Re: [Harp-L] Crystal or dynamic

[Paul Routledge <kingley@xxxxxxxxxx>]

Sam,

I glad you found your nirvana man.
Now where did I put mine ?

Paul
On 29 May 2005, at 00:02, samblancato wrote:

> Paul writes: "{The point is that these players used what was available 
> to
> them at the
> time and used a variety of equipment. They never used the same rig all
> the time. They too just like us today were constantly searching for
> that elusive sound ( the one that resides inside your mind )."
>
> I thought about what Paul is saying here and I guess I count my self as
> extremely lucky because that elusive sound that we're all searching 
> for - I
> found it.
>
>
>
> An old buddy of mine from my teen years, the guy who taught me how to 
> play
> the harp (at least the basics of it) stopped in town this past 
> Thursday.  He
> lives in Colorado now and so we see very little of each other.  Any 
> way, we
> went out to a jam and both played and had a real great time. I had 
> invited
> him over to my place earlier that day so he could take a couple of 
> honks on
> my rig so as to see what it sounds like and be able to dial it in that 
> way
> he liked and not have to fool with it at the jam.  He commented that it
> sounded better than any thing he has including his Sony Jr. (this guy 
> has
> several amps, and tons of gear in general).  It made me stop and think 
> about
> it and I have to say that I no longer want any more gear. I'm there.  I
> actually like my own sound better than anybody else's.  I prefer my 
> rig to
> anybody else's.  And I get tons of compliments on my sound.  I'm not
> electronics wiz but I did tweak my rig a good deal to get it this way. 
>  My
> point is that if I can do it then anybody can.
>
>
>
> The other point I have to add is that I play a lot for as busy a 
> person as I
> am.  I tend to play, on average, about an hour a day.  Some days I may 
> play
> for 2 or three hours.  My acoustic tone has really transformed in the 
> last 6
> months.  Tone wise, I sound better (to me) than anybody else I hear.
> Yesterday I stood on my porch and played for about an hour 
> acoustically and
> just marveled at how good I sounded and I realized that what I like 
> about
> it, the constituent elements, were the same as those that I hear when 
> I'm
> amplified.  That is to say, everything I enjoy when playing amplified 
> is
> present in my acoustic playing.
>
>
>
> This is a change for me.  I've had moments - as I know we all have - 
> where I
> was so dissatisfied with my own sound, chops, timing, tone, etc., that 
> I
> just quit playing for days in disgust.
>
>
>
> In the end I have to say that no mater what rig you have it really is 
> you
> that creates the tone and sound.  But a lot of what I have learned to 
> put
> into my sound acoustically came from my amplified practicing.  If you 
> play a
> lot, both acoustic and amplified, you will build a good sound 
> eventually.
>
>
>
> Two weeks from now I may very well be dissatisfied with my progress.  
> But
> it's nice to know that every once an a while, you get to a place where
> you're really happy with your sound and it looks like you've got that 
> holey
> grail in you grip.
>
>
>
> Sam Blancato, Pittsburgh
>
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