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Dirty-South Blues Harp forum: wail on! >
made an (expensive) mistake last night
made an (expensive) mistake last night
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Randy G. Blues
74 posts
Aug 28, 2009
1:37 PM
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I was in a poor mood last night when I went to the open mic blues jam. Just life piling on a bit- nothing serious., but it go worse, in a way. Another harp player came in. He was setting up so I went over... he had the Harp Gear HG35 (35 watt, 2-10) by Brian Purdy (www.harpgear.com). His microphone was a Audix Fireball V. I asked if he would be so kind as to let me try it.. he set it up, and I have to say I have never sounded better.. Just to be sure, I plugged in the mic I am currently using and it sounded dead- very dull, lifeless, subdued, and constrained, and a few other adjectives I can't come up with at the moment. The Audix had a full and rich tone, and it is quite light and easy to hold. It also has an easy-to-use volume control.
In the interim, I am off to water my checkbook to see if it grows... and sell my current amp that is great for guitar, but marginal for harp... evilbay, here I come
[no connection to the above named products.. just an interested consumer]
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scstrickland
185 posts
Aug 28, 2009
2:24 PM
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LOL.. Dude, I thought you were going to say you spilled a pitcher of beer on his amp.
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DaDoom
120 posts
Aug 28, 2009
2:29 PM
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Haha same here!
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jonsparrow
868 posts
Aug 28, 2009
3:56 PM
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for real me too. im like uh oh here it comes...but nothing happened.
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jbone
136 posts
Aug 28, 2009
6:41 PM
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so remind us randy, what mic and amp are you currently using?
i have yet to try a hg35 or 50. a guy came into our jam in clarksdale in may and had a hg2- pretty small. he was using a bottle o blues mic which to me sounded very thin. i didn't have time or i would have had him plug a crystal or cm mic into his amp and i bet it would have sounded much better.\
my only suggestion on getting a new amp and mic is, know what you're buying before you spend the dough. hg good, sonny jr good, sligo replica bassman good, vintage silvertone 1482 good. there are more good choices too. greg heumann rehabs kalamazoo amps for harp and does fine mic work too. just do some research, talk to not only players but builders and get a good idea of what's preferable and affordable. it isn't cheep these days so i always try to get it right the first time!
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LeonStagg
17 posts
Aug 28, 2009
7:43 PM
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I met Brian Purdy (Harpgear) at a Gindick seminar in Dallas a few years ago. (shameless plug) He produces a great product, and offers the best customer service I have received in a long time. He has even helped me set up some other mfgs. amps. Great guy, easily accessible.
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Randy G. Blues
75 posts
Aug 28, 2009
7:54 PM
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MIC: I have been using a Cherub. It is locally made, custom modified lavaliere fit into a tiny sort of barbell shaped case that fits between your fingers, and the outside section has a volume control. There is a a little metal case that holds the battery (9V) and that is where the 1/4" hi-Z connection resides. I need to cal the maker and find out about it's current lack of tine to find out if that's just the way it is (relatively speaking) of if it needs repair, cleaning, or what...
My amp is a Genz Benz BP30 112. Built like a tank and still looks new. I changed out a couple of the preamp tubes to cut the gain, but will be switching them back to sell it.
...and before you mention it, I bought both WELL before I discovered this forum and other online sources that have led me to such great discoveries as well as embarrassments..
As Ray Lum said; "You live and learn.. then you die and forget it all."
And although it sounds like there's a song in there, he wasn't even a bluesman!
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Bluzdude46
128 posts
Aug 28, 2009
10:56 PM
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The info out today via internet is priceless. I've been through so many amps in the everlasting search for tone with Harp + mic + amp, sounds good in showroom guess what it's still not quite what I'm looking for, amp of the month way of finding my sound it's just flat out ridiculous. If I would have had the info I do now I could have changed tubes and bias and still have the '65 Fender Princeton I gave up on and sold way too cheap. What a Long Strange Trip it's been. That being said HG, Sonny Boy amps are great and well worth the cost but if reality in spending prohibits, you can still use current production amps and tube swap and modify to get a great sound from most good Fender tube amps, Epi Jr's, Blackhearts and a few others for hundreds less.All the info for the mods are online, If you can't find a harp mod, email me I'll send it. I've done very thorough research. Of course my current stage amp is a '59 Bassman LTD which ain't real cheap either. That's the thing, info on the internet is worth what you pay for it. Think about it, you are reading what I'm typing and I'm a nutcase when it comes to harps, amps, mics, harps, guitars, more amps, keyboard, more harps, another amp...well you get the picture.
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Randy G. Blues
76 posts
Aug 29, 2009
8:27 AM
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Bluzdude46 - you don't have your e-mail listed in your profile.. I do. Please contact me...
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