff on a DAILY basis on the phones and e-mails.
When I was there, everybody that I am aware of who asked for a refund got it, even though "non-refundable deposit" was posted on everything.
There was a lot of uproar about the Mike Newell's harmonicas being sold on Ebay. The reason they were sold on Ebay was to pay for the refund.
With the hours Brad was working in the spring and early summer, I thought he'd be able to keep it going, running the company that lean. But, I was wrong. YOu still have to buy the parts. They ain't cheap.
The new company is a top-notch manufacturer. The lengthwise milling of reeds will continue. The American harmonica is not dead by any means. The new company isn't going to skimp on the quality. That's the worst thing you can do. That's one thing Brad understood and at least he can say he never did that.
So out of this, I've lost the best job I ever had and he was the best boss I ever worked for. I've also in the same boat as a lot of you, as I've got three B-radicals on order myself. What I've got though is some satisfaction that I played a role in harmonica history, however unfortunate the situation turned out to be.
I'm sure somebody will get some pleasure out of this... he's not staring over this wad of cash and laughing maniacally... he's broken, getting death threats. But at least the dream will live on, the harmonicas will be made, they will be awesome.
This venture might have failed, but most small businesses do. I give you all credit for going for it.
All you dudes who are so angry and so willing to type away your condemnations of Mr. Harrison, over a few hundred bucks. . . at least he tried. Yeah, he messed it up, as so often happens when artisans try business. Yeah, mistakes were made. But it's not like he blew up a building or ran a Ponzi scheme or anything. Take a second to reflect on the big picture.
"... he's broken, getting death threats." Over a bunch of harps. Shame on those, whoever you may be.
There are parasitic crooks on Wall Street who have done far more harm to humanity than badly manage a few hundred dollars for a person here and a person there, and they've been doing so for decades. Those making the threats should get a little perspective on things, if, that is, their IQ permits that to happen. I apologise, not. Absolutely, bloody disgraceful.
Anyway, I hope those folks who've ordered get their harps as soon as. In the meantime, a little TLC vis-a-vis Customer Services from the new owners wouldn't go a miss. ---------- YouTube SlimHarpMick
Not to get of subject, but Wall Street is some messed up stuff. All of you, look into what your 401k is doing. Read a book or two, seriously. I'll start an OT thread.
I dig my B-rad harp. It's pretty cool. I wish they made it. Let's see what the future brings. Maybe it'll all work out. . . maybe? ---------- 12gagedan's YouTube Channel
First-some disclaimers. I was Brad's first customer in the venture that proceded his B-rad production. I consider him a friend via the telephone. Years ago when he found out I was a hospice nurse by day he went even further out of his way to be responsive: calling and even leaving me harp solos on my voice mail. So I like him. I also got my B-radical long ago. So it is perhaps easier for me to be less indignant than some.....Nevertheless I know he must be devastated as I know his bio going into this.....Good luck to you all in getting your orders filled or your funds refunded. I see no contradiction in feeling saddened by both Brad's failure and what it must mean to him- and all the customers left living with a question mark...Now let me try to get through to John Kinder for the thousandth time! d ---------- myspacefacebook
i think elkriver is being optimistic about the future of the harp.
"non-refundable deposit" gets thrown out the window as soon as the company stops meeting THEIR OWN DEADLINES.
how the hell does one set a price on something WITHOUT knowing the cost??!?
brad would have been wells served if he had been more open with the standing of the company and orders, considering how loyal his customers were even after over a year wait.
Brad probably would be well served if he slept more, too. I'm sure he hasn't had time for an annual physical, nor enough time to exercise and eat right.
You don't think Brad is DEVASTATED that he failed at this venture? To be that insanely dedicated to building a harmonica, OF COURSE he's not going to know what it really costs to produce.
He's an artist with a vision, not a manufacturing tycoon. The biggest error was in not partnering with a proven business-person. I bet you, the whole time he thought he could pull it off. If he was pulling the schedule Dave says, then that's data in favor of my argument.
