Re: [Harp-L] Cool videos from the Blowout

[Richard Hunter <turtlehill@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

martin oldsberg wrote:
<What is a rough estimate of the cost of the effects that Lee Oskar is lining up in this video? 
<It sounds "expensive" and I have a disturbing feeling that itÂs tantamount to what I make per annum; <but perhaps itÂs just one nice little box for a couple of hundred $:s?
 
The rig Lee was using at the Modesto Blowout--which I understand to be his standard stage rig--consisted of (in order of chaining, from the player to the house sound system), Lee Oskar harmonicas, a Beyer M-260 double ribbon mic, a Digitech Whammy pedal, a Boss T-Wah envelope filter, another Whammy pedal, a very small boutique amp--I think the brand is Aer--and a Lexicon rack mount reverb.  The amp is designed to produce a clean sound--it's not the typical tube blues amp.  

The mic is $800 or so.  A very good Lexicon rack reverb (the MX110) can be had for about $200--in fact, it's about the best buy you can get in a hardware processor, considering the quality of the reverbs, delays, and other time-based effects in that machine.  I have no idea what the amp cost, but I'll bet it ain't cheap--I'll guess it's in the neighborhood of $1200, and it could easily be more.  The Digitech and Boss pedals probably run about $100-$150 apiece.

Total it up, and you're in the neighborhood of $2500 dollars.  That's more than my stage rig costs, but it's not a hell of a lot for a rock star-grade rig that will last a lifetime.

My stage rig, by the way, consists of a Digitech RP200 and an Audix Fireball mic with V element.  Total cost if purchased new is about $250.  This may be hubris, but I think that rig sounds as good as just about anything I've played through--granted that it doesn't make every sound in the world, and that there are plenty of players whose gear makes great sounds that the Digitech doesn't make.  The fact is that the only way to make every great sound in the world is to have every great piece of gear in the world at your disposal.  (And, of course, to play the hell out of it all, starting with the harp.  For the record, in my conversations with Lee at the Modesto gig, he spent more time talking about harp setup than about anything in the rest of his kit.)

In the end, it's about having gear that makes a sound that inspires you.  Plenty of great players make inspiring sounds with gear that costs less than $2500--and plenty of others spend more than that. Like Tony Glover said, "It's your bread, man--blow as thou pleaseth." 

And, of course, if nothing less than Lee's rig will do for you, you can always acquire the stuff one piece at a time.  Gear prices are certainly dropping, and I expect they will continue to do so for some time.

Regards, Richard Hunter
latest mp3s and harmonica blog at http://myspace.com/richardhunterharp