groyster1
1953 posts
Jul 22, 2012
5:27 PM
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I bought one of these harps that was almost free except for the shipping...for the price you can buy them for,they play very well...Im thinking the reeds are quite thin,recently blew out 5draw in one...amazon is currently selling them for $9.00
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arzajac
818 posts
Jul 22, 2012
5:48 PM
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They are made in China.
I differentiate a harp made in China from other harps because there is no room for improvement. The quality is just not there. Any quality harp that I have had can be improved with a little work, like making it more airtight, or adjusting the reeds. Not so with Chinese harps. Anything you do makes it sound like a kazoo.
Yes, the Folkmasters are probably the best of the Chinese harps, but they are not worth the money to me. But that's just my opinion. I've heard them sound pretty good when played by some people.
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Last Edited by on Jul 22, 2012 5:51 PM
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Aussiesucker
1166 posts
Jul 22, 2012
6:45 PM
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I disagree. At the price they are a real sweet little harp. Well made & tight. Hell, the reeds are lazer tuned and the reedplates are bolted to the comb with 7 screws. Also,isn't just about everything now made in China?
Now I certainly am not comparing to the standards like SP20's , Lee Oskars or Bluesmasters but at the price they are head and shoulders over anything else. And, if you love the size of Marine Bands then the Folkmaster is the same.
The Folkmaster is easy to work on as I have made a few into alternate tunings. They are not loud but this can be improved by stretching the backs open and removing the support. The only real downside IMO is that they do have flimsy cover plates. But hey, at the price they work.
I play them when I shouldn't play a harp eg when I'm munching on crisps & having a beer. I wouldn't put my normal harps through such pain but there will be less grief if I destroy a Folkmaster. Surprisingly I cannot kill them. I rinse them out under a tap.
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HARPOLDIE’S YOUTUBE
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Sarge
228 posts
Jul 23, 2012
9:12 AM
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I'm old enough to remember when anything made in Japan was considered junk. It didn't matter if it was actually a well made item, if it was made in Japan, it was junk. China has that stigma now. Yep they do make some junk stuff, a lot of junk stuff, but they also make some good stuff and seem to be getting better. Like Aussie said, just about everything anymore is made in China, so they're getting lots of practice.
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Wisdom does not always come with old age. Sometimes old age arrives alone.
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groyster1
1955 posts
Jul 23, 2012
10:39 AM
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no junk comes from suzuki,regardless of where its made...the point I am trying to make is that these harps play very well at the cost of 2 fast food lunches
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Aussiesucker
1167 posts
Jul 23, 2012
2:17 PM
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Over here they cost around $20 which if a real comparison is made it is exactly double as our dollars are about par. Still they are 1/3 of the price of a standard harp.
As far as anything made in China there is now loads of great stuff being produced there. I did a trip to China a few years back and the place is booming. I will predict that they soon will be the dominant world economy. Not everything is perfect but they will quickly get there.
Like Sarge I too remember the el cheapo junk tag that was representative of Japanese goods. Over a few decades that changed.
Also with Korea & Hyundai a few years back they were the disposable car & now they compete and outsell the best.
Now with the Folkmaster I had one over 5o years ago which was made in Japan. It looked exactly like the current Folkmaster except it had a wooden comb. It was one of my favourites.
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HARPOLDIE’S YOUTUBE
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Hobostubs Ashlock
1894 posts
Jul 23, 2012
2:28 PM
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Yea I had a argument with a young friend ,He wrote a song Hating China,I was like why? there culture goes back thousands of years,I said there from what I know seem well disciplined,He calls it brainwashed,I said ive got a really nice Afinity strat made there and For the money It cant be beat,He's like Red Comunist,Down with them,I said Yea they might be but the have a huge country with great natural resources,and a huge well trained Army,I said I dont think we would want to have to go up against them,I dont know why peoplke just cant seem to get along,Cause there craftmanship for cheaper guitars is great,The price of a cheap but playable guitar is almost less than a mid range harp.I like China and would love to visit them.And whats funny is he also has a nice Afinity strat made from there and he comes froma low income family,I cant understand the reason.for hating China
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Hobostubs
Last Edited by on Jul 23, 2012 2:36 PM
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SuperBee
442 posts
Jul 23, 2012
2:47 PM
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I found the folkmasters were a bit quiet but otherwise pretty good. I still have one somewhere, a G. I gave the A to a mate, it was fine too. But they are a bit quiet.
I have a chinese electa brand Gibson 335. Its a great guitar. My buddy, who has played guitar in bands for 30 years and plays real gibsons, told me I should leave it to my children.
Politically, well china had some big problems which people maybe don't understand unless they do some research on the factors which drove the revolution. For sure human rights took a hammering, but they have achieved a great deal in half a century. The only nation on earth that has done something about over population, and they are doing more about pollution than any other nation.
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Last Edited by on Jul 23, 2012 2:48 PM
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Martin
95 posts
Jul 23, 2012
3:17 PM
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"The only nation on earth that has done something about over population, and they are doing more about pollution than any other nation."
Yeah, chairman Mao took some decisive step towards limiting overpopulation by simply killing around 50-70 million. Surely a Great Leap Forward -- and what price can be to high for stability, as Dr Kissinger wold say?
Pollution ... You must be joking?
But I entirely agree on the Folkmasters. As you say, perhaps a bit quiet and slightly thin, but now that Huang appears to have folded they are the most attractive option for a budget harmonica on the market.
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SuperBee
443 posts
Jul 23, 2012
4:22 PM
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I wasn't thinking about Killing. Many nations have done their part in that respect. No, I'm not joking about pollution either. Sure they produce a lot, but not as much as they would otherwise. Their industry is largely feeding other nations' demand. i.e. if not china, some other nation would be producing it.
I actually came back to this thread to delete or edit that post, as I realised I became drawn into a discussion of china rather than folkmasters. Sorry, didn't mean to take it that way, or escalate it. I'll have to let it stand now though, as it's been commented on.
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Last Edited by on Jul 23, 2012 4:40 PM
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groyster1
1956 posts
Jul 23, 2012
5:28 PM
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aussie said he opened up the backs of the folkmastersto make them louder...I love my sp20s with open backs they were made louder also...I really dont think everything made in china is subpar...if walmart were a country it would be chinas 8th leading export...amazon sells a lot of merchandise from china....it mst be profitable to walmart&amazon
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STME58
224 posts
Jul 23, 2012
5:34 PM
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I am heading for China this Friday. I will look around and see what harmonicas are redily available.
I know you can get copies of variying quality of Gucci and Rolex. I wonder if there are Suzuki and Hohner copies?
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Aussiesucker
1168 posts
Jul 23, 2012
9:38 PM
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I went looking for harps when there but couldn't find any other than a very cheap Suzuki which I think was called Easy Rider. It looked & felt like junk, cost almost nothing and I gave it to a grandchild.
Its easy to stretch the backs wider on the Folkmaster to improve volume plus flatten the back edges. Need to be careful in stretching the backs to not strip the thread on the nuts of the coverplate screws. You then need to store them in a larger box (eg SP20) as they will no longer fit in their original box.
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HARPOLDIE’S YOUTUBE
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