In over his head? Absolutely Shitty at running a biz? seems likely. Tried to do SOMETHING in a hostile world full of prejudice and neigh-sayers, and worst of all, full of American productive apathy? HELL YEAH. Second place may be "the first loser" but it still beats all the other cats in the race and everyone who was too lazy to run.
If more or us, and our politicians had some balls to do something, we'd all be better off. All the second guessing, all the neigh-saying, all the DISTRACTION, isn't doing anybody any good.
It sucks that people lost money on Brad. I understand the ire. But really, if they were sending $200 for a harmonica don't you think they can absorb the loss? Should they? No. Can they? Probably.
I'm loyal to the ideal and to the effort. I got one harp. The other, I'll probably never see. Oh well. At least he tried. ---------- 12gagedan's YouTube Channel
you're right, dan. what brad has been thru could not be good for his health. well, he should have time to remedy most of the physical complaints.
"If more or us, and our politicians had some balls to do something, we'd all be better off. " hopefully you mean do something that is well planned. anyone can start a business and have it crash and burn like brad did. just watch those reality shows about some joe talking to money men about financing his invention.
"But really, if they were sending $200 for a harmonica don't you think they can absorb the loss? Should they? No. Can they? Probably."
Not necessarily. Granted, I am sure some spent money on the harps that should have gone to bills, rent and such but I know of a few who worked their butts off for their $200 per harp. Extra shifts, busking, borrowing money from friends on the promise of paying them back with money they thought was coming in but didn't, etc.
Buying something expensive does not mean you can afford it. Even if it is something you actually do need and not just for your hobby. It just means you had the money when you bought it.
Yeah I have to agree with Big Daddy Ray on this one. Many times I have gone without meals, worked extra jobs, or not paid some bills to fund buying something. Silly yes, but as as we all know when the bug bites you just gotta scratch that itch.
I feel bad for the folks who have outstanding orders, but I feel pretty certain that the orders will be fulfilled. Brad's a nice guy. I feel bad for him also. Hopefully this will all be resolved soon.
I had a pre-order for two harps (D and B-flat) and got them a few months back and I am delighted with them. However, I had decided not to order any more until the turnaround time and price were reduced. I guess I am just lucky that I got the harps at all. In saying that there were many, many emails exchanged (all polite I might add) asking for updates and so forth and they were answered for the most part. I think the lack of communication has done a great deal of damage to the enterprise and any future the B-Radical may have. It is a real pity since they were producing such a great instrument. ---------- CHINAHARPER: Blowing The Blues in Beijing - http://chinaharper.wordpress.com
you know, a few years ago when the president at the time did that economic stimulus thing? and my wife and i both qualified for the max amount? that was $1200 in found money. we could have done a lot with it, but you know what she did?? found me a replica '59 bassman amp builder and told me to spend every dime of that money to get a "big boy" amp as she called it. which i did. and Steve Clark at Sligo amps and i had a couple of conversations which resulted in me sending him $1200, and 2 weeks later getting a beautiful hand crafted amp which has served me very well indeed. Steve obviously has a good business model. he was receptive to making an amp for harp which he had done just once before. he produced it in a very surprisingly short time. and he satisfied me.
i say all that to say this: could we afford that amp? not really. but my wife- my biggest hero- insisted that we spend that dough.
when the b radical came along, she was at a crossroads, having just left the work force. she had a few bucks from a retirement fund and she asked what key harp i used the most. when i told her she said "get a b radical". so i ordered one. could we afford it? well, the bills were paid that month. we didn't go hungry. sure we could have bought tires for one of the cars or any number of other things with the money. no doubt. but she is a wise woman, more so than me. she saw the b rad as a collector's item. which, sorry, i would be playing it as soon as i got it! and still will if things work out.
