On Jun 28, 2007, at 10:10 PM, harp-l-request@xxxxxxxxxx wrote:
Date: Thu, 28 Jun 2007 21:16:21 -0400
From: "Splash" <celtiac@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Dale Earnhart Jr has very good driving skills.
However he will never be able to fully enjoy his talents in a 1974
Pinto.
Bull. Plain and simple.
I still think he would have fun in the Pinto. Did you mean to say
"fully realize his TALENTS" in the Pinto?
Even if that's what you meant, I still say, "Bull".
I've used the same analogy in this manner:
Two identical Ford station wagons. I'm in one, Mario's in another. We
lap the 'Ring. He's gonna blow my doors off, no question. (Even at
his current age.) And he's gonna do it in style, wringing everything
out of that Ford that's humanly possible. (Ever see a station wagon
demonstrate the friction circle?) In his mind, he's in an F1 car. And
he's driving it that way taking into account the limitations of his
current mount. I can see him 4-wheel drifting through the Angstkurve,
as I hesitatingly lift and push through the corner in ugly
understeer, tires protesting as I scrub off what little speed I have.
He's gonna toss that wagon back and forth in a finely balanced ballet
as he hurtles through Fuchsrohre. Me? I'm scrapin' door handles about
ready to loop the thing. You get the picture.
Now put us both in his old steed, the Lotus 79, Well, he's really
gonna clean my clock now. I'd just be exiting Bergwerk while he's
halfway down Dottinger Hohe . He's definitely got more to work with,
but he's using the same talent. He's just able to have more of it
realized, in lower lap times. No matter what I did, I would never
approach his skill or abilities without years of dedication and
commitment, even in one of Chapman's finest creations.
But guess what? I would pay to see Mario in either car. His driving
is a thing of beauty.
Years ago, when the Long Beach Grand Prix was in it's infancy, the F1
circus in town, the organizers put together a celebrity race in
identical Toyota Celicas. It was a favorite race that weekend for
race fans and drivers alike. I would say that the pro drivers
involved in that event had a blast (they said as much), and you could
tell them from the celebrities by the same indicators... beautiful
drifts and slides, a minimum of understeer (or "push" as you NASCAR
guys call it) smoothly using every inch of track.
SO... harp content:
I've seen and heard some of the top dogs play through all sorts of
gear, and they sounded great through everything they played. Sam
Myers through 2 Bassmans (I believe one was a RI), Mitch Kashmar
through a dinky Fender sumpthin' or other, Dennis Gruenling through
my own Silvertone 1432 and Weber Bassman (he made them sound like a
million bucks). In each case, they expertly and without complaint
spent a few moments with each device and in a short time could
achieve an incredible sound. Have them step up to a high-end amp and
no doubt you'd hear something else all together. But do they need to?
No. They might prefer to, but in the end, just like those before
them, they use what's available if they can't bring their gear with
them.
Doesn't mean you can't try or buy these amps yourself. But do you
need to have a high-end amp? Do you?
I might consider one if I was gigging all the time. But I'm not. So
when Dennis highly recommended the HarpKing (he turned Rick Estrin
onto the amp as well), and made compelling arguments on why I should
own one, as tempting as it sounded, I decided that I'm not ready to
lap the 'Ring in a Lotus 79.