RE: [Harp-L] endorsements

[Richard Hunter <turtlehill@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

"Anthony Smith" wrote:
<...The meteor has a great
<Chicago distorted sound but the tone is consistent no matter what he does
<with it.  That might be what YOU want but not what I want.  

I saw and heard Mark Hummel and Curtis Salgado play through the very same model of Meteor amp at the Blowout organized by Hummel in Modesto CA in January 2009.  Both players sounded terrific in my opinion, but the most interesting thing to me was that they sounded COMPLETELY different playing through the same amp.  (Hummel used a vintage biscuit mic; I don't know what mic Salgado was using.)  Whatever else you can say about a Meteor, it is not a one-trick pony.  

It's getting old to repeat it, but the fact is that it is indeed the player that makes the most difference in the sound.  Given a decent amp--let alone a wonderful, drool-worthy instrument like any of the killer amps discussed so far on this thread--a great player will make a great sound, time after time.

Can we agree at this point that we are damn lucky to have some very fine amp makers working on behalf of harp players everywhere, and leave it at that?  This is the Golden Age of harp gear, my friends.  It is cheaper and better than ever.  Believe it.  Buy the stuff you want and enjoy it, which you certainly will.  Let's stop fighting about it.

Oh, and if someone out there wants to give away their Cruncher, Meteor, or Harpgear rig, just call me collect.  Anytime.  Whichever model it is, I will do my very best to live with its--ah--limitations, just as I have done with the Crate VC508 modified for me by Ron Holmes, another master craftsman with a lot to offer harp players.  

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