[Harp-L] Element poll

[Greg Heumann <greg@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

Hey, Mike - that's an interesting question. My personal opinion is  
that hotter elements usually sound better. Especially for harp  
players, driving the input stage of the amp hard with the mic is more  
important than ensuring the output stage is driven hard. We have to  
drive the input stage hard to get the distortion that produces bass  
harmonics and fattens up our tone.  That distortion then proceeds  
through the output stage, helping to drive it hard in any case.  
Whatever makes an element weaker seems to also reduce its frequency  
response and that isn't good. Just like Sonny Jr said - if you want to  
drive the amp a little harder, you can back a hot element off a little  
with a volume control at the mic,  rather than play the weaker element.

That's my story and I'm sticking to it.....


/Greg

http://www.blowsmeaway.com
http://www.bluestateband.net



From: "mike wesolowski" <mwesolowski@xxxxxxxxxxxx>
Date: March 13, 2009 7:24:33 AM PDT
To: <harp-l@xxxxxxxxxx>
Subject: [Harp-L] Element poll


I'd like to get some opinions on how hot you guys think mic elements  
should be.   I've owned a lot of mics through the years with varied  
degrees of "hotness".  My personal opinion is that I like my elements  
to be kind of medium strength.  My reasoning behind this is that if  
you've got a good strong amp, don't you want to push the amp harder to  
get your tone?
Seems like if you have a REAL hot mic, you can't really turn up the  
amp to get maximum tube saturation.  Now..........if you've got a low  
powered amp then a REAL HOT mic would be the ticket.  I know a lot of  
folks claim that the elements that they sell are the hottest around  
and then when you plug em up and play, you can hardly turn your amp up  
to 2.
Not looking to open a can of worms here. Just want to get some opinions.
Thanks,
Mike "Wezo" Wesolowski
www.bluesworldorder.com
www.myspace.com/harpwezo
www.megatoneamps.com