Re: [Harp-L] Rack mic

["Steve Power" <stevepower@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Thanks kindly Vern.  I think you're right there about Jimi.  Personally he's 
2nd only to John Hammond Jr. in playing guitar and harp on a rack at least 
from guys I've come across .

Having said that, I first saw Jimi playing this thing at an Austin Blues 
Society contest a couple of years ago. I'm pretty sure he was just going 
through the PA but the sound was more distorted than what is on the clip you 
mentioned, more like a bullet of some description. Still, the sound on the 
clip was a lot better than anything else I've come across and the mic itself 
seems cheap enough to give it a try.

I also found this story (edited for brevity) from 2008 from Steve Warner, 
who was indeed the guy I contacted who never replied.

"On Sat evening 10/18/08, I drove down to San Diego to hang out and visit 
with some old friends at Jon Gindick's Jam Camp and get myself back in the 
mix again after 2 years of layin' low.   About 10 pm  I handed Jimi Lee a 
few very hot mics and then I told him to unveil the "Bad Boy", as he refers 
to it, ....Well, Jimi Lee plugged in the Big Boy rack mic into Jon's Black 
Face Princeton Reverb and everyone was stunned that a rack mic can even 
sound like that.....UNCUPPED!     There were several "Good God, what is that 
thing?"

Perhaps he took the body of the Strnad and installed another element along 
with the mods you mentioned.

----- Original Message ----- 


From: "Vern" <jevern@xxxxxxx>
To: "Steve Power" <stevepower@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Cc: <harp-l@xxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Friday, June 24, 2011 6:13 PM
Subject: Re: [Harp-L] Rack mic



On Jun 24, 2011, at 3:09 PM, Steve Power wrote:

> Jimi Lee has what I believe is a prototype microphone used when playing 
> harp on a neck rack. It sounds fantastic and has a couple of very useful 
> design features.  At one time I discovered who had made it and emailed 
> them to see if it was possible to obtain one for myself.  I never got a 
> reply and at this moment can't remember who it was that made the thing. 
> Does anyone happen to have any info?

Jimi is a dynamite performer.  His guitar chops set him apart from other 
harmonica players.

The pictures on his website and the video on Youtube all show him using a 
common, ordinary, backyard-garden-variety, inexpensive  wire neck rack.  I 
have seen him perform many times at SPAH and that is what I recall him 
using.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DEyAOudfhVY&feature=related

The video shows (not very clearly) a microphone that appears to be a 
modified Strnad with the gain control moved to the end and the cable moved 
to the bottom.  Although this arrangement is much more convenient with the 
cable closer and pointed down, I doubt that it would sound any different 
from a standard Strnad.

Since the Strnad already has holes in the plastic housing for the pot and 
the cable, swapping them might be relatively easy.  You might have to 
enlarge the cable hole to accept the pot.  You might have to improvise a 
different strain relief for the cable.  IF my guess is right, it isn't space 
science.

Vern