Re: [Harp-L] Re: Vote for the best harp amp

["Tim Moyer" <wmharps@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Haka Harri wrote:
> Even a trained and experienced ear might not be able to 
> identify one amp from another in a blind test. Other side 
> of the coin is that if a player feels or doesn't feel 
> comfortable with the amplifier might have a big influence 
> on the playing itself. A lot of it is more between the 
> ears than actual differences between amps.

A lot of it also has to do with how an amp fits someone's needs.  I 
have a friend who has an early 70s silverface Vibrolux Reverb that 
I'd dearly love to have.  And then I'd only need 9 more amps to 
cover all the things I need my amp to do.  I choose an amplifier 
that gives me the maximum flexibilty in sound and scale.  Sometimes 
I need to play clean, sometimes overdriven, sometimes full and fat 
without the overdrive.  Sometimes I need to sound like an accordion, 
sometimes like a violin, sometimes like a trumpet, sometimes like a 
harmonica.  Sometimes I play big dance halls with a country band, 
sometimes I play small restaurants with jazz band and an upright 
bass player, sometimes convention rooms with a small combo of 
electric instruments.  I don't want to have to buy and learn all 
those different setups with different amps, so I go with a rig that 
scales -- up or down -- depending on my needs.  

-tim