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Dirty-South Blues Harp forum: wail on! >
HUANG STAR PERFORMER
HUANG STAR PERFORMER
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ROBERT TEMPLE II
69 posts
Jun 24, 2019
2:55 PM
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I have recently seen ads for the Huang Star Performer, a model I have never tried. I had a couple of Huang Silvertone Deluxes, purchased in the 90s, and I found them to be quite bright and durable.
About two years ago, I bought two more of the Silvertones. They were nowhere near as good as the ones I had purchased in the 90s. I guess the brand has been modified, but to what extent?
Now come the ads and I'm wondering if others have been curious enough to maybe buy some and if so, what think.
These have traditionally been very inexpensive harps so I understand that one, generally, gets for what one pays. Still, less expensive does not always mean cheap [quality].
Should there be any users of this harp, particularly in a blues setting, maybe some of you could leave comments here, specifically for the newer Star Performers.
I am not connected with this company in any way, save for being an owner of some of their harps.
Last Edited by ROBERT TEMPLE II on Jun 24, 2019 2:58 PM
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SuperBee
6032 posts
Jun 24, 2019
3:35 PM
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Hi ROBERT, I believe the Huangs are now made in a different factory than those we found such good value in the 90s. I wouldn’t expect the star performer to perform any better than the Silvertone Deluxe. I don’t think it’s a new model; they were about in the 90s too I believe. I could be misremembering. I know there was another model besides the Silvertone Deluxe and i think the star performer was it. Anyway, unless something has changed recently, the Huang harps are not strong contenders
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ROBERT TEMPLE II
70 posts
Jun 24, 2019
3:53 PM
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Yes, there is, or was, the Huang Bac Pac, a wood-combed diatonic. I'm not asking if the Star Performer is a new model, I want to know about how the current production of the Star Performer compares to the ones available in the 90s. I also understand that the main difference in the Silvertone and the Star Performer has always been just the covers, they have always had the same reedplates, so sayeth various posts here and there.
Last Edited by ROBERT TEMPLE II on Jun 24, 2019 3:56 PM
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jbone
2954 posts
Jun 24, 2019
4:17 PM
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I used both the Silvertone and the Star in the 90's for a while, since they cost about 1/3 of a SP20 Hohner. I bought them 3 at a time and found that many had loose screws when I got them. Once I tightened them up they'd play well for maybe 2 gigs and then be useless. Soft brass I think but also I was playing harder in those times. I doubt I'll try any more!
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Todd Parrott
1489 posts
Jun 24, 2019
9:30 PM
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Correct - the current Huangs are not made by the same factory that made them in the 80s and 90s. You would probably be disappointed by the quality of the current Huangs. The old ones were used by players such as Norton Buffalo, Peter Madcat Ruth and Sonny Terry, however, according to the many conversations I had with Chamber Huang in the 90s, he provided those players with a better product because they were his friends.
Though Chamber passed away in 2014, Frank and Patrick Huang are still in business and their web site is http://www.huangharmonicasinc.com
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ROBERT TEMPLE II
71 posts
Jun 25, 2019
1:02 PM
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Thanks for the updates, Super Bee, Todd and jbone. I think I have decided it not worth getting a set though I may buy just one, just to hear. I'll report back when and if.
Having said that, I now have more fun ticket$ to use. Next stop, Dimi-tuned/configured 10 and/or 12 hole diatonics. Can't wait !
Last Edited by ROBERT TEMPLE II on Jun 25, 2019 1:04 PM
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jbone
2955 posts
Jun 25, 2019
5:50 PM
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Somewhat related, a few years back I was visiting with a local guitar repair shop owner and he all but begged me to buy a set of 7 real cheap Hohners for like $20, slow day for him I guess. I think they were Blues Band models. They came with a foam lined zippered case so I got them and promptly gave the harps away to children. Still have the case and it's found service holding my Manjis, which are my busking harps mostly. Handy little case.
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Music and travel destroy prejudice.
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nowmon
213 posts
Jun 28, 2019
5:56 AM
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I got a 5 pack of Star Performer harps ,ten years ago.They were a little stiff,so i lightly train chugged them a bit,and they played great,as long you didn`t over play with too hard honkin`.$35. was a good deal...[Huang 102]
Last Edited by nowmon on Jun 28, 2019 5:58 AM
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Philosofy
913 posts
Jun 28, 2019
9:05 AM
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From what I understand, the factory that made Huangs in the '80's is the factory that now makes Golden Bird Harmonicas. They were at SPAH for the last two years. I have a full set of them, and they play fine.
