RE: [Harp-L] Re:First Performance

["John Balding" <John.Balding@xxxxxxxxx>]

Bloozeharp almost took the words out of my mouth. The Pignose is a great
amp, but I feel that it may distort too easily, and make you stand out
for the wrong reasons. I assume that your band, being bluegrass, desires
a clean, natural sound from the instruments.
My suggestion would be to introduce something to the band that will
benefit you as well as the band itself. The following two links are for
inexpensive portable P.A. combos made by Peavey and Crate that are
barely bigger than a bread box, but are quite loud and very clean. They
are $110 and $150 brand new, but can be bought from e-Bay much cheaper.
They both run on either AC or battery power (nice for playing outdoors,
remote areas, picnics, BBQs etc.) Since bluegrass bands can "play
anywhere" due to the acoustic instruments, a battery-powered P.A. would
be ideal. There are no frills with these. There is no reverb, etc. Very
simple operation, no need to study a manual. In my opinion, these would
be excellent for use in your situation. Either one would allow you to
play at equal volume with the rest of the musicians, yet retain your
true sound. 
The amps are very low-profile, so there is no worry about destroying the
"authentic" look and sound of your band, if that is a concern. (Some
bluegrass bands are purists, and do not want ANYTHING electrical on the
stage.)
I would suggest using this with a vocal microphone mounted on a plain
stand. You want the whole package to be as unobtrusive as possible. The
sales pitch here is to tell the bandleader that the singer is welcome to
use your "P.A. system" also. Everybody wins.

Good luck, and congrats on your first gig!

John Balding

http://www.8thstreet.com/product.asp?ProductCode=20148&Category=Package_
Systems

http://www.musiciansfriend.com/product/Crate-TX15-Taxi-BatteryPowered-Co
mbo-Amp?sku=487631



-----Original Message-----
From: harp-l-bounces@xxxxxxxxxx [mailto:harp-l-bounces@xxxxxxxxxx] On
Behalf Of Cathy Storey
Sent: Wednesday, July 19, 2006 11:33 AM
To: harp-l@xxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [Harp-L] Re:First Performance

Thanks for the great advice harp-l'ers.  I performed for the first time
this
past Saturday with the bluegrass group I jam with.  It was a blast!  The
group plays all unamplified.  How will I know if I'm blowing too hard or
just blowing hard enough to be heard?  They want more volume from me,
but
I'm afraid of blowing out my reeds.  I practice amplified and
unamplified.
Do I need to stick to one or the other?
As always, I appreciate all suggestions.  Cathy Storey
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