harp player for Little Bobby and the Storm
(This is a general overview of the equipment I use for playing Chicago Blues Harp)
These are the harps I take when I go out jamming.
I use Special 20's , which I carry in a tool belt.
I have the set of all 12 keys at home, but I will only use them for Studio work.
I play about 85 % of the time in Cross Harp (2nd position), 10 % of the time in 3rd Position,
and 5 % of the time in first position (playing in the key of the harmonica).
The tool belt has the following harmonicas, listed in order of frequency of use:
C / G / A / D / F / B flat / E flat / E.
In Cross Harp you would use these harps to play with guitar players playing in the following keys :
(G) / (D) / (E) / (A) / (C) / (F) / (B flat) / (B)
Lately, I've been using a Tin Whistle (Clarke, with the wood fipple piece) - and I really like this,
as an alternative instrument for harmonica players on songs that aren't good harp songs.
The Tin Whistle is usable in the keys of D, G, and to a lesser extent A and E, and C.
I also use Chromatics, but mostly in 3rd position (D minor)
The CX-12 is an excellent chromatic (buy it online and it's only about a hundred dollars).
Somewhat cheaper, the Chromonica 270 varies a lot - buy it at a music store, because you
have to hear the low end notes -the sound can vary from excellent to pretty flat.
You don't need to own a Chromatic to play the Blues, but most good players
will play a Chromatic for variety.
The Shure Green Bullet is the Classic Chicago Blues Harp Mic, and the Mic at the top is a Bullet.
Don't try to buy one at Guitar Center - they sell made in Mexico Shure mics that look the same,
and sort of sound like a Green Bullet, but once you try a vintage Bullet,
you'll know why harp players are so disparaging of these low quality mic's.
The Mic at the top is a real Vintage Bullet, and it has a wonderful sound.
It also has a short in it, and it cut's out at unpredictable times - so you can't use it when you're jamming
( because you can't rely on it).
I bought it for about $100 from Everett Smithson ( a superb local harp player) at a bar.
Moral: don't buy a harp mic at a bar.
The Mic in the center was made by Gary Burton-another Twin Cities harp player, and Mic expert.
It has a Schure (Green Bullet) element in a Turner Case. The Turner is slightly smaller,
so it cups in your hand easier, and it looks really cool, with the reto fin on top.
I've been using this mic for the last year, almost exclusively.
The mic on the right is an Electro-voice 605 which is my back up mic.
I also bought it from Gary, and have no problems with it.
Harp mics have to be matched with harp amps. This an entirely subjective process that can take
up to six months to a year to find the right mic and the right amp to go with it .
The Mic on the left is a vocal mic - when I perform solo, I have to sing, so I use a cheap mic,
because it doesn't pick up all my vocal flaws (just most of them).
Still, it is significantly cleaner than a harp mic.
I also hang the vocal mic in front of my amp, and run the cord into the group's sound system
when I'm playing with louder bands, or in larger rooms. The sound is then amplified through
the band's sound system.
The Harp mics all have the 1/4" guitar jack, while the vocal mic has the XLR jack.
There is a similar style to the Chicago Blues, where you would cup your hands over the harp
and play into a vocal mic on a stand, using your hands to form the sound.
It can be extremely effective to play that way.
This is my main amp for jamming right now - this is the amp that was used on both the "Worried" song, and the "Dig It" song.
Bobby Houle spent a lot more on his CD than I did on mine, so the harp sounds better on his CD,
but it's the same amp/mic combination on both tracks. I've used this exact same amp at the Fargo Blues Festival,
the Last Ride Festival, the Fargo Winter Blues Festival, etc, and I'll be using it in upcoming festivals and on CD's.
There is a lot of compression on the"Worried" track, but it's still recognizable as my amp (with the Turner mic).
This is an old -no name homebuilt Tube amp with a 8" Mustang M-8 speaker.
