Re: [Harp-L] amps for beginners?

[Jonathan McAnulty <mcanultj@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

I agree with Rick Davis on this one. Especially this part
"Amps do not cover up bad playing; they expose it brutally. Bad playing 
sounds, well, bad when played acoustically, but it sounds truly wretched 
when played through an amp. Amps encourage better technique."

The only catch with the question here is that the term "beginner" covers 
a lot of real estate. If you are at the level where you can't bend the 2 
draw or even get a pure tone there unbent on the fly, stay far from an 
amp. If you are gaining some basic proficiency, then Rick's quote is on 
the money. I found it really upped my acceptable standards level when I 
started playing amplified and could hear the bad stuff oh so clearly. It 
also keeps things interesting and fun but as a beginner you certainly 
would not want your main focus to be on amplified playing. Also, you can 
get some pretty decent sounding practice amps and mics pretty darn 
cheap. Are they good enough to gig with? No, but they are fine to learn 
cupping, tone control, some effects and to start to develop your taste 
in how you might want your amplified tone to sound.

I think most player's learning harp is nonlinear. You shoot ahead in one 
area because of interest or practice only to find later that you need to 
go back to a more basic skill in order to advance further. A good 
example (from personal experience) is learning some fairly hard songs 
note for note but not knowing hardly anything about scales. At some 
point to advance further it helps to know and understand the various 
scales. So, back to the woodshed. Amplified is similar. Overall it is a 
more advanced technique but there is no reason not to delve into it 
early if you enjoy it. It is a gestalt experience in the end.
Just another $0.02.
Cheers.
Jon


Daniel Velton wrote:
> Quick question: is there any reason for a beginner to get an amp?
>
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