Re: [Harp-L] Re: amp or mic?

[Richard Hunter <turtlehill@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

John F. Potts wrote:
>
>> IMHO, the MIC is the single most important piece of gear after the
>> harmonica itself.  Let me use a good mic of the kind I prefer and I'll get
>> decent tone whether I'm playing through the PA, my amp, your amp, or
>> whatever.

Interesting comment, made me stop and think.  I think there's a lot of truth to this assertion. But in the end, the amp and mic are a system, and every piece of the system matters. I may have a hotrodded bullet mic that sounds amazing with a lot of amps, but put it through a PA system and it sounds dull and lifeless.  I may have a mic that sounds great through a PA, but put it through a Sonny Junior and it's less than completely inspiring.

However, I agree in general with the gist of this statement, which is: start with the mic. As per my comments above, I think most players will sooner or later find that they want more than one mic in their toolkit.  Fortunately, high quality mics are relatively inexpensive now--certainly a lot cheaper than amps when you consider how little you have to spend on a mic to get a very different sound from your overall setup.

By the way, if you want to see what mics (and amps, etc.) a range of pro players use, check the Pro Pages at my (newly revamped) website:
http://www.hunterharp.com/category/harmonica-musician%E2%80%99s-resources/meet-the-pros/

I'll be adding new stuff to these pages soon.

Regards, Richard Hunter 

author, "Jazz Harp" 
latest mp3s and harmonica blog at http://myspace.com/richardhunterharp
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