[Harp-L] Vocal Mics, and thanks.

[Jason Ricci <jason@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

 First off thanks to all of you have taken the time to vote for me and to
those who will later take that time, for "Artist of the Year" on the
www.blueswax.com website! I'm sure more than a few of you were responsible
for getting me up to the nomination stage already. This means a lot to me
and the band the competition is serious as all the other other nominees have
record label support, managers, publicists, and radio pro guys on their pay
roll. As far as I know were the only independent band ever nominated for
this title and will definitely be the only independent band to take the
title should we win. Lately a lot of clubs and some of the Blues Societies
and festivals have been telling me they don't book "Harmonica bands" because
they don't sell, don't draw and/or are boring. A title like this in the most
widely read blues magazine publicized could really help us and other
harmonica fronted/sided bands in breaking such stereotypes. So thanks again
and please vote if you haven't already.

Mics.
     I use to use bullets for a long time and I recorded my first few
records with them... I like them a lot and I think they look cool and are
fun to collect. I dig their sound and they all sound different. I will
probably record a few more time with one for that matter.. I love the way
Dennis Gruenling and Kim and all those guys sound through them it's a nice
windy tone that obviously breaks up sooner through whatever it's patched
into, also the john Balding's point about the diaphragm size with say a 4
octave chromatic is well taken by me for one. Also many complain about
holding some stickmics like the 57 etc...I hear that complaint too. But
here's why I use a vocal mics despite how cool bullets are.
 
1.) More accurate/true representation of harmonica. This can be good and
bad, (good when your on, bad when your off.)

2.) Less feed back. Of course not all vocal mics are Low Z or less prone to
feed back, but Shure 58's,57's and other modern vocal/instrument mics are as
well as older more antiquated guys others like the EV RE-10 or the 545. This
helps you get more volume which leads me to the next issue.

3.) Make the amp work for the distortion. Not having the break up/hot signal
at the mic end helps to get your volume higher and by that time the vocal
mic as far as distortion goes is just as broken up as a bullet if not
more...speaker distortion is a different sound than mic distortion and when
the mic is clear/clean like a MODERN vocal mic is, the sound is neat but
distorted and usually legible, real good for fast licks not getting mushy.

4.) The sound is very "Up front". Some bullet mics have this sort of hollow
sound as if you can here the harp resonating within that shell...I'm pretty
sure that's not what's happening but it sounds like that if it were...That's
part of the good Hollow sound  I referred to earlier, I dig that tone but
it's not for me most the time. I'm not saying that's bad just that the vocal
mic is not like that. The sound is very present ,immediate, true and direct.
The note's seem to not be being shaped by anything or just happening more
easily I can't really explain this and it's very likely also just me being
use to one thing, but there is defiantly this sort of slight "far away"
sound that happens with Bullets...I have only one sort of, kind of,
obnoxious, semi rhetorical question, posed to indicate the admittedly
irrelevant superiority of vocal mics over bullets...:" why don't guitar
players use pick up's that intentionally distort their tone?'
 Right now I'm using a 57...Could end up back on a bullet in the future I
know nothing of the future for me.
Thanks 
Jason