RE: [Harp-L] Hohner Hoodoo Box 5W amp

[Tom Skailes <tom.skailes@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Have tried a Champion 600 whilst in search of an affordable tube amp with the tone and character of a '54 tweed Champ I once had, and sold the 600 on 'cos for me it was too gainy and compressed, even with 5751 and 12AY7 preamp tubes. 

Now very happy with my VHT Special 6 which has been modded with reference to Jim Rossen's mods and advice from Mark Burness. It's now set up pretty much as a tweed 5E1 circuit and sounds great to me.

These amps are great/easy to mod as they are hand-wired rather than PCB. But un-modded as stock they still are pretty great harp amps and are great fun to play through, though a 5751 preamp tube will help soften the tone and drive a bit and give you a little more headroom. I use an MC151 blues blaster from the 1980s so can't comment on the shaker Mic option, but I'd anticipate the amp provides much of the tonal colour of the sound heard.

I agree with Mike Fugazzi in that mic'ing up is essential for 5w tube amps for all but the quietest 'unplugged' gigs. The high/low power switch is useful for quieter practise sessions at home, but the amp is still quite loud even then, on 'high' though it's just not big enough to cut through a typical backing band. The pull boost as stock is also not that useful for harp players.

Regards
Tom

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