Tuckster
134 posts
Mar 21, 2009
1:14 PM
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While on the subject of equipment,what the heck did you use on "Crimson Rider". If I didn't know better, I would have thought your harp was a synthesizer.
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Buddha
162 posts
Mar 21, 2009
2:31 PM
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Ehx HOG, Line 6 Modulation Modeler, Maxon AF-9, Boss DM2 and the Echo Park Line 6 set on tape delay mode.
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belfast_harper
42 posts
Mar 21, 2009
3:58 PM
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Does Tom Ellis have a website? I couldn't find one, just an old link that doesn't work.
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isaacullah
115 posts
Mar 21, 2009
8:50 PM
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I'd just like to say that Dave Payne from Elk River Harmonicas is a real stand up guy. If you are buying Seydels, buy from him (or from Chris if he ends up becomeing a dealer). You can't get the whole range of Seydels from Coast2Coast.
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The magnificent YouTube channel of the internet user known as "isaacullah"
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lumpy wafflesquirt
15 posts
Mar 22, 2009
9:17 AM
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Did you mean to add 'In My Opinion'?
after all, we all know of a great player who uses a mouse a shure PEsomething and a marineband.........
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Spl20
13 posts
Mar 22, 2009
9:40 AM
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Buddha, I love your no nonsense approach and to the point "don't bother with anything else" attitude!. Thanks for keepin it real and for all your helpful insights. When I'm lookin for advise I'm asking you cause I know I'll get your honest opinion.
Last Edited by on Mar 22, 2009 9:44 AM
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DaDoom
45 posts
Mar 22, 2009
10:34 AM
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@lumpy wafflesquirt
Hehe I was thinking the same. I think gear is a very individual subject. I'm sure there are some objective arguments to separate crap from serious hardware. But after that it's up to every single harp player to chose what helps him get the best sound for him.
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Buddha
170 posts
Mar 22, 2009
10:39 AM
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you're right dadoom. you people should spend thousands of dollars and hours to figure it out by yourself, therefore there is not reason to keep my original post.
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Spl20
14 posts
Mar 22, 2009
12:19 PM
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My post was meant as my honest feeling and I meant it in a sincere manner, I hope you know that Chris! No sarcasm was intended. I get tired of dishonest people that have other motives. Chris obviouisly gives us his experienced opinion, you don't have to like it but there is no doubting it. I like that!!! and think it an admorable trait. Thanks
Last Edited by on Mar 22, 2009 1:01 PM
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isaacullah
120 posts
Mar 22, 2009
1:48 PM
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Man! Now I wish I had written Buddah's post down! That was some damn good info, and nothing to sneer at! Chris clearly knows what's good and what's not. Is his opinion the only one that counts? Of course not. But Do some opinions count more than others? I think so. It's a rare oputunity to get an opinion on the internet that you can contextualize with some real information about where that opinion comes from. Chris offered us that, and now it's gone. It's too bad.
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The magnificent YouTube channel of the internet user known as "isaacullah"
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Honkin On Bobo
40 posts
Mar 22, 2009
2:38 PM
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The whole thing has gotten down right childish.
Chris offered some great information on this particular thread, and given his achievements with this musical instrument, one would have to give it a great deal of weight.
Because of his acerbic style of communicating his thoughts, some people take shots at him (I am guilty here, though I've always attempted to do it in good humor, I thought that kind of ribbing was part of the "blues" culture), it is somewhat understandable.
So now, offended (though I'm sure he will say he is not), he has taken his information and gone home.
Is this the road we're all heading down here?
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Zhin
167 posts
Mar 22, 2009
9:03 PM
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Lumpy, try buying Adam's mic now and see how much that will cost ya. In fact will you even be able to find it?
Adam uses his mic because it's good for harp much like how the equipment Chris listed down here. And by the way, SM57's and SM58's are cheaper and more readily available than the PE5H.
And can you point out to me a recent "significant" gig that Adam has played at using the Mouse ONLY? From what I heard he owns a Harpgear.
I'm seriously appalled by how some of you talk sooooo much about how bad Chris's behavior yet you're all being fucking hypocrites and acting WORST than him.
Every single one of you who DON'T HAVE A USEFUL OPINION but choose to attack Chris, take a DAMN GOOD LOOK AT YOURSELF. You have NOTHING to offer yet you try to play yourself up by talking big and picking on him.