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Todd Parrott
1490 posts
Jun 28, 2019
11:21 AM
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Yes, Golden Bird used to make Huangs, but not sure of the exact time period. We can ask Alan at SPAH. The Huangs, however, were made according to the specs from Huang, so the Huang reeds are thicker than the current Golden Bird reeds. If you play the Suzuki Folkmaster, it seems you basically have a Huang Silvertone with different covers. I have a couple that I placed Silvertone covers on. So, whoever makes the Suzuki Folkmasters, or at least whoever made the ones I have, are likely the same folks who at one time made Huangs.
The quality of the current Golden Birds are what Huangs should have been in the 80's and 90's, but unfortunately this wasn't the case. The quality of Huangs were very inconsistent back then, whereas Golden Birds are pretty nice harps for the price. From phone conversations with him, it seems that Chamber Huang was aware of this and tried to somewhat remedy the situation in the late 90's, when they basically made the Huang reed plates and combs in China, then sent them to the USA where the team at Huang in NY assembled them and did some hand tuning and adjustments to them, then placed cover plates on them with the bottom cover plate displaying Huang USA. If you can find any of those, they're usually pretty decent harps. I had a couple of Star Performers like that, but I have no idea where they are now.
Last Edited by Todd Parrott on Jun 28, 2019 11:21 AM
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SuperBee
6039 posts
Jun 28, 2019
4:57 PM
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That’s interesting about the Huang/Folkmaster connection, Todd. I’ll have to investigate that. I have both an older Silvertone (mid 90s) and a newer one. Are you saying that a current production Folkmaster may be similar to the old Huang?
I recall I had some Folkmaster harps contemporary with this old Silvertone but I don’t recall much similarity beneath the covers.
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barbequebob
3592 posts
Jun 29, 2019
8:19 AM
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Huang was the first in the USA tp use 19 limit just intonation and that included the Star Performer model, which was their equivalent of the Golden Melody, or rather what that model replaced in the USA, which was the Navy Band.
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Sincerely,
Barbeque Bob Maglinte
Boston, MA
http://www.barbequebob.com
CD available at http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/bbmaglinte
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Todd Parrott
1491 posts
Jun 29, 2019
11:46 AM
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SuperBee, yes, the Folkmaster I have appears to be identical to the Silvertone under the hood. They were probably made by the same factory. The Folkmaster I have was purchased about 4 years ago. I country tuned it, and placed Silvertone covers on it.
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Thievin' Heathen
1141 posts
Jun 29, 2019
5:16 PM
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I bought a set of 12 Star Performers off Ebay for ~$50 a few months back, with the intention of going through them all and doing my "customizing" routine. 1st I want to mic (measure) the reed plates, and compare them with some old Star Performers I have. Somewhere I read the old ones had thicker reed plates. These all came in a thin thermoformed folding plastic 12 harp case. If anyone recognizes what era that might make them, I'm interested. I have not got around to that project yet. All, except the F# play pretty nice. I also have a Huang Chordet 20, 1248 Chromatic,a Hohner CBH 2016 and a Hohner Chordomonica. I am a Cham-Ber Huang admirer. It's a shame his brothers did not carry on in the same tradition.
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SuperBee
6041 posts
Jun 29, 2019
5:19 PM
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Thanks, Todd. Got it. I might look for a Folkmaster. I have a spare set of SD covers.
When I started out really trying to figure out the harp in a more organised way (it’s relative for sure! But I was coming from a very low base) i was kicking about the Local Music Stores (no “online” back then) and the only harps were
Hohner MS: Special 20, Promaster, and Blues Harp
Suzuki Folkmaster
Huang Silvertone Deluxe
Lee Oskar
This was mid 90s. They weren’t even stocking Marine Bands here at that time.
I had a really terrible generic no brand C harp that came with an instruction book, and gradually I got the idea it may not be the last word in harps, so I went to the shop and tried some others
Lee Oskars were real expensive so I held off on those, but I bought another expensive harp; a MS Special 20 in key of C
I also bought 2 Huangs, key of D and key of A
Those Huangs were far easier to play than that MS Sp20.
I think the shop must have stopped getting them in shortly afterward. I don’t know why I didn’t buy more otherwise because I remember I was quite happy with them. Maybe they didn’t have other keys.
this is a small market and I think back then the local players had s big influence on the brands which were stocked.
These days it’s all Lee Oskar, Marine Band, Sp20, MS hohners, Suzuki Folkmasters, Hohner Silver Stars, and Johnson’s.
I’m not sure why the Folkmaster has such an enduring appeal for Local Music Stores but I suspect the recognition factor of the Suzuki name and the low price. I just never see other Suzuki harps on the shelves here.
Also I don’t understand how the Johnson brand has such an enduring presence in the LMS. Maybe they’re just old stock that’s never sold.
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