[Harp-L] Re : Question for Hurricane Ramon's Mic

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Dear Dr. Dennis :

Mostly when I use a mic'd harp for clean stuff it's a toss up between the Shure 520-D or a SM58 into my tube amp set up then a mic on the amp , mostly a Shure 57 but 58's work great too , you just have to know how to " nudge " em a tad on the mixer board one way or another kind of thing . When I want raunch and squawk I use a Hohner Blues Blaster and or my 1954 American Chrome Bullet .

< http://www.harmonicamasterclass.com/lot56chrome.jpg >

< http://www.harmonicamasterclass.com/lot56chrome2.jpg >

I will be very sad when this baby takes a powder on me :(

It's warm , mean , edgy and fat all at once , I can't believe it's unique sound , and when you try singing through it , it reminds me of the carnival freak side show barkers kind of feel in the sound of the voice as it's affected by this large diaphragm mic . As I said , for a harp a large diaphragm'd mic is always a better way to go , live and or in the studio over all .


On my " personal " recordings I am about to do I will use a EV mic that is very similar in sound characteristics to a Shure SM57 to monitor the output on my Carvin Tube amp's 12" British Blaster 12" spkr using the 530-D or a SM58 to blow on through it , the 520-D's large diaphragm is more forgiving , it warms up the tone in ways that help reduce High HZ noises from breathing in and out of your noses and sides of your mouth when manipulating your lungs air mass like an accordion player when he dumps air for specially phased music passages to be able to play fast compositions & clacking or grating noises from the harp housing when rocking about the surface of the 520-D's metal face . For vocals I find the SM58 my choice , but I have had good results through a 57 when the recording engineer is really on the ball . When I usually walk in a studio , I say very little , listen tons and then say when asked when I am ready " give me  a 58 , roll off the mid & treble to zip ( that's when I walk in with just my harps and deal with a cheap producer , when there's' $$ I bring everything and make sure they get what they pay for :) ..... And wait for it to sink in and hopefully I don't have to repeat myself ( it's happens ) ,  the point isn't so much to impress as it is to give the recording engineer a point of reference only . When in a studio time is the old proverbial money factor and demonstrating that you use the least time in a session reads back to the people who asked to to record as a " hey this guy not only plays well , he's in and out of studio fast " and that helps their budget out and that helps them remember why they would want you back .

Last session was funny , I went into the room ( set away from the board and eye sight ) and was que'd to go for it and did my thing , in the room there were no chairs and I decided to sit down on the carpeting , as I did the producer came in trying to pantomime and say what he wanted , and was in wonderment and astonishment as I sat asian style and pumped it heh heh ( hells bells , when I saw William Clarke lie down and play in a club [ of which he was smokin ] , I thought he had scene me do it at the ritzie clubs in Palm Springs where I played allot at ) then the producer  walked away with a look I was not sure meant anything good . I get this " come into the consul room " from the engineer on my head phone , when I walk in my part is being analyzed and from what I saw everyone was smiling while the producer carried the usual worried look of some one hoping he hasn't gone over budget , mean while I get the look's form everyone who counts in this project with the thumbs up look , the studio owner , the " star " writer / singer Chan but still the producer is looking poker faced .

I was not sure if my performance was up to his " calibre " , but .. as I sat with him he says quietly to me [  Your going to get the nick name of " one take Hurricane " ] .... I guess I nailed it .      

Below is the link to Griffin , that's the ticket , nice stuff . What are you using ( mac ) , &  what ya running it with Doc. ? I have a emac 800mhz with 512 mgs of ram  . I really got tired of my other windows systems for audio & video work , seems the problems of crashing constantly during this type of computer use hasn't negatively impacted me so far on the mac like my windows units did some many times . Where I was just at in Los Angeles in a studio this month where I haven't recorder at before , the computer there was a widows p.c. , it crashed several times in the middle of the session and this was a nice studio too , it made me smile cause I haven't been able to  crash my mac since I got it over a year ago . It made me wonder why they ( pro's in the field ) still use a windows system ?

http://www.griffintechnology.com/products/imic/

Easy Doc. & Thanks for the other e-mail you sent me , I am humbled at your complement :)

Sincerely :

HR




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