Now those who actually appreciate what he's got to say are the ones who lose out.
Chris doesn't need us. But most of us could use his help. That's the reality of it. He's an asset on this forum LIKE IT OR NOT.
You should be ashamed of yourselves.
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My Videos
Last Edited by on Mar 22, 2009 9:12 PM
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djm3801
53 posts
Mar 23, 2009
3:08 AM
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Frankly, I do not know why anyone here feels it fit to attack anyone. This is the best harp site by far I hve seen as far as info goes. Everyone has a personality and style. Sometimes you need to filter the style to get anything out of the message. I have a temper, but a lot of anger going on. I reserve my anger for folks I know who are standing in front of me. Yeah - I should have done a cut and paste on that post myself, Issac.
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DaDoom
46 posts
Mar 23, 2009
4:48 AM
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Ops this one turned out wrong. Sorry for that. Maybe a longer post to express my thoughts would have been more appropriate. So here it comes:
Off course people like Chris have a big advantage over the most of us - certainly over me as I am a harp newbie. He's a good player and harp customizer. I can only assume the latter as I have never played one of his harps. But judging from the feedback he gets I guess he's good at it. I also think it's cool that he goes into a somewhat jazzier direction than most others who stick to the plain old blues (although there's nothing wrong with that either). My criticism was not addressed against his opinion as a professional, I'm sure the hardware he proposed is top notch. I just didn't like the way he said what he had to say. "There's just this equipment, forget the rest"...
It's like saying: "if you want to ride bicycles you need a Cannondale". Or: "if you want to play tennis you need a Wilson racket, all the rest is wasted money". I find this approach a bit shortsighted. I know a lot of people who play tennis with really cheap rackets but are far better than me. The rackets they use just happen to suit their playing style. Sometimes the cheaper equipment turns out to be what suits you best. A good proof for this theory is Adam Gussow who plays on Marine Bands with little or no adjustments. I think no one can deny that the sound he produces is just wonderful. Sure, it took him 28 years of practice to sound as he does. But the same applies to Chris I guess.
If you speak to other musicians like sax, guitar or trumpet players everyone has a brand or model he consinders the best. For some it's almost a religion. I've listened for hours to someone raving about Selmer saxophones... it's THE ONLY instrument you wana buy etc.
That said who wounldn't love to play exclusively on Joe Spiers stage III Golden Melodies. But if those were the only harps available on the market there wouldn't be as many harp players as there are now. 300 bucks per harp is not within everyone's range.
So Chris: no offense, really. You are good and you know what you're talking about. I'll even buy one of your harps one of these days (I just want to wait for the last order I placed...man it takes AGES to get those damn harps here!).
Btw. do you ship to Europe as well?
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mikolune
15 posts
Mar 23, 2009
5:03 AM
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Girls,
I propose that anytime that a Chris bashing/supporting Chris appears, the rest of the discussion should be moved to this new thread that am starting: The great Chris bash party.
Seems like many otherwise interesting threads end up on an issue about the Buddha - psychologically pretty interesting - like all the roads lead to Rome.
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kudzurunner
322 posts
Mar 23, 2009
5:13 AM
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There are no hard and fast rules for equipment. It would be nice if there were; then one neat set of guidelines would suffice, and everybody who could afford to could just go out and spend the money.
Instead, it turns out that equipment--learning which equipment one needs--is part of the journey. I've seen most of the best players active on the blues harmonica scene over the past twenty years. Each time they came through NYC, they'd made some sort of change in their equipment. Cotton, Rod, Kim, William Clarke, Jr. Wells, Billy Branch. The older black guys actually seemed to care less about their equipment--the specifics of amps and mics--and I ended up deciding that that was a remnant from the bad old days when playing the blues meant not being able to count on ANYTHING: not the mic, not the amp, not even the brand of harp. You had to be able to get the job done with the harp you happened to have in hand and the house PA system, or NO PA system if it came to that.
All the rest is just subcultural drama. Subcultures thrive on distinctions that create cultural capital--those in the know vs. those who just don't get it--but this sort of drama tends to distract people from the harder work that is required of them.
(Some people would argue over which meditation cushion is best for REAL meditators, instead of getting down to the hard work of sitting and confronting the chatter in their own heads! I think Buddha--the historical personage--just sat on the ground, under a tree.)
