[Harp-L] Small practise amps
John Dekker
I am a beginning harpster, and I'm looking for an inexpensive small amp and a mic to go with it. So far, I am considering the Pignose 7-100 and the Roland Micro Cube. Any recommendations about these two, or should I look at something else?
As to mics, I'm looking at the Shaker, Asta tic J-30 Roadhouse, and the Bottle O' Blues. Thoughts?
I apologize if this subject has been covered before, but I cannot figure to how to search this list.
Thanks very much for helping a newbie.
John
Ken Hildebrand
I bought some rechargeable NiMH Tenergy 5000mAH batteries and the appropriate charger (from Amazon) and they seem to be working really well (I mainly use the 1.5 and .5 watts).
For a mic, you can't go wrong with one of Sonny Jr's Turner bullet mics... I have one and its my favorite for holding, cupping, and the indented V/C is great and the mic sounds great (mine has a CR element, but I have another Turner bullet with a CM element and its great too!).
Ken H in OH
martin oldsberg
In brevis: after trying the Roland Micro Cube and the Mobile Cube a while back I settled for the latter.
But of course it depends on the kind of sound you´re after -- and I´m pretty sure people will assume it´s a dirty blues tone (and then probably none of those mentioned is a preferred alternative) -- and that was NOT my prime choice.
The Mobile was considerably rounder, less harsh, which was to my liking. You can find a sound sample of a Japanese guy playing it (both chromatic and diatonic, great playing BTW) -- Google it or go to Orlando´s home page.
Youtube has at least one player using the Micro cube, I seem to recall.
The Pig was not very pleasing to my ears when I played it some years ago. Harsh -- but then again ...
Cheers,
Martin
--------------------------------------------------------
From: "John Dekker" <>
Hello:
I am a beginning harpster, and I'm looking for an inexpensive small amp and a mic to go with it. So far, I am considering the Pignose 7-100 and the Roland Micro Cube. Any recommendations about these two, or should I look at something else?
As to mics, I'm looking at the Shaker, Asta tic J-30 Roadhouse, and the Bottle O' Blues. Thoughts?
I apologize if this subject has been covered before, but I cannot figure to how to search this list.
Dane Paul
mind.......................Then go try everything, take notes, and if you
have a small recorder, record everything you test.
Dont buy anything on the spot and let your ears do the
deciding....................................................Dane Paul
Richard Hunter
<Check out the Vox DA5 amp ! It's a great little practice amp, can use 6 size C <batteries or AC adapter, 3 wattage setting (.5, 1.5, and 5 watts), a variety of amp <settings and effects (my favorite is the "Blues 3" with the Delay or Reverb <settings).
I agree that this is a very good choice for a beginner. Inexpensive ($140 new), loud, very good sounding, good feature set. It's an amp that will be useful long after you've gone beyond beginner status and skills.
Ken also wrote:
<For a mic, you can't go wrong with one of Sonny Jr's Turner bullet mics... I have <one and its my favorite for holding, cupping, and the indented V/C is great and the <mic sounds great (mine has a CR element, but I have another Turner bullet with a CM <element and its great too!).
Well, it's a great mic, but it's also twice the cost of the amp, and given that it's a bullet mic, it's going to have a very particular sound that's designed for blues. I'd recommend an Audix Fireball V, which sounds very good with the Vox, works in a wide range of styles, and costs about half what a rebuilt Turner goes for. You might also consider a Shure 545, SM57, or SM58. The Bottle o' Blues is a fun mic with a very distinctive (and bottom heavy) sound--I'm glad to have one in my collection, but it's not a great choice for your primary mic.
I've done some recent recordings with a Shure 545SD and a Fireball V side by side running through the same rig, and I'll post those within a day or so. Both mics make nice sounds, and they certainly sound different from each other.
