[Harp-L] tone and gear

[David Fertig <drfertig@xxxxxxxxx>]

Chris, et al., 

Good advice, as usual, but:

You say tone and gear matter only to the player. Isn't that all that counts?  I mean, who else matters, in terms of shaping sound, and the choices involved in doing so?  

(Setting aside the gear quagmire, indeed I always try to adjust to available gear, or none, or just a dixie cup!) 

But, as for tone, I won't play unless I can get a tone that I feel sounds relatively good.  Why play otherwise? Just to get notes?  Bah!  A note without tone is a cipher, a merely technical step.

One plays, records, listens critically, and modifies ones approach
until one gets tone that's desirable, at least as nearly acceptable
as possible.   As much as we all steal riffs, it's finally YOUR sound. 
Amplified or not!  Shape each note, etc. 

Compliments?  Double bah!  I REALLY don't care if listeners compliment my tone, I mean, thanks, but I don't do it for them, I play to my own ears, and I'm never satisfied - and rarely as drunk as those giving me compliments (and thanks anyway!)   And if they criticize me constructively I try to learn and improve, but still it's to my standards, not others'. 

  So always have fun and push your envelope, but if you think your set up or playing sounds poorly, change it, no matter how accepting others may be of it.   Play for yourself first, if you want to reach others.

Dave "prima donna" Fertig
Harp-L] tone and gear
         Wednesday, April 1, 2009 5:30 AM 
        
                
        
        
            
            From: 
            
                "Buddha" <groovygypsy@xxxxxxxxx>
                         
                        
                        
                        
        
        
            To:         
        
            harp-l@xxxxxxxxxx                        
                        
I think tone and gear only matters to the player.  From my experiences
the audience generally doesn't care what you sound like as long as you
are impacting them emotionally via the music that is coming out of
your million dollar set up or $5 crap box. I sometimes play through a
small solid state bass practice amp,  it works pretty good for effects
and sounds terrible otherwise, I use it when I need small. And ya know
what? Not a single person has ever complained about my tone.  In fact
there have been a few harp players that approach and ask what I was
playing through. I know there is one local guy that went out to buy
one because of me.  Little does he know, I got it at a garage sale for
$15.

Tone and emotional impact comes from the player and then the next item
in the chain is the harp.  So spend your money on getting yourself
together and then get some good harps.  Once you have
 the basic of
"Your Sound" together then start looking at amps and things to further
enhance what YOU do.
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