[Harp-L] on mics and amps and beginning set ups (long)

[gregnospam <gregnospam@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

I agree with much that has been said. I don't think it is a  
requirement to find a vintage mic for tone, although I think vintage  
amps have a lot going for them, and needn't be expensive (read on.)   
I have lots of mics - it seems to be a curse of being a harmonica  
player. And I've gone through lots of amps. I have a few "words of  
wisdom" to pass  along.

1) What makes an amp sound good for harp is not necessarily what  
makes it sound good for guitar. This is because some of the desirable  
distortion in our sound (assuming one is after a chicago type tone)  
comes from the mic itself. Guitar strings and pickups don't provide a  
distorted signal to the amp (in the absence of super-loud feedback  
conditions).  A heavily cupped harp mic, however, deliver s an  
extremely distorted signal to the amp, right at its input. In my  
experience, if the "front end" of an amp is solid state, even if the  
power section is tube, the quality of this distortion as it is  
amplified will be very harsh. Again, this doesn't make it a bad  
guitar amp - only bad for harp. So yes, tubes all the way through  
matters.

2) The "right" mic for one amp isn't the "right" mic for another.  
With my Sonny Jr 4x10 (an absolutely freakin' marvelous amp, best  
I've ever played) - I like a Shure 520/controlled magnetic mic.  
However the modern day 520DX dynamic mic sounds very good with it as  
well. My jam/practice amp is a Kalamazoo Model 2 - and the Shure mics  
don't sound good with it. A hot crystal mic like a JT30 makes this  
amp sound absolutely awesome, though - and even a modern Blues  
Blaster with the el-cheapo cartridge it comes with sounds very good  
through this amp.

When I bought my first amp, I didn't get a lot of advice and I bought  
a fender Blues Junior. The name made it sound like what I wanted. It  
needed re-tubing - but even then I wasn't crazy about it.  Moved from  
it to a Peavey Prowler which sounded great at one and only one level  
of play - if you played lighter then it wasn't audible and if you  
played heavier it was harsh. Hated it. In search of a good practice  
amp I tried some others and considered kit-building a old Fender  
single 12" or 10" replica, but this time I was smart enough to ask  
Sonny Jr. for his advice. And he KNOWS his amps.

He suggested I find a Kalamazoo on eBay, told me what I should pay  
for it - and I haven't looked back. I have subsequently bought FOUR  
of them, reconditioned them. Sold one to RJ Mischo who loves it. I  
still can't bring myself to part with the other 3(but I will probably  
sell one of them.)  I have never heard a better small harp amp, even  
among those that cost WAY more. (A good Kalamazoo can be had for $150  
or so -might need a little fixing.) This was a cheap, 5W practice amp  
in its day. It really is very quiet and tame with a guitar plugged  
in, but the higher drive levels of harmonica mics turn it into a tone  
beast. It is loud enough for some jams and certainly for practice.  
Unmic'd it isn't enough for a stage performance, but it sounds great  
mic'd through the PA. I have played through 2 at once, one on each  
side of the stage - amazing. If you turn on the two tremelos to  
different frequencies you get a true "Leslie" type of effect - the  
sound moves all over the place.)

Every one I've bought has needed some work. Every one was said to  
"work just fine" - but because I knew how good they were supposed to  
sound, I knew something was wrong when I got them - and with a little  
work I was able to get them into much better shape. I say this  
because you can't just buy one and assume it is right "out of the  
box".  I always convert them to 3-wire power/ground for safety, 2 out  
of the 4 needed speakers,  and 3 out of the 4 needed some caps  
replaced. But even after reconditioning, they're still a bargain, and  
they always blow everyone away with their incredible crunchy tone.  
Contact me offline if you would like me to fix one up for you.

/Greg
http://www.blowsmeaway.com
http://www.bluestateband.net