[Harp-L] Blows Me Away Ultimate Series harp mic

[David Brown <nonidesign@xxxxxxxxx>]

I purchased a Ultimate Series mic from Greg Heuman and wanted to throw out
some comments for the list.
I bought an Ultimate SM57 with a built-in volume knob and the XLR connector.

I couldn't be happier.

Fit and finish is perfect. Good, solid work. The brushed dark-red finish and
precise tooling give the mic a great look and feel. The built in volume knob
removes the need for an inline attachement of one. This, combined with the
shorter body length, makes the mic feel much better as a wand mic because
there is less weight cantilevering beyond my hands when cupped around it

My rig at practice, and at most gigs, is a series of pedals run through a
Harp Commander 3. Live I use a vintage bullet with a CR element but at
practice that mic is an issue due to feedback in the space. The volume knob
on the Ulitimate 57 helps me kill the feedback beast when playing loud
in our practice space. It doesn't happen much, but when it does the knob
solves the problem with just a knob turn.
The Ultimate 57 does the job I expect a Shure SM57 and by that I mean it has
all the tone typical of that mic. It has the same tight, punchy tone I
associate with stock 57s as issued from Shure. This is a good thing to me. I
like that tone when I want it and was pleased that the mods had no affect on
that aspect of the mic's sound. I did a side-by-side comparison of the
Ultimate 57 against another stock 57 I own and noticed no difference
whatsoever in the tone or volume levels.

The other use I have for this mic is for amps. I tried a standard XLR cable
with an SJ410, SJ Cruncher, vintage 64 Fender Deluxe and a vintage tweed 56
Fender Champ. I used a Shure low to high gain converter plug at the end of
the plug input into the amp . The mic has the aggressive, punchy sound of
Little Walter's intro notes to "Mellow Down Easy". I love it! It works
especially well with the Deluxe for a Butterfield sound. And, man, with the
SJ amps it kicked ass. With both of those amps the individual note
definition and dripping tone really gets pulled forward using this mic.

This is not my first purchase from Greg Heumann. I own three of his in line
volume controls as well. (2) of them never leave my bisuit mics and the
third I use as a "floater" when I need one.

Greg has always done sterling business with me. I wish all my business
transactions were as easy. Others on this List will back my opinion.

Disclaimer: I aint paid nuthin by nobody to say nun uh dis.