5F6H
1262 posts
Jul 14, 2012
9:10 AM
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Amps made "just for harp" typically share the vast majority of their circuitry with "amps made for guitar"...this is because amps are amps and don't decide/know/care what gets plugged into them, whether it be a mic, guitar, or a CD player. A good harp amp might be lower on gain than a similar guitar optimised amp, it might be a little darker, but if it didn't work *at all* for guitar (with maybe a rebias and some 12AX7s fitting) then it's probably not going to work for harp either!
Harp optimised amps tend to have selected speakers, sometimes tubes & other component changes to reduce gain & brightness, which cause feedback. Cox amps make 2 amps that are popular with harp players, the 5F1 champ and the most popular harp amp of all - the 5F6A Bassman.
The money you save buying an amp that is not optimised for harp can quickly get eaten up with speaker & tube swaps (changing out the 4xJensen C10Q in the Cox for 4 more harp friendly speakers brings you up to HG50 kind of prices). This is why it makes sense to buy an amp from a builder who has good peer reviews & testimonials from other harp players. Perhaps Cox knows more about harp friendly changes that the website shows? Drop him a line. I suspect the price is very competetive because he buys parts in quantity & they suit guitarists (the bulk of his customers) just fine, one-off harp custimising is likely to push the price up over that displayed on the site.
If he's not flexible, then you can save a few $ on purchase, then spend a few more on testing & tuning...you might like this aspect, or you might prefer to be a player rather than a guinea pig? :-)
Ask yourself, do want a "cheap amp", or an amp that does the job. It's easy to buy a cheap amp (cheaper than the Cox even), if that is your priority.
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