One of the greatest harp tones I've ever heard was produced by a balding skinny little white guy with a mustache who happened to be blowing harp one night with Jimmy Rodgers at Manny's Car Wash. He had the proverbial squalling tone from hell. I stood there amazed. It was a crowded stage; I couldn't really tell what amp he was blowing through. When the set was over, I went up, told him I was in awe, and asked about his rig. "Oh, man, all my shit was stolen out of the van just before we left Chicago," he said. I'm playing through an old solid state PA head that Chico [he mentioned some band member's name] had lying around." He held up the mic, which looked like a Radio Shack $5.99 special. "We're running the head right into the PA. I can't even hear myself through the monitors."
Each player's job is to develop an individuated sound that "reads" as their sound quickly in the ears of the listener. Each element in the harp/mic/boxes/amp system helps contribute to this. (Guitarist Pat Metheney uses a particular kind of noticeable reverb; it's clearly become part of his sound.) I stumbled fairly early onto what worked for me: AG-tweaked Marine Bands; a Boss digital delay; and a Shure PE5 mic. My amp array has changed radically over the years, although the two-amp thing has been there since I moved indoors with Satan and Adam. In about 1995 I discovered the Premier Twin-8 / '54 Fender Deluxe combo and I used that for the last three years S&A worked together. I spent many years before that working my way DOWN in amp size. In one of our earliest gigs, at The Channel in Boston, I played through two pre-CBS Fender Supers, each with 4 x 10. A couple of years ago I substituted my Mouse for the Deluxe and suddenly had a much better sound. Then, just last summer, I couldn't get a good sound out of the Mouse at very low volume at a house party and tried my Kay 703, which I hadn't used in a decade. Boom! Much better sound. The next day I teamed it up with the Premier and BINGO! That, my friends, was clearly the sound I'd been looking for all these years. But the truth is, it's just one more stage in figuring out what works. Each of you needs to make that journey. Chris's advice can surely save you some time, but it can't possibly substitute for the act of YOU actually struggling to figure out which components in the chain help YOU produce YOUR best sound. And it all begins with the way you shape your mouth.
The old blues guys had it right in one respect: if it's blues you're talking about, it's foolish to be too much of a gear head. You never know when you'll be required to play a gig on somebody else's borrowed harp and/or amp after your s--t's been ripped off, or has broken down from severe overuse.
Last Edited by on Mar 23, 2009 5:24 AM
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DaDoom
47 posts
Mar 23, 2009
6:17 AM
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Adam, not only are you a great harp player but you're also very eloquent and wise. What more could one ask of a teacher - or a man for that matter.
Thanks.
Last Edited by on Mar 23, 2009 6:19 AM
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bluesharper
1 post
Mar 24, 2009
10:13 AM
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My equipment is a Kustom dart amp and a unidyme B dynamic mic model 5155A is that okay????
And a couple of harps obviously! lol
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RyanMortos
115 posts
Mar 25, 2009
9:07 AM
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I agree with Adam & anyone else that says theres no one best option for each piece of gear.
We could have some funny ones though:
Car - Lexus, get there in style with a chauffer!
Jeans - Levis, the brand that fits!
Boots - Sketcher's, its the S!
Breakfast cereal - Wheeties, breakfast of champions
Beer - Samual Jackson (from Chappels show skit), itll get you drunk!
If the above isnt funny to you please ignore it. This post was written is jest & means no harm.
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~Ryan
PA
Ryan's Tube - Containing [0] uploads and counting...
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Andrew
187 posts
Mar 26, 2009
10:42 AM
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I was listening to a busker the other day, but I didn't want to ask him what he was using - he was more of a bum than a harpist. His amp was a black cylinder about 6 inches in diameter and 10 inches long. Anyone know what that was?
Last Edited by on Mar 26, 2009 10:43 AM
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Andrew
188 posts
Mar 26, 2009
10:44 AM
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breakfast cereal?
You lost me after breakfast. Is there any breakfast other than coffee?
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MJ
13 posts
Mar 26, 2009
1:35 PM
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Maybe it was the Fender Can amp. http://www.fender.com/support/manuals/pdfs/manuals_elec/guitarpdf/Amp_Can.pdf
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Andrew
192 posts
Mar 26, 2009
4:00 PM
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Yep, a Fender can amp is what he had, sure enough.
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