Re: CTI/caps/crystals/JT30s/TONE

[Randy Lilleston <randyl@xxxxxxxxxx>]

>    What makes Kevin's Crystal Balls Mic worth $150?  (What's the trick?)
>    Does anybody on the list know?  If so, will they share the knowledge?

      IMHO, this mic is priced too high. It's 
just an Astatic mic with a (very nice) heavy-duty volume control, some 
funky paint (mine came in red sparkle flake, not the advertised hammertone 
gray, but it was cool) and an old-style screw-on connector that has given 
me no end
of problems (there was a reason Astatic and other mic manufacturers 
stopped using this type of connector, and that is that other types make 
much better contact). That's it. It does sound good and (except for the 
connector) 
it certainly looks like it is better at taking long-term abuse. But it 
ain't worth double the price.
  My guess is that Kevin pays, oh, $60 wholesale for the mics and adds 
less than $30 (probably less than $20) in parts. That's a heck of a 
mark-up, even once an hour or so of labor is figured in. My guess is that 
a fairer price would be $110-$120 (again note this is all IMHO).

> 
> The quest for tone never ends!  :-)
> Elliott New  

 I've had several harp players come up to me between sets and take 
careful inventory of what I'm using (and I ain't a Tone King, especially 
by the very high standards of the numerous great harp players in the DC 
area). I always tell 'em that the quest for tone starts with a whole lot 
of practice, but nobody likes that answer ;). I consistently have found 
that the more I practice and the better I get, the less the equipment 
matters.
 Speaking of which...I bet a Fender Vibro King amp would make a fabulous 
harp amp. Sure, it's $1,500 at discount, but that's cheaper than a '59 
Bassman and probably one heck of a lot more reliable. Every time I see 
one of these, I note the 3X10" speaker combination and the switch on the 
front panel that's marked "FAT," and I think, "Hmmm...if I had only been 
a doctor, I could have afforded one of these!" (For the uninitiated, 
these amps are hand-built and hand-wired by the Fender Custom Shop.)