Re: [Harp-L]

["Chris Michalek" <Chris@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

I agree with FJM. People will always spend their money in
questionable ways (to ourselves). I have currently have nearly $10000
in my reef tank and have a small and inexpensive amp. 

I've gone through a ton of different amps, I once had a 57 bassman. I
bought it for $1800 and then sold it for $3000.  I liked the amp but
I thought the guy was a fool for wanted to spend that much. I saw it
as profit. After the bassman sale I went out and got a few new harps,
a nice dinner and peavy classic 50 with 2x12. Nobody ever comlpained
about my tone. A year after that I got sick of lugging the amp around
and playing blues so I sold the peavey for $100. Personally I thought
the bassman was a better sounding amp but not but much. A local won
one of the Holland amps from the summit.  He hated it and gave it to
me. I used  it for a few gigs and quit playing through it because it
was too much of a hassle.  It's still sitting in my friend's studio.
and hasn't been touched in nearly five years.

I went ten years (minus the three shows with the Holland)without and
amp and nobody ever complained about my tone through the PA.  A few
months ago I started playing blues again and was blowing through a
1964 BF Deluxe. I thought it sounded great. I got into looking at
amps. I looked at the bassmans again.  Sound great but too big to
haul around. I was able to A-B an original 58 bassman and a reissue
bassman ltd.  for the money I would have purchased the new reissue.
Heck even for the same money I would have probably purchased the
reissue.  The difference to my ears was minimal and I know that
ultimately nobody will care about the rig I am using.

So now I'm playing blues maybe once a month. I use the RP400 for
small rooms and nobody mentions anything about my tone except for two
other musicians who couldn't believe that I wasn't playing through
and amp. I recently bought a 1968 SF Deluxe Reverb amp - it have the
AB763 circuit and sounds great. To me this is the ultimate amp
because it's small and light. I noticed Annie Cohen and Dennis
Gruenling play through a deluxe too under similar circumstances.
Still I hate lugging that thing around.

I think musicallity supercedes tone. I try to be musical and put on
the good show. I haven't had any complaints about my music other than
people thinking I don't play dazzling technical lines that have
little soul. I'm happy with my music and my tone and depending how
you look at it, the cost is free or priceless.

Chris Michalek

www.michalekstrone.com
cd available from CD Baby