From: "Cliff Castle" <Cliff@xxxxxxxxxxxx> Date: April 9, 2005 1:27:04 PM EDT To: "randysinger" <randy@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> Cc: <tomsmics@xxxxxxxxxxxx> Subject: RE: more fireball stuff
Hi Tom,
I had a chance to read your comments on the Fire Ball thread. Just to clarify, the FireBall is totally unique.
If someone wanted to compare one of our mics to an SM58, they could (and should) use our vocal mics.
They would easily see that there is wide variety of tones to choose from.
As far as the FireBall is concerned, you have to also take into consideration the size and the shape. We believe that these things alone will attract many harp players once they have a chance to work with the mic.
As far as sound , that is of course subjective , but I suggest that everyone trying the mic should both listen and compare and not just rely on what you're hearing on stage. Have someone else also critique the sound from the sound board or the audience. Ideally, our hope is that both the artist and sound engineer will agree that the mic is great sounding. However, if just the sound man alone suggests that the mic sounds better than the others,
this has to count for something.
In conclusion, the FireBall was in no way intended to be a substitute for the bullet. We are merely wanting to provide another tool for players to choose from.
Best regards,
Cliff Castle
From: randysinger [mailto:randy@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx] Sent: Sat 4/9/2005 12:08 AM To: Cliff Castle Cc: Rob Paparozzi Subject: more fireball stuff
Here are more, as you requested, cliff.
randy
Message: 4 Date: Thu, 7 Apr 2005 15:38:20 -0500 From: "Tom Ellis" <tomsmics@xxxxxxxxxxxx> Subject: [Harp-L] The Fireball..... To: <harp-l@xxxxxxxxxx> Message-ID: <007401c53bb1$bcba3fe0$6501a8c0@ellis> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"
My two cents: I think the problem Sonny has with this mic is that the guys who developed it have a number of folks out there trying to convince people--myself included--that the mic is a great substitute for a traditional bullet, and that it overdrives and distorts like one, too. Because a number of "blues" players have them now--and who knows what kind of endorsement agreement stands behind that ownership, or if they will ever use the mic--they seem to be trying to convince traditional blues players that there's a new substitute out there. They are probably wrong.
I had a chance to test one, albeit through a PA, last weekend. It had a bright, midrange response, not much different than an SM58. In fact, to my ears--and I did NOT have a chance to A-B the mics for a comparison--it did not have nearly the bottom or presence of a vintage 545 (4-pin) set up to run low impedance through the PA, or my own personal low impedance favorite, the AKG D770.
As I always tell my friends when some new product is announced or advertised as used by so-and-so: Let's see it on stage, in their hands, not next week, but next YEAR. That will tell us if they REALLY like it.....TOM ELLIS/Tom's Mics
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I haven't read anyone here on the "L" making out like the Fireball is a substitute for a bullet. In fact, the posts I've seen have said rather explicitly that the Fireball AIN'T like a bullet. And I just read the PDF of the manual that comes with the mic and nowhere does it say or even insinuate that the Fireball is a substitute for a bullet. That's a great point, though, about waiting and seeing. How many big name pros do we see playing Shakers, afterall? MN ===== ------------------
Message: 14 Date: Thu, 07 Apr 2005 16:59:19 -0400 From: rdg <rdg@xxxxxxxxxxx> Subject: Re: [Harp-L] Re: The Fireball..... To: Harp-L@xxxxxxxxxx Message-ID: <5316879264.20050407165919@xxxxxxxxxxx> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
Thursday, April 07, 2005, 7:02:06 PM, MN wrote:
MN> How many big name MN> pros do we see playing Shakers, afterall?
Big name players--probably not many, if any, but taste is taste, and results are results...I play a Shaker XLR dynamic through a very non-traditional rig even though much of my playing is blues-based.
I get _no_ complaints about tone from other musicians, and I get all sorts of queries from harp players looking to sound like what I'm putting out (tone, not technique--I'm not trying to overstate my case, here).
My point is this--no-one, least of all Audix, is saying the Fireball sounds like a Bullet or is the premier mic for Chicago blues, but--after all--good tone is a package deal and it has to do with more than just the "classic" amp and mic combination, otherwise every player with a Bullet and a Bassman would be getting _that_ sound--and they don't.
It's a competetive world out there, and I salute Audix for stepping up to the plate with a product for harp players, and I'm betting with a rig like like mine that the Audix would be a fine addition to my mic arsenal.
Ron mailto:rdg@xxxxxxxxxxx