[Harp-L] ThunderHarp Mics Review

[Ray Beltran <raybeltran@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

I recently had an opportunity to review a new harp mic now being 
offered to the harmonica community. It's been in development for quite 
some time, and is an alternative and answer to what many amplified 
blues harmonica players fear... that is, commonly used elements of the 
NOS variety no longer being as readily available as they once were.

This particular product is not in the "made for harmonica" genre. It's 
simply a more modern alternative. It's not tuned for harmonica, nor are 
there any electronic feedback devices installed. It's called a 
Thunderharp Mic, built by player/constructor & customizer Steve Warner.

www.thunderharpmics.com

I had two versions of the ThunderHarp mic sent to me for review. One, a 
nicely painted gold JT-30 with lightly anodized gold grille and volume 
control that showcased Steve's customization capabilities. The second 
example was a plain-jane JT-30 sans volume control. Steve customizes a 
variety of mic shells. You can visit his website for more examples.

Both of these mics had as common to them the secret behind their 
performance; a mic element not normally utilized in these shells. 
Please don't ask me what element Steve uses...  I'm not at liberty to 
disclose specifics. Steve has spent a long time of R&D to get the most 
performance from this mic/shell combo, and I want to respect his hard 
work and wishes that I not divulge this info.

We can all agree that most amplified harmonica players are always 
looking for the hottest element they can find. Well, there's a new kid 
on the block. The mic element used in Steve's mics is extremely 
powerful with a big, broad sound, producing some interesting results. 
Although I would prefer not to compare this mic to mics more commonly 
employed by the amplified player, some comparisons cannot be avoided 
and therefore bear noting.

The ThunderHarp mic has a rich, full-bodied sound that works equally 
well on small or big amps. I pushed it through my "new" Silvertone 1433 
and my Fender Twin, and just for kicks, my solid-state ElectroHarmonix 
"Freedom" amp. In each case, the mic seemed to "adapt" quite well to 
each amp, and I was able to get the more performance and to my ears a 
better sound than from any of my vintage mics. I must point out that 
all of my mics contain vintage NOS Shure Controlled Magnetic elements, 
several of which rival the sound/performance of Controlled Reluctance 
elements.

With the "Freedom" amp, the mic was able to produce a nicely compressed 
sound that still had plenty of headroom. On the Silvertone, a "big amp" 
sound could be fully realized, helped, no doubt, by the amp's 15" 
speaker. With the Twin, I had nice, full-bodied highs and monster, 
powerful lows that had authority. I could sense a certain firmness and 
stability of sound throughout the range of notes with each of these 
amps, and there seemed to be better feedback rejection, if just a tad. 
I felt I was also able to generate a broader range of sounds than with 
my other mics no matter what amp I used.

Okay, here comes the comparison to vintage elements: The sound of this 
mic is broader and more stable than that of a CM or CR without the 
limitations of early overdrive. With my best CM's, I could quickly 
determine and exploit it's performance envelope. It was just too easy 
to find and realize quickly, especially after spending time with a 
ThunderHarp mic and enjoying it's greater performance envelope. Beyond 
the comparatively narrower performance of a CM there was, well, 
nothing. It just flatted out no matter what changes were made to the 
amp. It just seemed to get edgier and edgier as the amp volume was 
increased, with no relative gain in body. I could recover some of the 
sound through use of tone controls, but it seemed I was only moving 
things around. The tight envelope was still there, along with the edgy 
sound. The amps I used with each of the CM's seemed capable of more 
performance, but were held back by these elements and their 
limitations.

The ThunderHarp mic just keeps asking for more, and returns the favor. 
With it's greater performance envelope, it just gets bigger and badder 
the more you turned up the amp! (To the point of feedback, of course.) 
Lows get deeper and thicker, but stay well-defined and firm, and highs 
are full and unfaltering. Transient response is as sharp and defined as 
you want to make it. You can lay back nice and smooth, or hit it hard, 
and it responds with a firm, authoritative punch. The relative 
additional high frequency information I was able to add will be most 
beneficial when needing to cut through the mix. With greater output 
than standard NOS elements however, I don't think you'll have as much 
of a problem being heard.

I think that perhaps because of the ability of the more modern and 
robust elements used in ThunderHarp mics to handle higher SPL's and 
also due to their greater frequency response curves, the tone controls 
don't drive the distortion nearly as quickly as with a traditional CM 
or CR. Instead, you can add more relative high end to cut through the 
mix rather than to add to overdrive. And those highs aren't 
"nose-bleed" highs that sound narrow and shrill, but firm, rich highs 
that are full-bodied and stable. Overdrive does come, but more like 
icing on the cake, atop this nicely laid foundation of highs.

With any harp I used there was an overall improvement in sound. And 
with chromatics, the sound seemed sharper and more defined as well.

I like this mic. It's quickly becoming my mic of choice, although I 
feel I've only tapped it's potential. I was able to road test it at a 
recent jam held by Kinzel & Hyde <www.kinzelandhyde.com> where it 
performed beautifully. But I know that there's more. I personally know 
of an internationally renowned harp player now using this mic 
exclusively, having switched from cherry-picked Astatic crystals to 
ThunderHarp mics. He returned from a recent road trip and is notorious 
for living out of a suitcase, gear and all, but his ThunderHarp mic, 
looking a little worse for wear, "took the lickin' and kept on 
tickin'".

Overall, I'm impressed by this mic and Steve's thorough execution of 
the vision for this mic, not to mention his customization capabilities. 
I think the ThunderHarp mic is a worthy addition to any harp player's 
arsenal of mics. I'm told Steve has a few "tricks up his sleeve", too, 
although I can't imagine what they could be... this is already an 
awesome mic. I'm looking forward to further developments and products 
from this exciting and innovative mic constructor. If the ThunderHarp 
mic is any indication of what we can expect from Steve Warner, 
amplified harp players are in for a thunderin' good time!

Ray Beltran.
--
My Music – www.resgraphics.com/music