[Harp-L] my first amp and mic??

["samblancato" <samblancato@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

Garry's Advise here is excellent.  When I first started doing jams I spent a
lot of time fooling with my rig and dealing with its issues instead of
paying attention to the music.  He's right, bring your harps and play
through the vocal mic.  You might not like the tone a much as what you can
get through a good rig but you will be heard, you be able to hear yourself
(not always the case with your own rig at a loud jam) and you can
concentrate on playing along with others.  What you may not realize at this
point is that hearing others play from out on the floor and being up there
playing yourself are two different things.  It took me a while to get used
to the cacophony of sound on a stage so that I could insert myself into it
in a smart way.

 

Sam Blancato, Pittsburgh

 

"the other thing is, when you start going, you might consider leaving
your rig at home and playing through a vocal mic, especially if there
is a competent sound guy running the PA. when i started playing not
that long ago, i found that dealing with my own rig was a huge
distraction from what i really needed to be focusing on. messing
with gear, dealing with feedback, not being loud enough, etc. it's
only pretty recently that i've gotten a handle on all of that, and
i've been playing for 3 years (yeah, i'm a slow learner)."