[Harp-L] Using the AFB+

["Brad Hatfield" <BHatfield@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

When I first bought the AFB+ I didn't like it either. It ate up my tone too. As a matter of fact, it sat unused and on the verge of being sold for the first year and a half that I owned it.  Now I love it. One thing to keep in mind is the further down you can keep the knobs on the left and right, the better. My left knob is at 9:00 and the right one is at 2:00. In my opinion (and others I've read) anything past 2:00 on the right knob and you're tone will suffer. Here's something else to keep in mind. Let's say, for example, the amp you're using starts feeding back when the volume is at 6 WITHOUT the AFB+. When you hook up the AFB+ your tone will sound dampened when the volume is between 6 and 7. However, when the volume is between 7 and 8 while using the AFB+ you're tone will be killer. I guess what I'm trying to say is to experiment with higher volumes. IMHO, your best tone is going to come when you're on the verge of feedback whether you're using the AFB+ or not. I'm thinking that the clipping and brittleness you're hearing might be low batteries. In my experience, the batteries don't have to be low in a AFB+ to affect you're tone. When the batteries in my AFB+ go bad I take them out and use them in my wireless. Lastly, make sure the AFB+ is calibrated correctly. 

Hope this made sense,
Brad

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "chicago bluesman" <chicagobluesman@xxxxxxxxxxx>
To: <harp-l@xxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Friday, October 30, 2009 11:11 PM
Subject: RE: [Harp-L] Kinder AFB+



Every time I see a thread regarding the Kinder AFB+ I wonder why I'm not as smitten with it as everybody else.  I think maybe I need to review the instructions concerning how best to calibrate it because I usually feel that my tone is being affected when I use the box.  Has anyone else had that experience?  I hear clipping and a brittleness to my tone when playing through an AFB+--it seems like it's more shrill, less full, lacking warmth.  Truthfully, my solution to feedback has been to play through a Meteor, which at 50 watts gives plenty of volume headroom without too much risk of feedback.  I did play through the AFB+ at band practice this week, using my Kalamazoo Model 2 instead of the Meteor, and while I appreciated the elimination of feedback I felt that my tone was made thinner.  Any suggestions on what I might be doing wrong in using the AFB+?  Since no one else seems to complain about this problem--loss of desirable tone when using it--I'm thinking that I'm doing something wrong.

John