[Harp-L] Re: Holmes Harp Commander III for Sale

[B Boggs <ceudoazul@xxxxxxxxx>]

Some say semantics
Some say them antics...
 
A good Sonny Jr.410, good Bassman, Valco, etc. with a well matched mic- add the player of your choice and VOILA,
a distinct sound that is described many ways. Great sound.  I know I like it.
For a stage amp, for a loud band, for compression with cupping, the big amps can have a big effect on a player's development.
Then I know this cat here named Marvin Jaramillo who declines all my offers to play through my rig ( 50's Valco Supro or Spectator mic'd or line into PA, nice custom mic with Shure CM or CRT or Thunderharp element). Marvin just goes up and shreds with diatonic and chromatic playing with a stage mic into the PA.  A little reverb of the PA is all the effects he uses and he sounds incredible.
What I am getting at is the variety of technique and sounds that lend themselves to different gear and situations adds opportunites and fun.
I like playing into the stage mic and got a Fireball to use for occasions.
I like amps most, currently. 
The ART tube preamp into the PA (a tube swap works wonders) with the same mic can sound dynamite and is a nice solution for portability and is great for stand-ins and traveling.
The Harp Commander III is a great piece of equipment as a headphone amp and as another travel and stand-in unit into a PA.  The HC III has adjustments to vary sound and is very well made and designed. It is a nice emulation of an amp for a certain sound. The effects loop and line out allow the use of a small amp as a monitor and or/ addition of a pedal or pedal board. Well worth the price for a travelling player- if you like the way it makes you sound. 
Different gear and style, technique, etc. work in different places at different times and knowing what the current goals are can influence the decisions and choices made.
It is all good,
(when it is good).
Regards!
Brian
 
 
 
 
 
: Sun, 02 Nov 2008 09:46:46 -0800
From: GaryB <garybond@xxxxxxx>
Subject: Re: [Harp-L] Holmes Harp Commander III for Sale
Cc: harp-l@xxxxxxxxxx

Thanks for the enlightenment. The reason I asked was that years ago I 
stumbled across the ART tube preamp by accident and at the time it was a 
perfect fit for me and the sound was so much better than going straight 
into the PA, which opens another topic of playing straight into a PA is 
one of the best ways to learn how to play well because you have to work 
hard to get a good sound, I recommend that to all players as something 
to take up every now and then to push themselves to higher ground. So I 
guess the HC would be in a similar sound/tone range.

Thanks for the enlightenment
GaryB

Bill Hines wrote:
> I agree with Bob - a Harp Commander is not as good as a Sonny Jr or
> other boutique harp amp that costs upwards of $1500 for sure. But search
> the harp-l archives for comments and read the reviews on the
> www.coast2coastmusic.com and other sites. You'll see primarily rave
> reviews and from pro or very experienced players. Ian Collard, for
> example, is no slouch! Not to mention the comments by Charlie
> Musselwhite. It sounds *damn* good and weighs a few pounds and fits into
> your case as opposed to an amp that will break your back and you have to
> try to fit in the trunk, etc. Then there's the advantages of impedance
> matching/transforming (lo-z/hi-z), battery usage for busking/camping,
> etc. I used it with the lone wolf delay (also can run on batteries)
> through the HCIII effects loop and that sounded great and was a very
> portable setup.
>
> And that's for a few hundred, rather than almost a few thousand. And you
> have much better control to dial in a range of sounds, where as with
> amps you are pretty much locked in, other than some control over just a
> few parameters. A very good compromise, especially since it's been well
> established here that the tone comes mostly from the player and
> technique.
>
> Bill
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: harp-l-bounces@xxxxxxxxxx [mailto:harp-l-bounces@xxxxxxxxxx] On
> Behalf Of robert mcgraw
> Sent: Sunday, November 02, 2008 6:30 AM
> 
> Subject: RE: [Harp-L] Holmes Harp Commander III for Sale
>
>   
>> I've heard of these before but can it really sound as good as like a >
>>     
>
>   
>> Sonny jr or something like that or is it something in between PA clean
>> and a custom harp amp. Please enlighten me.---No, the Harp Commander
>>     
> does not sound as good as a Sonny Jr or really any good amp...but it
> does sound pretty good and it's a lot easier to carry :-)
> WVa Bob 
> ____________________