Re: [Harp-L] Re: Hohner Hoodoo Box 5W amp and Madcat shaker mic or Ultimate mics

[Mike Fugazzi <mikefugazzi@xxxxxxxxx>]

Long story short, the Mustang will give you a tweed feel and solid sound,
but not the same in the room feel as a 4x10 50w Bassman.  So if you are
just after that sort of tweed flavor, then maybe.  Rick Davis has heard the
Mustang do tweed in real life.  Those amps are easy to come across in music
stores around the States.

I thought the Mustang and Super Champ XD were serviceable with harp.  I
liked the XD more, though.  The Mustang was harder to dial in.  Regardless,
I am under the impression they both do Blackface Fender tones better than
tweed.  If you aren't totally sure what you're going after tonewise, and
you want some room to experiment, either is a good template.  I mean, you
can try a few different amp flavors (won't be identical to the real thing,
but the foundations with be close).  You can also try different effects
with them too.

If it were me and I wanted flexibility to learn about the sounds I like
best, I'd go with the XD (Super Champ, not the Vibro Champ).  David Barrett
suggests it too!  If I just wanted a good small tube amp, I'd go with the
VHT.


The XD does use tubes, FWIW.  That also will help the tone with harmonica.
The Mustangs are all 100% digital.

***POD HD note...I was going through the advanced manual and realized I was
using the channel volume and master volume backwards.  I need to redo some
of the patch...
----------
Mike Fugazzi
vocals/harmonica
http://www.mikefugazzi.com
Facebook <http://www.facebook.com/MikeFugazziMusic>
YouTube <http://www.youtube.com.user/mikefugazzi>
Quicksilver Custom Harmonicas
<http://www.mikefugazzi.com/fr_customharmonicas.cfm>



On Wed, Feb 15, 2012 at 10:35 AM, Sridhar Rajagopalan
<sridhara1@xxxxxxxxx>wrote:

> Thanks Mike that was really helpful. One thing of course really got me
> thinking. As i keep going along learning I keep seeing the 59' Bassman
> featuring repeatedly and the Fender Mustang offers that as a preset.
> Tell me would that work as well to get me started?
>
> On 2/15/12, Mike Fugazzi <mikefugazzi@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
> > It really depends on needs and budget.  Are you just jamming at home?
> > Will you use it live?  If you use if live, can you mic it?  What style
> > of music?
> >
> > IME, the VHT Special 6 is a FANTASTIC investment if you are looking
> > for a small amp.  I have one along with a HarpGear HG2, and you can
> > dial in the VHT to get painfully close to the tone of the HG2 with
> > some simple and affordable mods.  I've used both live with full rock
> > bands, but miked and with a monitor.  I tried using the VHT with a
> > blues band, but it probably should have been miked in most rooms -
> > worked for my own monitoring, though.
> >
> > I love the sound of a good dynamic mic like the SM57 with a small
> > amp.  I think a small amp plus dirty mic gets to be too dirty even for
> > a lot of blues playing.  If you are playing mostly at home, things
> > like the Fender Mustang and other tube hybrid or digital amps are an
> > ok route.  They often have headphone jacks, but you'll want to get a
> > nice pair of headphones if you go that route.
> >
> > For years, I've been a proponent of using smallish rigs for live
> > playing.  I also sing and have fronted my own full bands.  This has
> > lead to investing in solid PA and monitoring gear making it really
> > easy for me to control what I hear and volume.  For the last year
> > plus, I've used either a VHT Special 6 or HG2 as my amps.  Now, for
> > the most part, I go totally ampless.  I've gigged with Tech 21 Sans
> > Amps with great results, but have moved to the POD HD500.  I am not
> > going to lie.  The HD sounds GREAT and can do more than I'll ever
> > need, BUT there is a steep-steep learning curve.  That being said, the
> > tone of the HD's and even the Zoom stuff has been really impressive.
> >
> > I know Richard loves the DT stuff, but it appears they are moving a
> > different direction with modelling after having fallen far behind
> > competitors like Line 6, Axe, and Zoom regarding options and quality.
> > That doesn't mean you shouldn't go that route...I am just saying there
> > is a lot out there to check out before making a decision.  The DT was
> > pretty much ruled out from the start for me because I liked the HD
> > tone better and found it more flexible for live playing and switching
> > sounds.  It is also still being updated regularily - including an
> > update last night.  In fact, this week they are releasing another
> > update that will include a studio pre amp as well as a bass amp.
> >
> > The key with ANY of this is to really know what you want and need.  I
> > started from day one loving John Popper and Blues Traveler.  I don't
> > really play like John, but I love the flexibility of his rig and use
> > of ambient effects as well as modulated and filtered harp sounds.
> > When I started playing harmonica about ten years ago, there was very
> > little info on his rig.  It was also very expensive to put a rig like
> > that together.  Being that I always sang, I always wanted to just go
> > through monitors as much as possible.  I spent years and thousands of
> > dollars buying and flipping gear looking for efficientcy and
> > flexibility (really, I've never been an amped tone snob, it has always
> > been about size, volume, and feedback more than anything).  From day
> > one had I been able to run a pedal board through powered speakers,
> > that is the only way I should have gone.  It just took that long for
> > technology and access to make their way to me.
> >
> > Now I can load in in one trip...I throw my pedal board over my should,
> > carry a 1000w 129db powered monitor in one hand and my gear bag
> > (harps, mics, cables, and DI's) in the other.  At home, I have a "man
> > cave" but two small children.  I can play in the evenings through
> > headphones and record direct to my laptop all night long without
> > waking anyone up.
> >
> > I had a Bassman Ltd, HarpGear 50, and the like.  Dialing in a tone was
> > never an issue unless it was me sucking, but the size, weight, and
> > volume were way overkill for me even when I was gigging every week.
> >
> >
> >
> > On Feb 14, 7:33 am, Sridhar Rajagopalan <sridha...@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
> >> Thinking of pairing the Hohner Hoodoo Box 5W amp with a Madcat easy to
> >> grip Shaker mic. Now is this a good idea? The other thing I wanted to
> >> know was if the Ultimate 57 or 58 mic would work with this amp? Any
> >> pointers in this direction would be highly appreciated
> >
> >
>