[Harp-L] FBM-1 to amp/PA

[john kuzloski <jkuzloski@xxxxxxxxx>]

My curiosity got the best of me.  The new FBM-1 (Boss
'59 Fender Bassman Pedal) just showed up.  I first
tried it through a relatively clean amp -- the
Harpgear Double Trouble (1-12" version).  I liked the
sound straight into the amp better.  I liked the sound
with the Harp Commander in place of the FBM better. 
The sound is just more open and rich w/o the FBM.  The
more I turned up the gin knob on the pedal, the
flatter the sound got -- but I could get feedback at
pretty low volume!!  There might be some pedal mods
that would make it better for a harp mike, but that's
beyond me.

I suppose, one might consider trying the pedal for
getting distortion at lower volume on a big amp, but I
have nice small amps for lower volume breakup when I
want that.

On the other hand, the FBM with a passive DI behind it
sounded good into my cheapo PA (not as good w/o the DI
-- more alive, I'd say).  Not better than the HC into
the PA, but I could imagine some folks preferring
either one over the other.  It was good enough that I
would feel fine gigging with it.

It's probably good to recall that the FBM is designed
for a guitar input, and the HC is designed for mike
input -- harp mike specifically.

I have no other amp modelers to tell you if the FBM
sounds any better into the PA than a (maybe less
expensive) pedal with multiple amp choices (Richard?).

So, for about $200 you could get an FBM-1 and a
passive DI for PA use.  Or you could get a Harp
Commander -- the HC III is $399 I think, I suspect you
could get earlier versions for less (but i ain't
selling mine!!  I'd recommend the HC if you can afford
it -- I think it's more versitile -- like I said, i
like it in front of my DT.  Then there are other
possibilities for going into the PA that have been
discussed but that i can't say anything about.

Because I already have a HC, I am set for "Chicago
into PA" and because I have amps that I like in a
number of sizes, I'll probably return the FBM-1.  I'll
probably experiment a little more though -- if I find
out anything worth sharing, I will.

--John K.




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