RE: [Harp-L] Amp purchase help

["Bill Hines" <billhines4@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

I agree that if you like the harp commander, get the III which has many
improvements, including an effects loop for the lone wolf. You should be
able to dial in the grit just using that. I do it with mine, using
either a bullet mic or fireball v. remember some of that grit comes from
your cupping and playing technique,i.e getting some of those 'edge'
notes, for example on the 4D getting a bit of the 5 along with it. I was
doing that with my old HC II as well so you should be able to get it
too. I got a nice price for my II on ebay and used that to get the III.

>From all I've read, the lone wolf is the top (or at least among the top
2-3) delays for harp. So I see no need to change that!

-----Original Message-----
From: harp-l-bounces@xxxxxxxxxx [mailto:harp-l-bounces@xxxxxxxxxx] On
Behalf Of pdxharpdog@xxxxxxxxxxx
Sent: Friday, July 11, 2008 10:59 AM
To: harp-l@xxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [Harp-L] Amp purchase help


hey list - I'm in the market for a new gigging amp, and I need some help
figuring out the somewhat complicated amp/mic/fx landscape to make the
best choice. I'm somewhat new/lame when it comes to electronic harp
amplification.  My band plays frequently in mostly small  venues 100-200
people, and for the most part I have been playing through a Harp
Commander II direct into the PA, using a Madcat Ruth hand mic. This has
worked pretty well so far as I play mostly cleaner melody lines and
generally play a more acoustic sound than a dirty sound. Lately we have
added some trance blues tunes with a much louder and dirtier cigar box
guitar sound which I love, but my harp sound isn't dirty enough with my
current rig.

I also own but seldom use a really nice custom mini-bullet mic with a
Shure black label CR element and have recently purchased a lone wolf
harp delay to fatten my sound. I also own a stock Silvertone 1482 amp
that I have gigged with on occasion, mic'd to the PA but don't really
like the sound of it for either the acoustic melody stuff for the trance
blues material. Not sure why I don't like it, so I might be able to
upgrade it with a new speaker or different tubes + FX to get the right
sound.  

I need a mentor!  My specific questions:

1)  Is there a mid size boutique amp (ex. harpgear double trouble / HG30
/ Sonny Jr. Cruncher ) that is best for the size venues we play?  (I
think my Silvertone 1482 is about 15 Watts) Do I need one with two
channels and a line out to the PA that I can quickly set up a clean
sound and a dirty sound and switch between them on stage? Would I need
an A/B switch for that? 

2)  Should I consider something like a Fireball V on a mic stand for the
acoustic clean melody stuff and the amp/mic for the dirtier sound? Does
anyone use a Fireball V handheld as opposed to on a stand? Does this
work well for you? 

 3)  I also want to experiment with a wireless rig and have no clue what
is the best one and how to adapt one to the mic -   I'm thinking that I
might use a Shure 57 or a Fireball V for this.

4)  What FX other than the Lone Wolf delay pedal should I consider? 

Thanks for any assistance! 

Ross
www.myspace.com/sassparillajugband
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