[Harp-L] mic amp survey



     In my 40+ years of playing experience, relying on my own ears and on comments from many musician friends in the audience, I have determned that there are situations where using a mic on my harp amp can be either necessary or not. As previously mentioned, loud guitar players are the root cause of necessity.
      I have divested myself of playing gigs with this breed of cat, and seek out those players with taste who know how to play with the harp, instead of against it. This means they have studied the approaches of the classic Chicago guitarists, both living and dead, who understand how to accompany a harp playing at moderate volume. The list is too long to quote in entirety, but the names of Louis Myers, Robert Lockwood, Luther Tucker from the past and Billy Flynn, Steve Freund and Anson Funderburg from the present day are examples.
     Depending on the size and layout of the venue, using a mic on the harp amp may be totally unnecessary, and in smaller venues my personal preference is to mic vocals only. That means thre band members pay attention to each other and adjust volume accordingly. I admit that using this approach is "old school", but I have had many, many, experiences where it worked well, as evidenced by audience comments such as "We really like the band's sound level.", "Thanks for keeping the volume down.", "You guys sound great.", etc. etc. etc. 
     In larger venues it is usually necessary to mic all the instruments, but unless you have a soundman who understands how to mix a band where the guitar does not dominate everything else, the harp player loses out. As was previously mentioned, the harp volume should be on equal footage with the vocals, and the guitar no louder than any other instrument in the mix. Some guitar player just don't get it.
     Thus, as is the case with a number of other harp players, I learned how to play guitar out of necessity. I just grew tired of looking for guitarists who really understood how to perform as a team player in a harp-led band.  Today my hearing is a lot better off for the effort, and so is the music of the bands I play with.
Pete Sheridan
www.petesheridan.net
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