[Harp-L] Re: Harp-L Digest, Vol 46, Issue 67

["Glenn Weiser" <celticguitar1@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

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Message: 4
Date: Fri, 29 Jun 2007 10:34:49 -0400 (EDT)
From: Garry Hodgson <garry@xxxxxxxxxxxx>
Subject: Re: Re: [Harp-L] To Gear Or Not To Gear
To: harp-l@xxxxxxxxxx
Message-ID: <2007062910341183127689@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

"Splash" <celtiac@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

> And I say, when talking about amplifiers, you can't get great tone without
> great tubes.

> sorry, that's just not true.  i might have agreed, not knowing better, 
> until i
> saw james cotton last fall.  he played through a regular vocal mic into the
> PA, and sounded amazing.

> which is not to say that gear doesn't have its own contribution to make.
> but absolutes like "you can't" are incorrect.

I think Splash might have been saying you can't get great amplified tone 
with great tubes.You can certainly get great acoustic tone
through a vocal mic/PA, and I don't think there's any serious doubt about 
that here. In fact, there is a Big Walter recording  of  "Careless Love"
played ascoutic that has the best harmonica tone I've ever heard on any 
recording ever. In bar 8 of the solo he hits the whole step bend on the
3-draw reed-a notoriously difficult note-and just nails the tone with a 
full, gorgeous vibrato.

Glenn Weiser
http://www.celticguitarmusic.com/harppage.htm