[Harp-L] Re: To Gear Or Not To Gear



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.

Ray.
--
My Music - www.resgraphics.com/music






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