Regards, Richard Hunter
author, "Jazz Harp"
latest mp3s and harmonica blog at http://myspace.com/richardhunterharp
more mp3s at http://taxi.com/rhunter
Vids at http://www.youtube.com/user/lightninrick
Twitter: lightninrick
Michael Posey
John,
The Piggy would be a great tranny amp to start with. Never tried the Roland but I hear good things about it. Great for busking however niether would be my first choice. For 30 bux more than the Roland, you can get the latest version of the Epiphone Valve Jr combo. 5 tube watts with an 8" Eminence speaker. If you are looking for a Chicago tone and want to keep it real, you will need a tube amp. The little Epi is a great starting point. Looks cool too. As mics go, I have a dynamic Shaker that I rarely use as I find the output too low. I also have a Bottle o Blues which is a good starter but not my main mic. I have a JT30/CAD-HM30 which uses the same shell as the Roadhouse you mentioned. The new ones have a dynamic element which has no bottom end however you can get it modded down the road with a vintage element. That shell, along with the Shure Green Bullet are what most of the masters from yesteryear used. Either one will force you to learn the skills of cupping the mic which provides tonal variations ranging from fairly clean to full distortion. The Roadhouse or Green Bullet with the Epiphone amp is what I recommend for any beginners into harp amplification IF you are seeking a Chicago tone. You will want some kind of reverb or delay pedal as well to fatten things up which you can find all day long on Craigslist or ebay. My first delay pedal was the cheapo Danelectro BLT slapback pedal, $30 new. For 250 bux, you will have a rig worthy of any jam session or even a gig if you mic the amp.
http://guitars.musiciansfriend.com/product/Epiphone-Valve-Junior-Combo-Amp?sku=480260
Work that acoustic tone first though! Get it loud, proud and clear. All an amp and mic are going to do is amplify whats coming from inside and if its not right to begin with, the best equipment in the world is not going to fix it. Find a guitar player to jam acoustic with you. Learn the basics and develop that tone without any electronics first. You will be surprised how fast you will progress if you practice, practice, practice!!!
As far as searching on the list, click this link (which is always at the top of the Harp-l email), enter a keyword into the google search field and you will find your answers. I just typed in valve jr and got 8 pages of hits. Harp L is an invaluble resource for EVERYTHING related to playing harmonica. Best of luck and welcome to your new obsession!
http://harp-l.org/mailman/listinfo/harp-l
Mike
>
> Message: 12
> Date: Mon, 30 Aug 2010 19:06:27 -0700
> From: "John Dekker" <jde...@ranchomurieta.org>
> Subject: [Harp-L]
> To: "harp-l" <har...@harp-l.org>
> Message-ID: <9158756419294AFF8B191EEE208A1485@JohnPC>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"
Ken Hildebrand
As Richard Hunter said, the Audix Fireball V would be a great mic... more versatile too... its a Low-Z mic so you will proabably need a transformer (to Hi-Z).
I probably have too many mics, but the Turner bullet mics that I have are my favorites, and all sound a little different due to the different elements in them.�
I find them much more confortable to hold then a Green Bullet, and just a tad more comfortable than a JT-30.�The custom Turners are usually more reasonably priced then alot of other custom bullet mics yet have similar CR and CM elements.
Ken H in OH�
chicago bluesman
My suggestion would be to keep an eye on ebay for a Kalamazoo model 1 or model 2. With luck you can successfully win a bid with an investment of $200-250. They vary in the asking price--right now I see two of them on ebay with a buy-it-now price of ~$200, but there are a couple of others with an asking price of $400. The cosmetics of the amp don't matter with a Kalamazoo--it's ok to get one with a beat up cabinet so long as the seller can assure you of mostly original parts, a functional speaker and no seriously funky hums or buzzes. Then send the amp to Greg Heumann (www.blowsmeaway.com) for tweaking. Have him install a line-out jack. If you continue to develop as a player you'll likely outgrow a little pignose before too long but the Kalamazoo can be a prized harp amp indefinitely and the line-out jack lets you sit in with bands with ease. I've got two of 'em and while they don't see much action I know them to be reliable little tone monsters.
Rich Eisenberg
Alnicomagnet kit found on EBay ($48), and it sounds great!
--
Richard Eisenberg
Executive Director
Bayfront Center for Maritime Studies
40 Holland Street
Erie, Pennsylvania 16507
814-456-4077
814-459-1678 fax
www.bayfrontcenter.org
Mund...@aol.com
The smallest "Pignose"
Sounds great, and runs on "AA" batteries....
FANTASTIC in the recording studio... NO HUM!
John "Whiteboy" Walden
Cebu City
RP.
Pat Powers
The Hohner Blues Blaster is a decent inexpensive bullet mic, but you can use just about any microphone to start out with. If you have one with an XLR ( 3-prong) connector, you can get an adapter at Radio Shack or just about any music store to make it plug it into a guitar amp.
I hope this information helps.
Aug 31, 2010 05:53:37 PM, catk...@hotmail.com wrote:
I'm using an Epiphone Valve Jr., version I, ($119) modified with the
Alnicomagnet kit found on EBay ($48), and it sounds great!
