[Harp-L] A solution to blowing out reeds

[<bluesbent@xxxxxxxx>]

The consensus of the # 4 blow reed failure thread is that the problem lies with the player playing too hard in loud situations.  I've largely resolved this problem by using in-ear monitor headphones. They reduce the ambient volume by at least 15 dB and allow the player to  play at a comfortable volume. I use M-Audio IE-30s (list ~$220) attached to a headphone extension cord zip-tied to my mic cable, which runs to a Harp Commanded Jr. The HCâs instrument out is connected to a 4-channel (tiny) Mackie 402 mixer (list~$90) which functions as the headphone amp w/ headphone volume (be careful â this thing gets very loud) and EQ controls.  The HC line out runs to the PA. The rig fits into a padded reinforced sewing machine bag (my wifeâs idea) which sits on a small Amp-150 collapsible amp stand. Among the several advantages of this setup is that you can move around w/o having to depend on the location of floor monitor/monitor amp or the sound person providing you w/adequate volume. The stage volume is also reduced as there is no harp amp competing w/ the guitar amps. The major downside is that you clearly hear all the bad notes you hit as well as the good. Thereâs also a wireless option at twice the cost.


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Larry Bloomfield