[Harp-L] Mark, JD & The Meteor

[Ray Beltran <raybeltran@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

I'm writing this to explain what Mike and I heard out of the Meteor in 
the hopes that it will clarify matters. What follows are my 
observations and opinions of musicians and gear, and is not intended as 
any sort of harsh criticism or attack of anyone or any particular piece 
of equipment.

So... we saw Hummel perform a few months ago as he made his way through 
the Pac. NW. I was particularly interested in hearing him play through 
the Meteor, as I heard he was touring with it, and had heard some 
positive comments about it from some players whom I highly regard.

Well, as Mark cranked up... I didn't hear anything special. Neither did 
my harp playing buddy. After the first few numbers, we both looked at 
each other at the same time, with quizzical looks on our faces, and 
thought... "What? This is the Meteor?"

Then, as the night wore on, it became clear to me that perhaps it was 
the man, and not the machine, that was lacking. Mr. Hummel's sound 
seemed lifeless, as he passed seamlessly and with little drama from one 
well-rehearsed riff to another in a workman-like manner. And that was 
part of the problem, I think.

Mark is a great guy. He has great knowledge and control of the 
instrument, make no mistake. But on this night, it just seemed his 
expression lacked soul, depth, emotion. He was just pumping away. And 
his tone was one-dimensional, lacking any sparkle or punch. Instead, it 
was dull and flat. It was the combination of these factors that left 
the Meteor idling. And then I remembered that it was for these reasons 
that I hadn't seen him in about 7 years. For it was that long ago that 
I had last seen him in So. Cal. playing through a Sonny Jr. 2, and my 
opinion of his playing was the same then, as I began to remember.

Just my opinion, folks.

Here's the interesting part. After the break, Hummel introduces Johnny 
Dyer. He was another reason I wanted to attend that night. Never seen 
him live. Johnny picks up Mark's mic, doesn't change a thing on the 
amp, and begins to blow. Simple, sparse playing. Huge tone. Laying down 
everything where it needs to be. Dripping with soul. And the amp sounds 
pretty darn good now. It's breathing. It's pumping. It has tonal range. 
Dryer wasn't really pushing it, or exploring it, but it sounded 
downright good. Much better than when Hummel was on it. I can't imagine 
what it would sound like if the person behind the mic was really 
working with the amp. And i don't mean just flooring it, but working 
with it, to introduce dynamics within the amp by way of technique and 
resonance.

My point is... I guess I'll never know until I get to run through one 
myself, under gig conditions.

Don't know when that will be, but that's the only way I can make an 
accurate assessment of the Meteor.

One last thing... not all of us are gear experts. But most of us know 
what we like when we hear it, and know, in our heads, what we want to 
hear from ourselves. Most of us know our own tone. So, in that regard, 
we're experts when it comes to ourselves and our own unique tone and 
our choice of gear in conjunction with that. And I hope I never buy any 
piece of gear for it's return investment "sometime down the road". Man, 
it ain't about that at all.

Hope I've made sense. Hope I haven't hurt anyone's feelings. You don't 
have to like my comments or my playing. Not everyone will, that's okay.

Ray.
--
My Music – www.resgraphics.com/music