RE: [Harp-L] Re: Harp-L Digest, Vol 70, Issue 55

["A.C." <ac@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

I am dying to know what harp rig was used on "Takin' My Time" - one of my
favorite albums of all, any artists. If anybody has any info, don't let us
hanging! 

By the way, most of that LP has been re-released on the CD "Memphis
Charlie", just in case you can't find the record.

AC

-----Original Message-----
From: harp-l-bounces@xxxxxxxxxx [mailto:harp-l-bounces@xxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf
Of Richard Hunter
Sent: Thursday, June 18, 2009 11:04 PM
To: harp-l@xxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [Harp-L] Re: Harp-L Digest, Vol 70, Issue 55

Rick Davis wrote:
<Blues historians go to a lot of trouble to document what gear the great
<players actually used.  I'm just trying to nail this down. 

It seems to me that very few players have used as many rigs for blues as
Charlie Musselwhite, including everything from the harp to the end of the
chain.  He's always searching for something new to try, and his lines,
styles, and gear have broadened steadily over time.  

I would certainly like to know what rig he was using when he recorded
"Takin' My Time", which was released on Arhoolie in 1971. That is one of the
most intense harp sounds I have ever heard (not to mention an incredible
band, with Robben Ford on guitar and Skip Rose on piano).  The harp playing
was also a major leap forward from the stuff he played on his debut album in
1965 (Stand Back! on Vanguard, as I recall--correct me if I'm wrong).  When
I heard him live that year at Lennie's on the Turnpike, near Boston, he was
playing a Shure Unisphere omnidirectional hi-Z mic through a Premier amp
with 2 12s.  He sounded great, but he had a lot of problems with feedback,
so the harp was a little too far back compared to 'Takin' My Time."
(Omnidirectional mics don't have as much proximity effect as undirectional
mics like the Shure 545, so this rig didn't have as much bass punch as it
might have if he had used a unidirectional mic.  Maybe that was part of the
problem.) I neverthele!
 ss really enjoyed the show--it was the same band that recorded the album,
and they were killer.    

I heard him a couple of years ago in a club in San Francisco, and as I
recall he was using a fender amp (don't remember which model-- a combo unit
with 2 12s for sure) and an Audix Fireball (original) mic with V element
installed.  He sounded great, though certainly different from the 1970s
sound. It was a sound that projected right out in front of the band, with
enough distortion to put weight on the tone. He told me after the show that
he liked the Fireball because it eliminated a lot of his feedback problems.
On reflection, it's apparent that no matter what amp Charlie is using, he
runs it hot.  

Of course Charlie is always recognizable, no matter what gear he's using.  I
have no doubt that his sound through either a Red Knob Twin or a Cruncher
would be simply hellacious.  

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

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