[Harp-L] Torpedo Mic

[Chris Otto <ottoranch@xxxxxxxxx>]

I just got a Bushman Torpedo Mic
<http://coast2coastmusic.com/cgi-bin/cart/BTHM.html?mv_pc=afl3370>last night
and I wanted to share my initial thoughts. In August, I had a chance to
"test drive" one at the SPAH convention in Kansas City. I really liked it
and was impressed with how good it sounded and how little it fed back. However,
it was just a short test drive and not enough time to fully appreciate the
mic.

 My first impression when I opened the wood case was "WOW". The polished
steel looked really good and stood out against the blue lining in the case. The
vents on the sides also add to the "cool factor". My wife even commented on
how good it looked (and she is not usually impressed with music gear). The
wood case that it comes in is a nice touch. I first thought it was a little
big, but after opening it, I liked how much padding and protection it gives
the mic.

 So far, I have only been able to play it through my Pignose Hog 20. One of
the first things I noticed as I started playing through it was how full it
sounded (I have always thought my Green Bullet sounded a little thin). It
picked up the low and high ends very well. At first, I was concerned about
getting an airtight seal with the vents. That was not a problem, my hands
easily cover them. However, it sounds great even if the vents are uncovered. I
quickly noticed that uncovering the vents changed the tone (but did not kill
the tone or volume) and I was able to get a killer vibrato by just covering
and uncovering the vents. This is going to give me a lot to play with.

 After playing around with it for a while, I did some comparison playing
with my Green Bullet and EV Vocal Mic. I would put this somewhere in between
them as far as dirty/clean go respectively. But one big difference was how
little feedback I got with the Torpedo much less than either of the other
mics. I even was turned the "squeal" and "tone" all the way up and got no
feedback from the torpedo with the mic directly in front of the amp. I
plugged the Green Bullet in and it immediately squawked (and the GB was not
even as close to the amp as the Torpedo).

 I can't wait to take it to our next gig. We are going to be playing at a
bar where the sound bounces everywhere causing feedback city (stage by large
glass windows in a brick room with mirrors). I have high hopes for the
Torpedo. I will write another review after I have had a chance to play it at
a gig.

 To summarize my first impressions…great looks, easy to hold, great tone,
great for hand effects, very feedback resistant.
 -Chris Otto
 http://www.bushmanmusic.com/productdetail/~Model/BTHM~/d.html
 http://coast2coastmusic.com/cgi-bin/cart/BTHM.html?mv_pc=afl3370