Re: Blues Blaster Mic - Capacitor

[Bruce Steinberg <bruces@xxxxxxx>]

re:

        FJM writes:

        I don't believe the cap is an artifact.  Hohner spec'd it for their 
        version.  I'm working on getting a spanner so that I casn remove that 
        damn volume pot. without destroying my mic.  I see the Snap-on man 
        tomorrow.  I will report on the results of my quest then. FJM

////////////////

Well, even if it were an artifact, that doesn't mean it wouldn't
be a useful thing to carry forward (say, for RF interference
protection, if the mike element were especially susceptible to RF
pickup).  However, I agree it more likely has something to do
with affecting the audio impedance of the mike.

I was talking with James Harmon after a (hot!) gig at the newly
remodeled Moe's here in Santa Cruz recently (and you were right,
FJM;  he is one of the most friendly, accessible people you'd
ever want to meet).  I told him about the old "Vibroverb/Pro"
discussion on harp-l, and he laughed and said he sends out lots
of postcards explaining all kinds of equipment questions all the
time (see more below).

When I mentioned to him how impressively simple his set-up looked
-- JT-30 with no pedals going straight back to his amp -- he
pointed closer to a case sitting inconspicuously right under the
amp, and said ~that~ was the brains of the operation.

That box is a story in itself, but in addition to housing a
homebrew array of EQ and digital reverb electronics (to replace
the plate reverb units and echoplexes he got tired of dragging
around), he said its front end contains a custom transformer and
preamp to handle the exceptionally high output impedance of the
JT-30.  He said that no one is using a JT-30 properly if they
simply plug it into any stock guitar/bass amp, since its output
impedance is way too high (perhaps another "artifact" of its PA
legacy?), much higher than any guitar/bass pickup.

I didn't take detailed notes on our conversation (interview time,
Winslow?  Tim?), but I'd suggest that if anyone is qualified to
answer any questions about JT-30s (including impedance matching,
EQ, and its mystery cap :), it'd be James.

He is extremely technically qualified.  He makes his own speakers
(the whole speaker -- cones, coils, custom-cast frames
included!), having apprenticed for years to an old speaker master
in Orange County, and he knows exactly what's under the hood on
all his gear.

(And BTW, for anyone who's feeling bad about not locating Ultimos
or mastering overblows, just get James started about his personal
views on the ultimate supremacy of Marine Bands, or on just about
any recent developments in harp technique since about 1962.  ;-)

Later, B*