Re: [Harp-L] No Effects or Delay?

[Richard Hunter <turtlehill@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Cljdm@xxxxxxx wrote:
>I have A Super Sonny Jr. and have toyed with the idea of adding a reverb or 
> delay. In fact I have practiced with both, yet I keep on unplugging these 
>units  and go back to playing just through the amp. Seems like I get what I 
>need just  through the amp. The reverb and the delay sound good at times, 
>but overall I  like this amp just the way it plays naked. 

I own a Super Sonny also, and it sounds great, but I wouldn't play most gigs without a delay or reverb or both.  They're essential tools for amplified musicians.

Listen to your Little Walter records and see how many of your favorites have reverb, delay, or both. Even if you don't include the obviously reverb-soaked stuff like "Blue Lights," you hear plenty of those FX on Walter's records, and with good reason.  It sounds great--it makes the harp sound bigger, and it helps the harp to blend with everything else going on.

But in general people should make the sounds they like to make, and if you don't like reverb, don't use it.  In the mid-to-late-1970s I did most of my gigs with a Fender Super reverb that was modded to include two 12" JBL speakers and an extra transformer to boost the output up to around 60 watts.  It also had no reverb unit.  That amp sounded loud and clear no matter what else was happening, and I never missed the reverb.  (But I might now.)

Regards, Richard Hunter


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