[Harp-L] An amp observation from the NYC blues blowout last night

[dennis moriarty <dmoriarty@xxxxxxxxxx>]

     This is a sort of myopic amp report I posted on another amp  
related harp site that I thought might interest others from the show  
at BB King's Times Square last night:
On the stage from left to right on the front line was a
Meteor which Mark Hummell played through (In this particular venue it  
worked
the best of all the harp amps).Next to that (moving right) was Kim  
Wilson's brown Fender Concert
(Kim played through both the Meteor and Concert simultaneously
which for me was too much) Then the either 2 10" or 2 8" beige and
greenish (smallest on the stage and behind Charlie) Harpgear "double
trouble" which I believe Charlie went through (but I don't know if he
played through it exclusive of the other amps or if it was in a
combination with another). And finally on the furthest right of the  
stage stood the
red Harpking which Dennis Gruenling went through. I was there with a  
guitarist-
sound man and he was very critical of BB King's (the club not the man)
sound person. The bass player was way too loud and the  harp blowers  
were having
monitor problems (mostly reflecting the vocal mike). I was also
hanging with Dave Grossman (He's the great guitarist in Dennis G's
band and Dennis G is the harp player in his band) and his band along  
with Dennis had all just driven all the way
back from Wisconsin. It was largely a terrific show and I'm grateful for
a unique East Coast harp event but IMO the amp monster reared its
head for the finale when it got sort of muddled and overly loud. The
reason I felt that the Meteor worked best is it seemed most
neutral and clearly resonant relative to the others. The others seemed a
little more abrasive in comparison. I'm too tech naive to know how
much of this was the soundman and how much of this was the dial in
of the particular amps. My favorites of the night were Dennis and Mark
because I'm a real 3rd postion lover and these guys excel in that.
Obviously Kim was the crowd pleaser and when he gets going as he did
on (I think it was) his final song he's like a machine squeezing more
and more verve out of his harp. His eyes glaze away and it looks like
he's channeling the sounds from a deeper rhythm.


http://www.myspace.com/blowintheblues