[Harp-L] The right tool for the particular job

["John F. Potts" <hvyj@xxxxxxx>]

i was sitting in with a blues rock band a few weeks ago which had a  
soundman and a sophisticated sound sound system. Loud, hard rocking  
band that did a lot of interesting rhythmic breaks and varied their  
dynamics quite a bit.  Used my Shure 545 Ultimate into the board and  
told the sound man how i wanted to be mixed. Sounded great, and the  
volume control on the mic came in handy for quiet passages when the  
band dialed the dynamics way down.  At that gig I met a young  
musician who played mandolin and acoustic guitar.  He invited me to  
sit in with his acoustic duo the next week.

When i showed up for the acoustic duo gig, there was the young guy  
who invited me playing acoustic guitar and mandolin and his partner  
playing acoustic guitar. His partner had dreadlocks past his waist.   
All the instruments had pick ups and were plugged into the PA board  
along with the vocal mics.  I used an Audix Fireball V into the board  
(a Mackey board, which, btw, has great mic preamps in it).  The board  
was on stage, so i mixed myself and set my own levels.  Blended well  
with the acoustic instruments and everyone seemed to like it.  The  
guitar player with dreadlocks  liked my playing.  He told me he had a  
reggae band and invited me to sit in with his reggae band the next  
night.  I asked if the reggae band had a keyboard player and was told  
it did not,  just 2 guitars, bass and drums. So i asked him if it was  
okay if I brought an amp and some pedals that made the harp sound  
sort of like a keyboard, and he said whatever I wanted to do would be  
fine.

I showed up for the reggae gig with my SWR Baby Baby Blue bass amp.   
I used my 545 Ultimate with a MicroPOG and a RotoSim between the mic  
and the amp.  The electronics sounded great with the reggae music,  
and there was room to use them because there was no keyboard. I used  
the pedals singly or in combination quite a bit, but not all the  
time.  All the guys in the band loved it, and the audience seemed to  
dig it. too.  I had a blast since i don't get to play reggae that often.

Moral of the story:  Use the equipment that gives you a sound that  
fits the music you are playing and learn how to use that equipment to  
get your sound in the musical context of the music being played  
around you.  Don't force feed the music. You'll sound better and be  
appreciated more. This doesn't necessarily mean that a player needs a  
ton of gear, but it does require that the player understand what  
different equipment does to the sound and how to adjust playing  
technique to use that equipment to create a sound that is  
authentically your own and fits the style and aesthetics of the  
particular music being played.

FWIW

JP