[Harp-L] About hearing yourself...

[Greg Heumann]

Hi, Robert

I agree that your best bet is to be in complete control of the situation. A volume control at the mic is very helpful (I can help you with that.) But also - Bassman needn’t be feedback monsters! Have you ever reduced the gain on your amp by replacing a couple of the tubes? 

Almost any amp set up for a guitar has too much gain for harp. Guitar pickups have lower output than microphones, and guitar strings don’t couple to the sound coming from the amp as efficiently as a microphone. But guitar players WANT to face the amp and get Hendrix-stye feedback, so manufacturers oblige by designing very gainy amps. Note that gain is not the same as volume. Imagine you have a Mazda Miata with a 500hp V8 motor - and the gas pedal only moves 1/2”. THAT is what trying to “drive” an amp with too much gain is like. Reducing the gain considerably is like adding 5” of throttle pedal travel. Idle is still idle, and full throttle is still full throttle. But you can much more easily control the car in the corners, and you can much more easily control the amp - which allows you to use more of its useful power. That gets you A LITTLE louder but sure helps you manage feedback while playing. 

There is a tried and true recipe for the venerable Bassman circuit = remove tubes V2 and V3 (2nd and 3rd from the right when you’re looking at the back of the amp) and replace them with 12AU7’s. It will give you more “pedal travel”and allow you to use much more of the amp’s available power without fear that the amp is going to leap into the feedback zone at the slightest provocation. 



/Greg

http://blowsmeaway.com
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"You’re going to like the way you sound. I guarantee it."

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> Message: 7
> Date: Fri, 23 Mar 2018 22:42:58 -0400
> From: Robert Eberwein <reberwein at xxxxx <mailto:reberwein at xxxxx>>
> To: harp-l at xxxxx <mailto:harp-l at xxxxx>
> Subject: [Harp-L] About hearing yourself...
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> 
> Forgive me for not looking through the archives. I am about to play
> with a large band (big horn section and I won't have a monitor) and I
> want to hear myself. Is there an easy to understand in-ear monitoring
> sytem that a fool like me could understand within a couple days? Or do
> I just plant myself in front of my Bassman and hope the soundman
> controls the feedback???
> Robby