K T
practice. Great to bring anywhere, very portable.
As for small mic that I could cup with my small dainty hands(Im a lady btw)...I
use Mini Mojo Harmonica Microphone.
You can google both...
Good luck finding your perfect combo!!!
________________________________
From: chicago bluesman <chicago...@hotmail.com>
To: har...@hotmail.com; har...@harp-l.org
Sent: Tue, August 31, 2010 12:41:33 PM
Subject: RE: [Harp-L] Small practise amps
Leonardo K. Shikida
http://www.nervosoamp.com.br/index.php?option=com_content&view=category&layout=blog&id=39&Itemid=52
They claim it reduces feedback, so it�s suitable for bullet mics. They
have some videos, in Portuguese, but I think you can just take a look
at this one
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Q9NqzorgXk
In this video, at 2:45, they show their "feedback killer" (a switch
located in the rear).
Left control is volume, right is gain.
The guy playing is Fernando Xavier, a Bends Harmonicas endorser.
Despite the site is in Portuguese, I think you can understand it with
a little google translator help
Best regards
Leonardo K. Shikida
K T
4:11, who knows where one can
buy the BEE BULLET Microphone??? I like its horny sound...is that how it's
described, HORNY??? LOL!
________________________________
Leonardo K. Shikida
I guess that bee bullet is a hand-made one, probably using inexpensive
telephone capsule parts. I�ll shoot him an email asking how you can
order one ;-)
[]
Leonardo K. Shikida
On Wed, Sep 1, 2010 at 3:19 AM, K T <k8k...@yahoo.com> wrote:
> On the link below:� The youtube.com video (Third from Top)�of Fernando
> Xavier at 4:11,� who knows where one can
> buy the BEE BULLET Microphone???� I like its horny sound...is that how it's
> described, HORNY??? LOL!
>
> http://translate.google.com/translate?js=n&prev=_t&hl=en&ie=UTF-8&layout=2&eotf=1&sl=pt&tl=en&u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.nervosoamp.com.br
> ________________________________
> From: Leonardo K. Shikida <shi...@gmail.com>
> To: har...@harp-l.org
> Sent: Tue, August 31, 2010 9:34:05 PM
> Subject: [Harp-L] Re: Small practise amps
>
Ken Hildebrand
Its cool little amp, and can sound great, depending on the sound you are looking for.
I also have a Pignose HG20 which is okay... I like having the rechargeable battery.
I prefer the Vox DA5... much more versatile, especially with the 3 power wattage settings, Auxillary Input, Line Out, good delay and reverb effects (and others), and the different sound styles.� You can get alot of different sounds from this little amp, depending on the settings and mics used.
I don't think I need to search for any other little practice amp after finding the DA5.� It was recommended by Richard Hunter and others quite awhile ago.
Ken H in OH
Isaac Ullah
love it. It is VERY affordable, has an onboard researchable battery, which
charges when you plug the amp into the mains, and it has a really big big sound.
This is more amazing as it has a 6" speaker. It sounds much bigger, fuller, and
has more bottom than the pignose (which I used to own), or the Roland micro
cube. I've not owned a DA-5, so I cna't compare it to that. It's all solid
state, but uses a really good op-amp and FET transistor preamp, and really
reliable, well known chip for the power stage. It has VERY effective triple-band
tone controls, and head phone out. And it looks REALLY REALLY cool! It has WAY
more cool factor than any other battery amp. The sound does NOT beat my modified
Epi Valve Jr, but it still IS a good sound that comes out of this amp. It works
better with Low-Z dynamic mics (any handheld vocal mic) than with High-Z.
Essentially, you'll get more tonal range before feedback with a lowZ mic than
with a high-Z.
Here is the Harmony Central page for it (I wrote the most recent review):
http://www.harmonycentral.com/products/103995
Here is a detailed review of the electronics inside the amp that I wrote for the
Solid State Guitar Amp forum:
http://www.ssguitar.com/index.php?topic=1714.msg11293#msg11293
And here is a link to a YouTube video I made earlier this week where I'm playing
a Low D Special 20 through the amp using a cheap Panasonic vocal mic:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rC2_ZbMblxE
If you are after a battery amp, I don't think you can get a much better
price/quality ratio. Especially if coolness is also factored in, you really
can't beat this amp...
Cheers,
Isaac Ullah