Re: [Harp-L] amplifier recommendation

["Ed Kliman" <info@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

I'd like to put in a plug for one of my current harp amps, a Music Man
1x12 with 65 watts.  It's a hybrid tube/solid state design with one preamp
tube and two power tubes.  I currently have it running (and biased) with a
12AT7 and two 6V6 tubes.  Stock tubing is a 12AX7 and two 6L6s.   I
replaced the original 12" speaker with a Celestion.  It's a great amp when
I need power and presence more than tonal nuance, such as when I'm working
with the Thunder Chiefs (www.myspace.com/thunderchiefs).

These amps are tough.  I've been gigging mine *hard* for 15 years now and
it already had a lot of mileage on it when I got it for $75 from a friend.
 Intended as guitar amps, they come with channel switching.  For harp, I
leave mine on the "lead" channel, which drops some of the top end and
thickens up the mids.  The amp has a master volume and individual channel
volumes, which I use to adjust the amount of overdrive by turning up the
channel volume to around 6 and leaving the master on 2.  It has a spring
reverb unit that actually sounds quite good, particularly when compared
with Fender's newer amps.

These are not as highly sought-after as some comparable amps and therefore
still reasonably-priced.  I occasionally see them on CraigsList and ebay
for around $250-350.  I can't recommend these amps highly enough.  Mine
has more than enough power to bull through the loudest stage mix and is
(since re-tubing) remarkably feedback-free at high volume levels.  I would
describe the tone of this amp and a JT30 as being as close to the colossal
tone of sax man Sonny Rollins as this harp player has been able to get.

If you see one of these beauties for sale and you've been considering Pro
and Blues Juniors, it's worth your time to check it out for better tone,
more power, better reverb and much better construction for less money.

Cheers,

Ed

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Ed Kliman
Publisher
Texas Music Forge

"Written, musical and electronic communications for a changing world..."
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