It has one control for on/off/volume and cost me $150.00 at Willey's in St. Paul.
It is a good rugged amp that is perfect for jamming (the case is 1/2" plywood),
but it sounds as good any amp you'll ever find at any price (in my unbiased opinion).
I play it about 1/2 volume, and you can't play this rig at all above 3/4 volume, because of the distortion.
I like small, heavily distorted "punchy" amps, so every amp/mic combination I've set up behaves that way,
but other Twin Cities harp players, like Curtis Blake set up amp/mics that are usable at full volume.
If you get the sound you like at half volume, you can always mic up through the groups' sound system,
but I don't recommend buying amps that are unusable above 3/4 volume.
Having said that, the next amp/mic rig I set up will be probably be unusable above 3/4 volume.
This Amp is heard on the Dee Miller Video "Let the Good Times Roll". it has a superb sound, but it is a little small
for playing in bars with a single 6" speaker, and it is not really rugged enough to really abuse (no 1/2" plywood construction).
It is a Harmony Model H-195, with a RNC 1773 Compressor, and a Double Drive Tech 21 NYC box.
The Double Drive lets me dirty up the sound in a controllable way, while the RNC is a vocal compressor
(guitar compressors don't work for harp)- sometimes, a vocal compressor can really bring out the sound.
It's a crap shoot though, because on my other amp it doesn't do anything for the sound
(the Harmony has a "cleaner" sound , and "centers" more around the middle range notes, than the No-name amp).
The RNC 1773 is pretty expensive, but this is a superb amp set up.
I once tried to convince Clint Hoover to use it when he plays a Blues song on his recordings,
because as far as I'm concerned this is a top notch studio Blues amp.
I only use the Electro Voice mic with this amp now, but I was using the Green Bullet in the Dee Miller Video.
This Electro Voice mic has a distinctive "quantitizing" effect which is really interesting, but these mics vary considerably
from mic to mic, so this effect is unique to this one particualr mic, as far as I can tell.
I bought this amp at Twin Town in Minneapolis, for about $200.00.
The Compressor was another $200.00, or so, the Double Drive was about $120.00, and obviously there was some
experimentation to arrive at this set up. Still, when you get a rig that works with your own style of playing,
it's worth the hassle.
As I said in my bio, I've taken lessons from Joe Filisko when I lived in Chicago, and Clint Hoover in Minneapolis.
This instruction was vital to my progress as a Blues Musician. When you first start out, it seems like getting the right equipment
is the magic solution - and serious players do have an un-natural attachment to their equipment (what I remember most
about the recent Johnny Cash movie were the close-ups of some incredible vintage mics)
but the truth of the matter is that 90% of the sound is coming from you, not your equipment,
and the best investment you can make is an in-tune C harp, an expert instructor, and a record collection of Blues songs that you love.
You can play for years with just a single harp that you carry around in your pants pocket
Of course, as you get into the Music, you begin spending more money on your Music.
This is my current basement studio set up. I'm using Sonar 3 as a Sequencer, and Project 5 for most of my MIDI,
with the O2 controller(keyboard on the third shelf). I also have a little Micro Korg synthesizer (on the 2nd shelf).
It has a Vocorder -which is great fun. I've added a Bodhran (an Irish goatskin drum) for solo work
see my solo play about a blues harp player for examples
For Harp and Vocal, I'm using the PreSonus Inspire 1394 -with the Firewire connection (hidden behind the amp).
I had nothing but problems with the Tascam A/D converter as a USB 1.0 A/D converter - maybe it was my old computer,
but it didn't work, and it really pissed me off - that' s why I went to Checkerhot studio to make my Demo CD.
Anyways the A/D with a Firewire connection is a vast improvement.
Finally, my latest, A Roland electronic drum kit, which is just way the hell cool,
so if you'll excuse, I'm going to go banging on the bongo's like a chimpanzee.
"that aint working, that's the way you do it................"