RE: [Harp-L] When do get started with amplification?

[Buck Worley <boogalloo@xxxxxxx>]

Splash-
I respectfully beg to differ.
 
I forgot to mention in the text that the cheezy mic was a GM-178. I really dont know much about it but IMHO I would play through it before I would play through an SM57 or 58. They are just too clean for my taste. BTW, I did play through them for many country gigs and that work just fine for me.
 
I have a SM57 that I have been using to mic my amp since the '70s as well as a couple of 58s. You are right about one thing, they are built to last. IMHO compared to a Shure SM 57 or 58 a JT30 is a cheezy mic. After all they were created to serve a dispatcher mics and for cheap. I have one JT30 that my aunt in Texas picked up at a garage sell for .50 cents and it is the mic I play through the most. 
 
I think we are touching on a subject that is so opinionated that I do not care to get into what mic is better that what mic. It's too subjective and a matter of personal opinion.
 
I have a big box full of mics that I picked up (pre ebay days) some of which are truly cheezy but have decent tone. My point was that you just never know what a given mic is going to sound like until one plugs it in. And sometimes what looks like a suspicioously cheap mic can be a jewel.
 
My advice to the OP (Jake) is to not pass up a cheap mic that is inexpensive and may look cheezy just because it is inexpensive or the way it looks. It might have a really good tone for very little $$. Look for those little surprizes at garage sells, old electronics stores, old schools or couthouses. Any place that may have used a PA system inthe past. Who knows you may luck up and find an old Masco. Talk about the cheezy factor!
 
BACK TO THE TOPIC:
 
No matter which route you decide, just go for it and have fun. Hook up your gear at home and get familiar with it before you go public. The more you play amped the more you learn. Therefore the longer you wait the more time is waisted. The quest for tone is a never ending thing.  BW
 

> From: celtiac@xxxxxxxxx
> To: harp-l@xxxxxxxxxx
> Subject: Re: [Harp-L] When do get started with amplification?
> Date: Tue, 5 Jul 2011 15:52:44 -0400
> 
> 
> OK on the pignose, but skip the cheesy mic. The pignose will sometimes be 
> just the thing you need. It's a keeper.
> 
> But ditch the crappy mic. It will just will eventually end up in some other 
> place anyway. With all the other crap.
> 
> Get a Shure SM57 or SM58. They run right around $100 new and still one of 
> the best values around. And then that SM58 will sometimes be just the thing 
> that you need, ten, twenty years or more down the road. It's a keeper.
> 
> Check eBaY. (Too many Chinese knock-off s on Craigslist) I just took a look 
> on the baY and there's a sm58s with switch SM-58S - buy it now for $109 and 
> free shipping. Plus you get a 20ft XLR cable, a mike-stand with boom, a mic 
> bag and clip. Whole shooting match for $109. Or one of the many completed 
> auctions that went for between $50-$60 And get a XLR to 1/4" Lo-Hi 
> inpedance transformer for $12
> $70-$121 not wasted. I still have mine after 35 years.
> 
> I prefer the 58 if I'm only going to have one. It's a little better for 
> vocals and it has a ball on the end to make it easier to get a good cup with 
> harp. If you're main intent is to mic an amplifier cabinet, go with the 57. 
> There is a good reason why these two mics have been the standard of the 
> industry for decades.
> 
> So, now you're in for $150-$175 and you have stuff you will keep and use for 
> many years. If you keep at playing music, you're going to do it sooner or 
> later anyway.
> 
> 
> 
> When life asks you to jump in...
> Splash!
> ----- Original Message ----- 
> 
> > Jake,
> >
> > I have a pignose that I am willing to sell for cheap. The catch is that 
> > I won't be able to ship it until the end of this month. (I am away from 
> > home right now.) Contact me off list if you're interested.
> >
> --- 
> >> Find a cheap mic and get a used pignose for a start. Cheezy mic + used 
> >> pignose + a harp and you could easily be under $100.
> > 
>