but i said all that to say this. an amp maker with a good business model did a great job for me. and i had high hopes that not only would Brad Harrison build a great product that would blow the competition away (and according to some he did just that), but that he would put a business model together that would accommodate the huge influx of orders that flooded in, including my one humble $200 order. he didn't. he was overwhelmed. but- we are judged by our actions and results and not our intentions. i can see that this project, life's dream, whatever, spun out of control quickly once the harp itself got some excellent reviews from players. he just didn't have the infrastructure to fill the orders, and mine is still in there someplace. i'm still going to wait and see, but i may have no choice. i used a debit card to order and pay for my harp and i don't know if i have a recourse to get refunded anyway. gullibility does not enter in here. i don't buy snake oil or play the ring toss at the carney. i saw what appeared to be a great product, a holy grail harp, and i saw such good reviews of it from a majority of people that i took the chance. my hope was that as the orders came in and more people got trained up to standards, production would keep up. which plainly did not happen, maybe it couldn't have under any circumstances. even with some of the best harp minds and hands on the scene. the downfall after the fact of limited production capability was that communication with customers was a total mess. and while it's true that i doubt Brad had bad motives here, he certainly dropped the ball big time in not keeping us, his customers, in the loop. i am very interested and concerned about the new manufacturer. i may yet try for a refund instead of risking any longer. when things develop some more maybe we'll be pleasantly surprised. and while it won't be built by brad harrison, hopefully it will be a harp worth its price as much as that can be done.
i may be much more cautious next time- if there is a next time. ----------
After a year of waiting on a full-paid order, I demanded "ship or refund today" and received some BS reply. I called. Amanda asked if I wanted to speak with Brad, so I talked (listened) to him for far longer than I should have. I summarized the situation for him this way: "You made me feel stupid. I thought you were for real, and now I feel really stupid, suckered, bamboozled and the embarrassing part is that I saw it coming a mile away. Ship my order this afternoon and send me the tracking number. Otherwise, I will get a refund from my CC company, the CC company will subrogate my claim and come after HH for the money, and I'll drop a B&S note to the Attorney General regarding HH with reference to (this and other) forums." Brad said he had no harps to ship. I said "(BS). You have harps on the test bench. Pack and ship today." He shipped my order that afternoon (with two printed top plates (he said he rejected the most recent set of bottom plates from the 3rd party manufacturer "because they weren't perfect") and I had it in 3 days.
As a former a consultant to many start-up, a former business owner, and one who is now employed in software development, I offer these observations:
1. Brad made the classic start-up blunder. He was "too close." As I used to advise my clients, "You must distance yourself from emotional involvement with the success of your idea and act on objective counsel." Those who otherwise succeed are the exceptions, not the majority.
2. Brad did not prepare for success. Most start-up owners prepare for failure but do not plan for success. It is simply human nature. When success overtakes them, they flounder.
3. Brad told me he wanted the product to be "perfect." In software development, every company ships imperfect products then fixes many of the imperfections in post-release. The expectation that your product be perfect is naive, self-delusional, and unattainable.
4. We do not and will never know if Brad had good intentions, we can only know Brad's actions. Not even Brad's closest friends can truly know his intentions. Regardless of his intentions, he offended, in most definitions of the term, everyone who participated with him; his staff, endorsers, customers, vendors...
5. Brad failed miserably in implementation. The quality of the concept is immaterial when accompanied with poor implementation.
6. Brad had no adequate start-up capital. It is my considered opinion that, by design, Brad used customer deposits to finance his operation. Such activity is deceptive and unsustainable.
7. Brad, as owner of a privately-held company, is under no legal obligation to reveal the buyer of his company. He may actually be under contractual obligation not to reveal the buyer. If the buyer is a publicly-traded company, they may be under legal constraint to reveal their identity.
8. Brad's product was over-priced. In my judgement, Brad's harmonicas, in every aspect, were no better than any custom harp I have ever played nor any harp I have customized for myself.
9. Brad's "quality" was designed to be in the appearance. The quality was concentrated in the looks of the harmonica, not in functionality. The appearance is immaterial while it is played. This is a clear indication of production priorities.
10. I am stupid. In spite of my hard-earned business acumen, in spite of the evidence that Brad exhibited by his actions, I had faith in his assertions. When people encounter facts that contradict belief, the majority persist in holding faith. This is a deep-seated flaw in thinking known as the Forer Effect (aka the Barnum Effect). In this respect, I considered myself to be in the minority. I was proven wrong. At my expense, in my interaction with Brad, I reluctantly admit my stupidity.
