[Harp-L] Amp Recommendations

["Stachnik, George C (The Podcast guy)" <george.stachnik@xxxxxx>]

After a 4-year hiatus, I'm getting back into playing harp at jam sessions here in the South Bay area around San Jose (JJ's, Woodhams, to name a couple).  I have a question that I'd like to submit to the list.

First, the amp that I'm playing through currently is a '59 Bassman Reissue, which was voiced for harp by the late Evan Aurand, (a well-known amp tech in these parts who passed on some years ago).  The bassman's a great amp, but it's really much more than I need in the relatively small rooms that host our local jams.  It's plenty loud enough to be heard over the guitar/bass/drum cacophony, but in a small venue, I can't turn it up much above 2 without feedback, so it never really gets to "sing" the way it can in a larger room, (or better still, outdoors).  Another problem with the bassman is it's sheer size (and weight!), which my old bones are complaining about more and more lately.

So I've been looking for a smaller, lighter and less powerful amp.  I have a Spirit Harp Pro, which sounds great, but at ~7 Class-A watts it's inaudiable in a jam setting, unlike the bassman.  Of course, it could be mic'ed, but at a jam you need to get set up quickly and just blow; there's not a lot of time to fool around with mics nor PA settings, and if there's more than one vocalist, there may not even be a mic to spare.

I've been eyeing Fender's 15-watt Blues Jr & Pro Jr, both of which have been mentioned on this list.  Both deliver surprising amounts of volume for their size and power, which is good.  But on the other hand, there are a lot of negative comments about the Pro Jr on harmony-central, particularly when it's used as a harp amp.  (See http://reviews.harmony-central.com/reviews/Guitar+Amp/product/Fender/Pro+Junior/10/1)

So before I open my wallet, I thought I'd poll the list for relatively inexpensive harp amp recommendations (boutique amps over $1,000 dollars will not make it past the wife without a struggle that I'd sooner not deal with).

-Little George