From: Fred_Syl Date: Sat, 19 Feb 2000 22:05:52 -0600 Subject: A Huang and a Hohner, Pt. II
About 6 weeks ago I wrote of receiving a new Huang Star Performer C from a reputable mail order house. At that time, I was very disappointed in the Huang (sharp plates, a really messed up 3D reed, and leaky). The question was whether Huang's quality had suffered any lately, since my ~3-year-old SP/C is one of my best harps, and this new one was the pits. Well, my 2 back-ordered Star Performers (A & D) came in last week, and I am glad to report that they are in very good shape and play nicely. Comparing the new shipment, I noticed something interesting.
The label on the back of the first (poor) SP read HUANG, USA Star Performer C then the UPC code centered under that.
The label on the back of the next two (good) SP's had the UPC code on the left and then to the right Huang Harmonica Star Performer Key of D HUANG, INC. USA
At first I thought that the poorer SP had a lighter blue box, but closer inspection showed the box color to be the same, just different labels. New Question - Are these from two different production runs (explaining the quality difference), or did they get labels slapped on after import by two different distributors? I'm not sure I understand the harmonica business, but is it possible the first one was an "X-ed out" (to use a golf ball analogy)? In any case, if you are shopping for a Huang SP in-store, the above info concerning the labels may help (or it could be a coincidence that different labels = different quality).