""4. We do not and will never know if Brad had good intentions""
""6. Brad had no adequate start-up capital. It is my considered opinion that, by design, Brad used customer deposits to finance his operation. Such activity is deceptive and unsustainable.""
Its no wonder the gov't doesn't work. Its full of this sort of logic.
when you go into business for yourself,more often than not you are setting yourself up for failure-as far as working for yourself or working for somebody I will take the latter everytime but Im not a gambler
I really have no interest in the B-Rad itself - it was always out of my price range and it was clear after a while that Brad's business model had no room for third-party distribution (which would have nearly halved the price in the UK by getting rid of the shipping and import taxes).
What I was hoping for was that some of the processses/technologies developed in creating his flagship model, might be incorporated eventully into a lower budget range. I recall at one time, while Jason was still involved with the company, that he mooted the idea of a cheaper Jason Ricci Signature model, which would incorporate some of those reed innovations.
I'm presuming that the sale of the company will include those special technologies and patents- in fact i suspect these might have been the most attractive part of the company for its new owner; I'm going to be keeping my eyes on how things develop with renewed interest.
KMac, I agree, more or less, with most of what you're saying, but I must totally disagree with points 8 & 9 that you made. I have one B-Rad, and I can honestly say it is with out a doubt one of the best harps I own or have ever played. I'm quite good at customising harps for myself and I've also played, and owned, custom harps from most of the more well known custom harp players today. I know of only one customiser(and I've tried harps from a lot of them) who is able to equal and exceed the quality of the B-Rad I recieved. That customiser is Joe Spiers BTW, and his top level harps are $300-$340(which is totally worth it, his harps are simply the best), so I feel I got a pretty darn good deal on the $180 B-Rad. All the other customisers harps I've tried simply haven't lived up. My B-Rad OB's absolutely PERFECTLY, and with no worries about the blow reeds choking on a hard attack (and you can easily bend the OB's up quite high). And all the bends are perfect. Especially the 3 draw bend. This is one of the only harps where I couldn't imagine the bending on the 3 hole draw getting any better. And the sound of the 3 draw hole step bend is better than any harp I've ever played, it's amazing (it's something I can't really describe, you'd just just have to try it, it's perfect). I was actually surprised how great the B-Rad that I recieved was. I had tried a demo version about a year before recieving mine, and I thought it was okay. I didn't remeber it being as great as mine is, I just remembered that I loved the shape and feel of it. So I can't say for certain if all the B-Rads lived up to the same quality as mine (in fact I'm sure that they didn't, that kind of quality control would be near impossible when producing so many instruments). It's possible that I just got really lucky (perhaps I recieved one of the one that Joe Spiers worked on).
But I must say that you, KMac, are in no position to be judging the actual playing quality of the B-Radical. The reason I say this is given in the very first paragraph of your post. You called Brad and demanded that he send you a B-Rad immediately, and even though he told you he didn't have any that were ready to be shipped out, you still insisted. So since there weren't any that were ready, I'm sure he just did what you wanted and slapped the pieces together and sent it out to you "as is". He obviouslly didn't have the time or chance to sit dopwn and set up the harp properly. So it's really not your place to judge the actual playing quality of the B-Radical. You insisted on immediately recieving a B-Radical even though you were told they didn't have any that were ready, so that's what you recieved, an unfinished B-Radical.
I fully agree. It's all my fault. However, when I talked to Brad, he first said that he had no harps to ship. When I said I would take one from the bench, he said my harp was actually finished and ready to ship as soon as the batch of bottom covers arrived. He offered to finish my harp with two top covers and ship it that afternoon and I accepted.
0812/11 Actually, he told me both that he had no harmonicas to ship and that my harmonica, along with the rest in the batch that were "ready to ship," he was only waiting on the bottom plates to arrive, and that he had refused the previous run of bottom plates because they "weren't perfect." Brad is the one who offered to ship my order with two top plates. He also said he would ship a bottom plate as soon as they arrived, and that he would also ship a custom, blue comb at no charge. HH closed before he shipped either.
