[Harp-L] Re: Harp-L Digest, Vol 61, Issue 44

Hi, Tom

There really aren't any mass produced amps that were "designed for harp." There are some mass produced amps that work well for harp, and many more that don't. But guitar amp circuits CAN be modified to make them more harp-friendly - and some people make these "boutique" amps targeted directly at harmonica players. These people DO know a thing or two and their products are excellent for new folks - most newbies make the mistake of buying something that "sounds like it ought to work" like a "Blues Jr." - which (in my opinion) is a lousy harp amp out of the box. Some of these wonderful "dialed in for harp" amps are the Sonny Jr, The Meteor, the Harp King and the HarpGear amps. It might be more instructive to look at how amplified harp is different from guitar and then see why some amps work and some don't.

First of all, a microphone is much better at picking up sound waves from the air than a guitar string. After all, that's what a microphone is designed to do. The downside is that when the microphone "hears" what the amp is playing and sends it back to the amp, the result can be hideous feedback. This is a big problem for harmonica players. Guitar players looking for a Hendrix sound like feedback too - but they need a lot of gain in the amplifier to get it. With tube amps, one of the most common modifications for harp is to reduce the gain of the preamp section by swapping in lower gain tubes. This one modification will turn a Fender Bassman into a wonderful harp amp at a good price. Another solution to the feedback problem is electronic intervention in the form of a stomp box between the mic and the amp. The Kinder AFB ("anti-Feedback") is just such an animal and as you can see fro this list, gets plenty of discussion.

The next issue is that the output of a harp microphone is much higher than that of an electric guitar pickup. So harp mics tend to "overdrive" amplifiers sooner. This, controlled by the player through cupping technique and volume is a god thing - you are adding a huge range of possible tones from clean to distorted simply through your technique. Overdriving tubes results in a "warm" sort of distortion - a significant component of which are harmonics way down in the bass range - this is what can make amplified harmonica sound so much "fatter." But overdriving transistors results in a very harsh sound that most people find objectionable. The best solid state amps have very high "headroom" designed in so they can tolerate a hot, distorted signal from a guitar, maybe even a harp mic - but in the vast majority of less expensive amps, solid state is BAD unless you ONLY want to play clean.

Finally, the power and speaker configuration of amps has a huge influence over their characteristic sound. More power and a smaller number of speakers generally results in an amp that is "stiff" - it has a sweet spot where it sounds great but play beneath that and nobody can hear you; play above that and it can be suddenly way too loud. Someone here mentioned a 65W amp with a single 15" speaker as a good amp - I haven't heard the one he talked about but every fiber in my body screams "no way." A little 5 to 10 watt amp with a single 10" speaker, like Fender Champ, a Kalamazoo or any of several others can be great for harp, but won't be loud enough to be heard among the guitar players at your local jam. A 45 watt "bassman" style amp (4x10" speakers) is classic, WILL cut through at a jam, usually has pretty smooth tone - but weighs a lot and can't (or at least shoudn't) be had cheap.

Like so many others here, I wasted a lot of good money on poor amplifiers when I was starting out. If you want to avoid that mistake, DON'T gamble on a pawn shop amp. Find a guy in your area who is at least a semi-pro harp player, tell them what you're looking for in terms of your playing style and budget, and then follow their advice. Again, there are LOTS of good harp amps and I'm sure others will chime in with recommendations. But there are way, WAY more that SUCK. So go forth wisely. I hope that helps you make a better decision. I sure wish someone had told ME this stuff before I bought my first amp. Of course, I probably wouldn't have listened anyway.



/Greg

http://www.blowsmeaway.com
http://www.bluestateband.net

From: "Tom Halchak" <thalchak@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Date: September 11, 2008 7:55:16 AM PDT
To: <harp-l@xxxxxxxxxx>
Subject: [Harp-L] Advice for a rookie - sort of

So here's my question. I see all this discussion about amps and of course,
being a novice, it's all Greek to me. How is an amp that is designed for a
harmonica different from other amps? As I mentioned, I have purchased a
mike (a green bullet) and am now in the market for an amp. Being a bargain
hunter, I like to haunt the pawn shops in my area and have found many a
great deal whether you are talking about hand tools, fishing equipment, golf
clubs - whatever. And in case you don't already know it, apparently there
are a lot of down and out musicians who have had to pawn their guitars,
drums, amps, mikes, etc. so the pawn shops are just loaded with (seemingly)
good stuff at below market prices. So if someone can reach out to me and
perhaps provide some guidance as to what to look for and what to stay away
from, I would greatly appreciate it.






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