The USDA has this tutorial on dealing with dead horses, dead horse document. Jinx's metaphor is probably apt. I'm not sure how this helps the situation discussed here, but I have always been amazed that it exists and it is not a joke.
I don't know that it's a dead horse. It's an interesting question because a little different than the typical B-Rad question. Maybe it's the beginning of telling the historical story of a harmonica company.
The problem is that unless someone with inside information comes forward it's not likely anyone knows for sure.
Did they have serial numbers? If they did maybe we could ask around to people who did get them and see if we can get an idea by looking for a highest serial number. I can't think of any reliable way to get a sampling for a survey to find out much. You'd need to get a sampling of when people ordered and whether it was delivered or not, but even that would be missing a few pieces of useful information that you'd need to get a good estimate.
It would be an interesting piece of esoteric knowledge though, and maybe impact the value of the harps that are out there.
The harps had numbers but they aren't like sequential numbers, more some form of code. I've asked before and was told that probably only Brad knows for sure.
The B-Radical story seems to me to be a typical story of an underfunded startup. Trying to use advances on product to fund your startup is risky at best. Especially for an operation that requires significant tooling. If you try, and fail, there will be those who accuse you of fraudulent intent, even if there is none. I put a $500 deposit on a 3 wheel electric car some years ago. As the final price kept going up and the delivery date kept shifting out, I asked for, and got my deposit back. The car never went into production and I don't know if any customers lost their deposits.
Last Edited by STME58 on Sep 01, 2016 9:53 AM
Hi OldGeezer. I managed to get two B-Radicals from 5 that I pre ordered. Ended up in the same boat as many others who paids up front and didnt get what was expected. Outside of the two I do have (C and A) I still use my A B-Radical as one of my go-to Harps. I really believed in the product and still believe it is one of the most innovative and functional Harmonica designs I have ever come across. Really wish it did take off. Oh well.... ---------- - BigBlindRay
Goldbrick, your photo illustrates a basic problem in dynamics of a 3 wheel car with the single wheel in the front. Long ago, Morgan introduced a 3 wheeler with two wheels steering in the front. It turned out to be much more stable and was even a popular rally racer. One of my favorite articles about the 3 wheel Morgan appeared in Road an Track somewhere around the 1980's. The author was tired of unfounded claims that the vehicle was unreliable, so he set off in one from New York to Santa Monica. He got across the country with only two engine fires and all breakdowns were able to be repaired in motorcycle shops with extended machining facility, hence proving the point that the car is, in fact, reliable.
Building a harmonica is somewhere in between building a software program and building an automobile. The car I put a deposit on was called the Aptera. Read this article about the Aptera and note the similarities with the B- Radical.
The Spam monster ate this but I see Nate has pulled it from the belly of the beast! Thanks
Last Edited by STME58 on Sep 02, 2016 3:13 PM
i have a Bb serial# 000594 it doesn't appear they are arbitrary numbers. it would be nice if anyone who has one could list the numbers and key. ---------- .
I had one here for repair and asked at the time about the numbers. I think it was One of the people who had a hand in making them told me the number does not indicate anything about how many were made, but is more of a code about when it was made or by whom, that kind of thing. There were a few people involved in the production if I understand it right.
I saw one Jim repaired using steel reeds. For me, the genuine reeds are one of the most interesting things about the harp. The one I repaired had a damaged reed from a gapping attempt that went wrong. I managed to restore it to function well. The owner told me he keeps the harp as a museum piece and only plays it very occasionally. I was impressed enough that I considered buying one, but at $450 USD my interest quickly dried up. I expect that a lot of them are not being heavily used. I would be interested to know how well the longitudinally-milled reeds would last under normal regular use.
yep they are easy enough to remove and instal. just need a suitable replacement reed. i saw jim used steel reeds in his but i dont know if they were standard size etc
I believe there were 4000 orders and around 2000 shipped. The source of this information will remain anonymous besides my memory may fail me... ---------- www.mooncat.org
as a matter of fact, b-radicals are rather difficult to change reeds. Their nut+bolt really work only once, with the original reed. When you change it, they are already loose no matter how you tighten them...
Jim, do you mean it only works once, or that it only works with the original reed? The one I mended seemed to go back together fine. I did realign a couple other reeds on that one also, and recall thinking at the time about how the nut had come a little loose
After reed change the original tension of the nut is no longer possible (because you have unscrewed the bolt from the reedplate too, a little bit!). It is an okay variant for yourself, but I wouldn't have sent this level of "reliability" to a customer, that will surely move sideways during transportation and arrive in an unplayable state.
Not having seen a B-Radical in person, but knowing something about bolted joints, I am curious about how the joint is engineered. Is it a through bolt and nut? It is possible to have a design such that the threads yield on assembly and must be replaced if loosened if you want original performance. Designing a joint like this is usually do to a desire to optimize some other factor like size or weight.
This type of bolted joint design is very sensitive to assembly torque and I would expect the manufacturer to give a torque spec to be used in reinstalling a reed. I don't know if the team that designed the B-Radical would have had anyone design the reed joint at this level.
@nacoran - I assume you mean Brad's pre B-Radical custom marine bands. Best custom harp I've ever owned. I bought an A and was trying to get more when he switched to the B-Rad. (Ordered 2 B-Rads, got a Bb #624) I got 2 more Brad marine bands from MoonCat. They are playing machines!
I really wish Brad would start doing MB customs again.
Jim, I disagree with you. I just changed my first B-Radical reed. It was a 4 draw on a C. The reed came off easily, and I used a new Hohner reed which fit tighter than the original. I was concerned about the tips, because the Hohner reed is squared, sort of on the end, and the B-Radicals reeds and slots are sort of rounded off on the ends of the slots. It went on easily and the squared ends worked just fine. After I read your post, I took it back apart to check what you are saying. Bolt is still tight, and even if it were to have a tendancy to loosen, I would just use a small drop of wicking Locktite. Gotta be careful where you put it, though.
I agree, it is a fine playing harp, and the Hohner reed sounds just like the originals. ----------
Bluemoose, I think the rules of bankruptcy make it so if he makes any money in a related business for X number of years they can go after it. (I seem to recall reading that somewhere. I think that applies to the company that bought the patents and other property related to the business.)
Mooncat, thanks for the estimate. Only 2000 in existence on something that got that much press. Certainly a bit of a collectors item. When you consider on top of that that a lot of them were engraved and some people might be out there looking for a 'Bob' and it could make getting the right one pretty scarce.
One of my favorite articles about the 3 wheel Morgan appeared in Road an Track somewhere around the 1980's. The author was tired of unfounded claims that the vehicle was unreliable, so he set off in one from New York to Santa Monica. He got across the country with only two engine fires and all breakdowns were able to be repaired in motorcycle shops with extended machining facility, hence proving the point that the car is, in fact, reliable.