[Harp-L] Harp Amp

[Robert Ross <robertaross@xxxxxxxxx>]

I love my FatDog harp amp (http://www.fatdogamps.com/). It's not as
well known as Sonny Jr., HarpKing or Harpgear, but I think it sounds
virtually as good to my ear, and sells for under $1,000. I believe
these amps give the most bang for the buck. I have a Model 2A. This
is a 25-30 watt model with a stereo design that lets you switch on
one channel or the other, or both. On my model, one channel has 2
weber 8's and the other a weber 12, though now Rob stopped using 8"
speakers since they are more prone to feedback. You can reduce the
volume and keep the crunch by using only one of the channels. I use
it with a Sabine Solo feedback eliminator (list $300, under $30 on
eBay) to tame the beast... I have read about some other amps that
have a switch to reduce power by half, but haven't tried those.

The main problem with this strategy is that you are carrying around a
large and heavy amp, even to smaller gigs. I also use a Kalamazoo II
or a modded Epiphone Valve Jr. for that reason, and just mic them to
the PA with an SM57. You can get either for under $200, and a
HarpGear Double Trouble which is a great amp for around $1000, plus
lots of other stuff, for the price of a Sonny Jr. Of course, the
Sonny Jr. is reputed to be the Cadillac of harp amps, though I
haven't played on one personally. If money is no object, and you
can't actually try them, you would guarantee your satisfaction with a
SOnny Jr. In that case get the new, smaller Cruncher then for larger
gigs just mic it.

- Robert
(aka RawHarp)


       
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