RE: [Harp-L] Re: amps for beginners?

["Dan Manturi" <dmanturi@xxxxxxx>]

My first post to this as I joined a week ago and this topic has been pretty
intense since I joined.

As a beginner (started maybe 8 months ago at age 61, but I also got on my
first motorcycle at 50, so I am a little nuts. According to Adam Gussow, you
need to be a little nuts to play blues harp),  I think is it fair to say
that amateurs and professionals alike enjoy the "toys" aspect of most
pursuits. I bought a Pignose little battery amp, hooked it up with an old
tape recorder dynamic mic, and it taught me one thing - no way I am ready
for amped playing. My wife seconded that very quickly - something about it
sounded like I was killing a cat. The Little Walter blues sound is not
something you can get a sense for, I think, buy just playing along or
playing alone, but that's me. I do not think that it hurts anything to buy
an amp and find out you need more practice. I guess if you are not offending
anyone, it is fine. There are those moments when I actually sounded OK. I
also wear hearing aids and the amp did help me hear my playing better, but
that is an aside.

I sure as heck do not want my errors to sound any worse by amplifying them.
There are morons who would, however...

OF greater importance to a New player is - I want an amp and a mic for
starters and which is the best solution.

I am sure that there is plenty of info on that in the archives. Like I got a
Pignose, but heard about epiphone and roland after I got that. The tube vs
solid state I guess is interesting, but at my stage, $60 at a pawn shop got
me my amp NEW. The little amp is fun, but I practice without it.

Dan Manturi
908-295-9341

-----Original Message-----
From: harp-l-bounces@xxxxxxxxxx [mailto:harp-l-bounces@xxxxxxxxxx]On
Behalf Of Rick Davis
Sent: Saturday, January 10, 2009 6:30 PM
To: Howard Chandler
Cc: harp-l
Subject: Re: [Harp-L] Re: amps for beginners?


Mmmm.. I think there is a lot more to amped playing than just increasing
your volume, just as there is a lot more to electric guitar than just diming
the knobs.

Are you familiar with the amp I recommended for beginners at the top of this
thead?  The Epiphone Valve Junior Half Stack is rated at 5 watts (I think it
is actually half that.)  It has a single EL84 power tube.  This amp ain't
gonna blow the windows out or get you arrested.  It is a surprisingly good
sounding amp for not a lot of money.  It is great for practice or
low-intensity jams.  The tone is really exceptional with a warm sound, and
just a bit of tearing along the attack edge of the notes if you use a bullet
mic.  You can find it for under $300, and you don't need to make any
modifications to it to make it sound good for harp.

It is nowhere near the quality and tone of, say, a Harpgear amp, but it is
cheaper and can be picked up at your local Guitar Center.  It is a good
place for a new player to start.

-Rick Davis


On Sat, Jan 10, 2009 at 11:28 AM, Howard Chandler
<h_chandler@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>wrote:

> Despite the last eight years this is still a free country.  As far as I
> know there are no legal considerations to how you play your harp.  I don't
> get the permission thing.
>
> You do not need permission to get an amp, (or a tattoo). If you want one
> get it.  Neither will make you a better player.
>
> My ONLY point is you do not NEED one until someone tells you, "Hey, I
think
> you play well but I can't hear you".
>
> Learning to use an amp and mic makes a lot more sense once you have
> something to play and a need to be heard above a band.
>
>
>
>
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