[Harp-L] What's so bad about micing to a PA?

["sam Blancato" <samblancato@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

Hi Folks, 
 
When playing out on a gig I've gathered over years of reading this list that
while some players may mic their rig through their PA, it's somehow
preferable to have a nice loud, and usually big, honking rig to play
through, skipping the PA reinforcement altogether for your harp.
 
So my Holland West Side Andy, coupled with my Kinder AFB+ is definitely loud
enough to hold its own I have a hankering for something else.  My little
practice amp is a Kalamazoo and I've grown to really love the sound of this
little guy.  How is micing this amp (maybe setting it back out of the way so
as not to have its original sound production mingle with the cacophony on
the floor) not as good as a big loud amp.  I'm not an expert on live stage
sound but it seems to me if you have something small that gives you a sound
you really like and you can bring it up to size (and get it through you
monitor to boot) with your PA what's not to like?  And I have to add that
the Kalamazoo is as light, or lighter, than my little bedroom space heater. 
 
We have a Mackie board with Powered mains and monitors.  It's a nice system.
Am I going to loose something that playing my big amp gives me?  This isn't
a jam, I front  the band and can always tell the other guys to turn it down,
which they are more than willing to do as we don't like to play super loud
(we want patrons to be able to talk and hear themselves think).  So what do
I stand to loose in micing a small amp that I like and leaving the big heavy
guy at home? And is a 57 or 58 the best choice for this job?  I have a Sure
48 that's supposedly less pressure sensitive (supposed to be for drums) -
would this work better?  Calling all experienced live performers with live
sound set-up experience - what's you take on this?
 
 
Sam Blancato, Pittsburgh