So as posted in the other thread. I bit the bullet and ordered a East Top ET008S in key of C.
The harp OOTB was very airy. I opened it up and the gapping did not look too bad but I made some minor adjustments which made it a little better but still did not play great. I contacted Danny at new harmonica and let him know I was not happy but because I did minor gapping he would not exchange it. I wanted to be honest with him. That said I sent the harp to a Professional customizer for evaluation. His email follows.
It feels leaky because the reed plates are concave relative to the comb, parallel with the reeds. A flat comb doesn't help at all if the plates are like that (and amusingly the comb is actually pretty flat). It might make a nice playing harp with some attention. Either flattening the plates, gasketing it with silicone, or you could shape the comb to match the plates.
So yes I got a lemon..The reed plates are warped. I will stick with Suzuki Manjis and enjoy a better warrantee.
I have yet to open my C 008s up. For me it plays pretty well but I'm not an overblow guy. Does not seem all that airy. Actually has a smoother sound than Manji which is neither good nor bad, just an observation. I had done some 2nd position with it initially and last evening we did some stuff where I did 3rd. Responded pretty well.
Jury is still out. ---------- http://www.reverbnation.com/jawboneandjolene
I am paying to have it adjusted the best as possible. I probably should have just cut my losses but will let you know how it plays compared to my other harps when I get it back. I own Sp20's, Manjis, crossovers, deluxes, 1896 and a Hammond . Also a few customs.
I did notice it played more mellow then my Manjis not as raspy. More like a special 20.
Danny would have taken it back if I did not do minor gapping. I told him that it did not play well OOTB and tried to gap it a little tighter to see if I could get the airyness out as a lot of times this is the case with OOTB harps. It played a little better but it was still airy. I told him it did not play good and needed a lot more work to play well and wanted to return it and he told me since I gapped it I could not return it for a replacement. He said the best he could do is have his tech look at it but made no promises.
I decided since "I voided the warranty according to Danny and he could make no promises" that I would send it to an independent customizer so there would be no confusion about what was the issue with this harp. I sent Danny email as to what the issue was found and he then told me to send it back and he would replace it. That was 40.00 to late....
Unfortunately, He is not earning any of my future business and will stick to well known Suzuki,Hohner and Seydel.
528hemi
Last Edited by 528hemi on Dec 28, 2015 11:08 PM
I'm sorry to hear that. The 6 I have play great. It's very discouraging to buy something new that doesn't work like you want or expect. The first manji I bought was a dud and I traded it for a seydel. I was highly disappointed after hearing all the good reports on the manji, but sometimes that happens. ---------- Wisdom does not always come with old age. Sometimes old age arrives alone.
If you buy a Manji (or other Suzuki), adjust it and find it is still not right, it is still covered under warranty (unless your adjustment involves willful destruction). Next time, give us a call at 800-854-1594--we want folks to be happy.
Good to know....The warranty on Suzuki should be the normal. To be honest I highly doubt after getting this harp back that it will be better then any of the manjis I own but will give an unbiased opinion even after getting this ootb lemon back.
If Danny want to make this right I will be glad to evaluate another OOTB harp and see if it overblows stable (tongue in cheek). That is what got me to bite and try one of these.
As far as others getting harps that play great OOtb with no adjustments I would love to see some videos. I've bought many harps that play good ootb but never close to playing great after some gapping and sometimes reed shaping. 45.00 plus 5.xx shipping is no bargain and leaves lot of other chooses.
I bought an East Top 10-holer at SPAH this year. The price was right ($23), and I needed a new 'D' harp. I didn't care for the covers, which seemed thin and a bit vulnerable. Replaced them with covers from a Big River, perfect fit. I love this harp. Tone, airtightness, and with the new covers it feels nice and solid. My current favorite harp.
Yes,I sent Joe the Harp to evaluate and make it playable as well as a Manji in C so I will be comparing both. I've sent Joe some harps in the past and have to say..there is nothing that plays as air tight and easily when you get them back from him. It is really an awakening playing any harp Joe touches and I am not talking about his fully customized models. Even his level 1's will open your eyes to the potential of a harp that plays like butter.
No affiliation to Joe and I am just a retail customer.
528hemi
Last Edited by 528hemi on Dec 29, 2015 9:57 AM
Has anyone forwarded this thread to Danny G? Despite the initially hard line he took, he's a good guy and needs to know what sort of service issues might occur with these harps. =========== Winslow
I did not forward this thread to Danny but did let him know I was posting it here and also informed him of the issues Joe found with the harp before posting here. Feel free to forward away. I also let him know if the manufacturer agreed I would be more than happy to receive another harp to evaluate and update this thread with my findings.
Danny might be a good guy, if he wants to make things right he can contact me.
My guess is with a little patience things would have worked out fine with Danny.Seems like a great guy and I am happy with my Easttop.Great friendly service as well.I would have let Danny's guy check the harp.But everyone has different expectations.I've been disappointed plenty of times before too.
After reading the posts on these harmonicas I purchased one on e-bay from a seller not far from me (Im in the uk).He only lists the cheaper T001 and the T004 models.I purchased the T004 in key of A and have to say I wasn,t expecting too much as the price was only £8.99 delivered (just ove r$13).What a surprise....It plays great.All the bends are effortless. It overblows easily on the 5 and 6 holes and is not leaky at all.Having taken the covers off,it seems a pretty well made harp.The plastic comb is recessed(like the suzuki bluesmaster) and the reedplates are secured using 9 screws..(manji has 7).I looked at both reedplates using a backlight and magnifying glass and all the reeds look very evenly gapped and straight with no rough edges. So what more can I say...an absoloute bargain! The T001 by the way is only £4.99 deliverd ($7.50).Guess what i,m buying next??
After spending 50.00 bucks and being told I voided the warranty I did not feel justified to spend another 5.95 to ship it to his unknown tech to look at it and then spend another 6 shipping it back to me potentially in the same condition.
He told me the Warranty was voided. I said fine i'll have the extra work done to make it play and post an honest review here.
My choice was to send it to Joe. I told him to fix it or if it was not worth fixing to keep it.
and yes after 50 years old I tend to have less patience for crap like this.
I work for Suzuki, I'm happy for you to be unhappy with a harp made by another company. But Wally is not an unknown tech to some, he still works as a tool and die maker (for Black and Decker?) and is my go to guy when I get stuck for answers. Not to disrespect Joe, he is just as good. Frankly, at 63 I don't have much patience for crap either. I am sure you will be happy with Joe's work.
At the time I did not know who services Danny harps nor would it have made a difference. I did not mean to portrait Wally as a unknown tech to anyone but me. :)
Well, he's not famous . . . but he's good! I think Brendan Power might be the most famous tech, along with Joe Filisko.
Last Edited by Gnarly on Dec 29, 2015 2:16 PM