I realize my post was confusing and contradictory. I used that contradiction to my self-serving advantage to cast my conversation with Brad in a tone that favored my position. For this, I apologize.
As regards my position to judge: We most assuredly are each in a position to judge. This is based on experience, preference, discernment and many other factors. I received a production order and I base my statement on that experience. At trade shows and professional conventions, producers of any given product use that forum to show off the best work they can accomplish. I do not find it unusual at all that you played a harp that was possibly better quality in every respect than mine, nor do I find any fault with Brad bringing his best work to show off. It's also common that quality declines as production volume increases. I have experienced this statement to hold true in every field. I do not malign Brad's desire to hold quality at the same level as low-volume production, only that he ran his business as if this were possible.
Big Daddy Ray Regarding: KMAC.... "9. Brad's "quality" was designed to be in the appearance. The quality was concentrated in the looks of the harmonica, not in functionality."
Not to defend the company, but this is wrong. *** As with my reply to REM, I apologize for any offense. This is my interpretation of what Brad told me himself. After consideration, I would like to correct my statement to read, "Functionality and appearance were not balanced."
To all, regarding the closing of this topic:
It is not a contradiction to have compassion for someone while acknowledging that he has intentionally deceived us. Quite the contrary, such discussion, when it is not intended to harm, is enlightening about a person's weaknesses, about how we each manifest similar weaknesses, and enables us to extend our compassion to them in spite of the injustice.
Last Edited by on Aug 12, 2011 6:20 PM
I'm not sure where I said anything like "it's all your fault", I'm not even sure what you mean by that. What I said was you're not really in the best position to judge the actual playing quality of B-Radicals in general(although maybe I'm not either, as I only have one, and perhps it's just a fluke that mine is exceptional).First you said that Brad told you he didn't have any ready, to which you responded "(BS). You have harps on the test bench. Pack and ship today." This is after of course you threatened to report him to the Attourney General. So it seems unlikely you recieved the best product he had to offer, and more likely he just pieced something together to make you happy.
But now you're saying that he actually told you that your harp was ready to ship except for the bottom cover plate. It seems unlikely that your harp just happened to be sittig their completely ready other than the bottom cover plate (if that were the case, he probably would have already sent you an email saying that your harp would be shipping soon). So if that's really the way the conversation happened, maybe he just told you what you wanted to hear(which is certainly something I wouldn't condone), but either way I doubt you recieved a harp that was really up to their top standards(due to the fact that you insisted he ship you a harp immediately).
Last Edited by on Aug 06, 2011 9:48 PM
I know of many successful business people who know business, but are not creative or imaginative. These people often partner up with talented creative individuals who innovate and/or invent. The partnership is usually THE MONEYMAN and THE CREATIVEMAN. It is not often that you find both characteristics in the same individual.
Brad is THE CREATIVEMAN. He could have used THE MONEYMAN. I also understand that it is often hard for the creator to give up his independent spirit. After all, he won a contest/grant to start up the business as a most innovative product. Heady, indeed. Not unusual for a feeling of invulnerability to set in.
However, the real business world doesn't really respond or care about these aspects. It operates on its own level. Instead of attracting or seeking out those that understand business, Brad was more interested in other creative folk - customizers, artists, etc. What a fun party that would be = no boring suits to bring anyone down. A nice dream, but a dream nonetheless.
Perhaps we can fault Brad for not realizing that it takes both worlds to make a go, but don't attack him for his vision or his failure.
Relax and let it be.
(I own a B-Rad and it is a great instrument) ---------- The Iceman
We've got a lot of lords and would-be lords on this forum.
We've also got a surprising number of reasonable people who understand--heck, who know--that Brad is not the Antichrist, but just a harp guy with some dreams that became collective dreams for a while and then didn't work out.
May those who are jumping on his corpse right now be gifted, at some point in the future, with slightly more compassion.
