Hi every body .I register to create this topic that could help a lot for those who wants to have a chicago blues sound whithout a tube amplifier ,and even without the typical microphone like the green bullet ,the bluesblaster . I have spent a long time to find a sound that would be really comes close to that fat crunchy sound ,and I want to share it with you . For this I use a line 6 POD xt and a cheap microphone : a shure 8800 . Choose the "tiny tweed" amplifier Add the "facial fuzz" stomp Choose the "condenser" microphone,and 100% room. with this ,the sound is not so fat ,beacause you got to equalize it .Most of the time ,I equalize it at the end of the recording ,adding some bass frequencies and so on . But let me show you how it sounds :
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c1nkr52ys0w
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Coq5aCsRL6M
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b82kiYMFHxg
PS : Excuse me if I made some mistakes in english language ,I'm a french guy and don't use to write in english ,but hope it will help nevetheless.
Last Edited by on Aug 29, 2011 1:46 AM
Hi, Sometimes I use Line6 POD v2.0 ( XT is too complicated to change something fast on the stage). I have two favorite emulations of tube amp: 4x10" Bassman and Small Tweed 1x10. If someone would like to copy my specifications, please let me know :o)
Friend of mine uses Fender Champion 110 - 25W transistor amp. The sound is really nice, but too trebly for my taste. Probably Peavey Rage 258 will work nice, but I did't try it.
Thanks a lot .I use Hohner CrossHarp,Seydel blues session ,and Lee Oskar. To answer a question above : Yes it should works great throught a PA as well.I'm pretty sure of it . Otherwise my line 6 POD xt was out of order during several months ,so I was seaching for geting that chicago blues sound with some others gears .It was not easy ,but the way I've found it was in fact the simpliest one : A Blues Blaster Hohner microphone through an Equalizer BOSS stomp pedal.Just have to boost the bass frequencies to the max ,and low down the middles and high ones.No need for an emulation amps gear in this case.And it sounds quite good I think.Here's a link to listen to : on a backing track I have found on Youtube,but it was too slow for a shuffle in my opinion ,so I have speeded it up .: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fmf3J_VzZtc I'll try to integrate it ,sorry if it doesn't work :
another link ,with this method ,but with no equalisation after recording it ,'cause I was filming me with a web cam for a contest : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jj6w2jH6ZKQ&feature=related just a try to integrate the short video :
Last Edited by on Aug 29, 2011 3:01 PM
Thanx a lot christelle .Mince je t'ecris en anglais ...Un grand merci à toi christelle,je te souhaite le meilleur pour ta carrière .Moi je passais juste là pour refiler des tuyaux afin d' obtenir un bon son sans se ruiner,puis ça permet de s'exposer un peu + et ça me fait tres plaisir ton message et je te retourne le compliment avec une chose en + : ton expressivité est bien meilleure que la mienne ,faudrait que j'bosse cet aspect là .
à +
Sorry to write in french ,but christelle is a french friend of mine ,and I wanted just to wish her the best for her carreer as a musician ,which is a really difficult path ,especially for an harmonica player .
Thanx .Another thing I forgot to mention and that is really important to get that kind of sound relating to the second method : The cupping of this kind of microphones = It must be very airtight,and the harmonica must be a bit distant from the microphone,It must not be in contact with the mic ,otherwise your sound will be too much bright and thin. Hope it will be helpfull.
Wow bart Leczycki !!! I saw you on youtube with howard Levy performing " now the time" : great performance that blew me away .You rules !!!!
Last Edited by on Aug 29, 2011 3:42 PM
great playing,but the" chicago blues sound"amp or " know" amp, starts with a woodshed induced natural fat sound with or without amp.study on the chicago players who set the standard and learning it is the best way to get the "chicago blues sound"most of the great harp players [the originals}i`ve seen,40 yrs. ago were playing thru the PA system.James Cotton ,honking thru the PA had a deeper,fatter sound than any body else i`ve seen. so,if you don`t have the fat sound to begin with,all the electronics will give you a good FX sound but the harp tone will still be thin a a pin...
it's easier to play unplugged ,the difficult thing is to come close to the crunchy sound without the appropriate microphone and without a tube amplifier . A home made recording I made unplugged just to show what I mean by easier is not a lie,it's just the fact :
mewin'cat Nice tone and playing. I'd also tell that I was always sure that POD Line6 could be a nice box for harmoica. I want to get me one. ---------- Excuse my bad English. Click on my photo or my username for my music.
have you ever tried Amplitube on the ipod touch or ipad or iphone? I have it and it is also awesome to emulate that Chicago tone. You can choose A bunch of Fender amps with Cabinets and also Speaker configuration. Impressive for the dollars!
Thanx a lot.To answer : no I don't use plugin or VSTI ,I'm not familiar at all with these kind of things. Otrherswise ,i made a lot of recordings of improvisation,and put them on youtube,but I'll not put 'em all here ,just because it will be out of context,and it was just recordings with a goal of progression ,just because you progress very much by the fact of recording yourself ,when you hear it back afterwhile : it shows all your mistakes ,if you're able to hear them. But I have made some "homemade recoordings" on wich I play all instruments ,so the backings tracks are mine ,but they are shorts ,because they were at first time ,backing tracks for a guitar french website ... But you can upload this for free on those links (It 's instrumental muusic ,and it is not totally diatonic harmonica oriented,just because I 'm a guitarist at first sight,and not stricktly blues ,because I love music very widely (sorry for the bad english inside ,I'm french and self taught in english ...,as for music ) .: http://www.megaupload.com/?d=E2T2LJBL another one made in september 20111 http://www.megaupload.com/?d=9WCQE9KS And one I made during the year 2009,but there's no blues harp on it (sorry,I didn't play it so much at this time ...): http://www.megaupload.com/?d=Z814N9WC .
So one hundred titles of instrumental music almost
--------- http://www.youtube.com/user/cafeclopeaddicted?feature=mhee
Last Edited by on Oct 09, 2011 1:54 PM
