Re: [Harp-L] To be Heard... In a rock band

[Special20 <special20harp@xxxxxxxxx>]

A few years ago I was fronting a loud blues/rock band and the only
solution that worked for me was a loud amp dedicated to the harp.  My
rig was a POD XT Pro and Mesa Boogie 20/20 power amp in a rack case,
on top of a 4x12 cab loaded with Celestions.  It was very loud and
quite clean, and feedback was less of an issue than you might think.
The POD allowed me to get a variety of cool tones, and everything was
stereo.

Magic Dick of the J. Geils Band used various loud rigs, including two
Fender Twin Reverbs.

In a loud band it is going to be hard to get the harp to sound right
(to my ear anyway) by using the same mic and channel you are using for
vocals.  I would prefer to have different sound paths for each signal:
the PA for voice and the amp for harp.

I no longer play in bands that loud, and my tastes have diverted more
toward old tube amps with their lovely natural compression and crunch.
 But I still keep that monster rig around just for fun...

-Rick Davis
the Blues Harp Amps blog:  http://www.bluesharpamps.blogspot.com/



On Sun, Apr 27, 2008 at 9:18 AM, David Brown <nonidesign@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
> A preamp (located near you) between the mic and the PA might help. I have a
> Harp Commander 3 and it works great for the purpose you described. It as a
> gain control and an output control to modify the signal out if you want to
> add more volume. Of course, the sound guy can always turn down your mic
> after you increase the volume through the preamp, and you'd have to be
> careful not to mess with his overall settings on the baord as a result of
> your adjustments to your preamp, so if it's a battle between you and the
> sound guy you will invaraibly lose.
> The Harp Commander also has an effects loop, so if you wanted to add an
> affect box you cold control it providing the HC3 is located near you. It
> also has a lot fo other controls to help model your sound as you want.
>
> On Sat, Apr 26, 2008 at 6:17 PM, Bradford Trainham <
> bradford.trainham@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
>
> > Okay...  I'll be as succinct as I never am...
> > I sing and play harmonica for a "classic rock" band.  The lead guitarist
> > doubles as a sound man... And when he's doing sound, he pumps up my vocal
> > mic such that I can step back just a little when singing and then do my
> > harmonica stuff without much if any feedback while still being heard.
> > But when we have gigs where someone else is running the sound, my
> > harmonica
> > never quite cuts through the mix.
> > So far, I've resisted the idea of an amp because I'm not sure I'd like the
> > sound of myself electrified.  But I do begin to wonder what strategy would
> > have me producing a clean sound that would cut through the mix well enough
> > to be heard, but which wouldn't introduce distortion unless the song
> > warranted distortion.
> > What combination of mic and amp/processor would have me with an "acoustic"
> > sound, (I'm a guitarist and tend to divide everything into things acoustic
> > and electric.) but would give me the capability of upping the volume if I
> > wasn't coming through someone's mix?
> > Please "talk down" when you reply as I'm ill-acquainted with
> > tubes/wattage/wiring-schematics/anything-at-all-scientific.
> > Brad Trainham
> >
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