I just recently found a hollow body guitar and my harmonica playing has been held back due to school and the jazz combo I am in, playing rhythm guitar. It is an Ibanez AF85L.
I needed an amp to match that guitar because my Fender Vibro Champ XD wasn't cutting for that real jazz tone. I bought a Fender Excelsior. I plugged my guitar in and was very satisfied, but I also tried harp.
Since this amp has no EQ's beside volume, you get what you get. It's not a bassy amp for harmonica, but with a proper mic, you can get a very nice tone. I want to say using a bullet brings you more to that Little Walter sound, but I am doubting getting Big Walter Horton tonality is going to happen. Plug in a Shure 545SD Unidyne III and you are set to go with a more modern sound. Without a volume control on that mic, it is going to be hard to get as much of a crunch as you could potentially get with a bullet mic turned down and the amp up high.
I just wanted to share some thoughts on this amp. Have a nice day all! ~ AFRO ---------- Hunger is the best spice.
It is certainly a good value at under $300. I haven't played through one yet, but I haven't heard anything bad about them. "Good but not great" would sum up the anecdotal information I've heard.
I played Excelsior in local club. And yes, it's good, but not great. Fat bottom end, fat low mids, but not a decent attack. ---------- Excuse my bad English. Click on my photo or my username for my music.
I tried one a couple of weeks ago at G.center.I brought my micro hush,harp tone pedal, and two cm bullets.I figured the h.tone would give me more tonal options.to my ears it was thin sounding with not alot of bottom end,not alot of bark if you know what I mean.I wish I would have gotten another better quality 15 or two ten cab while there to jump into the line out but sometimes the music pro,s at G.C. get a little pissy about that especially if your not spending.For the price though $250. to $300. its not a bad bargain especially with some mods
It seems the only way you can get any bottom end at all is to plug into the guitar line. The microphone line is flat and the accordion line simply highlights the mids and highs and may not be desirable to many players. The amp is definitely doable though. ---------- Hunger is the best spice.
I posted about this amp last August: "I have played through one at a local music store with a variety of mics and through each of the 3 channels. IMO the guitar channel sounded best, but still too bright for my taste.
I think that the amp has potential, but I believe that it is voiced for guitar and has too much treble. I prefer a darker tone for amplified harp, more like a Bassman. "
There is one thing I didn't try that would cost less than tone mods (unless you know what you are doing and do it yourself) or speaker swaps.
You could use a graphic equalizer to cut highs and boost lows. Danelectro has one that gets good reviews and is inexpensive. The Fish & Chips 7 band graphic equalizer costs about $30. This inexpensive pedal could improve the amp's sound if adjusted properly. There are other more expensive EQ pedals available as well.
If you decide to try this, please let us know if it improves the amp. ----------
I have a Laney Cub12r, diferent amp, same problem, way to bright to harp (side note, I dont know why, but when I increase the volume the higher frecuencies tend to be boost more than the lows or mids)and I use a Behringer EQ-700, and that pedal give the amp a lot more character, whit the pedal is a great amp, whitout the pedal is just OK. Hope it helps.
@Doug As I said in my post,I tried it with my harp tone pedal which is somewhat of an eq and it really didn,t darken the tone much.I kept the treble down at one point and the bass up and still thin with no bottom.Just my opinion but again with a better quality speaker there could have been a big difference.You,ve gotta figure at the price I,m sure they,re not giving you a high quality speaker or tubes for that matter.BTW,the cabinet seems to be built pretty well.
@NiteCrawler I saw your post, and having never used a Harp Tone+ I couldn't compare it to a graphic EQ as far as effectiveness in improving the frequencies in an amp that is too trebly. But you are right, tube and speaker changes are a good way to go, just pricey. Different mics make a difference, but even my most bass heavy mic was not enough with the Excelsior.
Before I changed speakers in my GA18T I was able to improve the low end considerably with the Fish & Chips EQ. I also sometimes used the LR Baggs Para Acoustic DI to good effect. Now I have installed a Lil Buddy in the GA18T, and don't need an EQ pedal, and don't need to do tone mods.
The shop that had the Excelsior has sold it, so I can't take the Fish & Chips in to try it out. ----------
I FINALLY got to try out an Excelsior over the weekend. THAT's how long it took for my local store to get one in and call me about it. If you're passing through Springfield during the day, check out The Rock Shop on West Jefferson. He's got a few you can try your Fish n Chips through, and he said he's gonna be getting the different color schemed ones soon.
My take on the Excelsior....well....I was impressed in some areas, disappointed in others. I liked the versatility of tones achievable through the different inputs, but even with the switch on dark, it still seemed too tone-bright for a 15" speak'd amp. The tremolo was also somewhat disappointing. I have a better trem frequency range in my Kalamazoo than that thing does. I dunno....it looks good, and like so many here have said, it's a good value and has mod potential, but I'd really have to WANT it to buy it, and at this point, I really don't.
However....
While I was in on Saturday, I also tried out a Fender Greta for shits and giggles. I've always liked the retro look of them with the tabletop radio design and VU meter. With the little internal 4" speaker, I'll be honest, you have to turn the volume ALL the way up to get any discernable sound out of it. BUT...here's what blew me away.
It's a 2W amp right? 12AX7 preamp and a 12AT7 output tube. The shopkeeper told me to hold on, then he ran a speaker cable from a Line 6 4X12 cabinet over to it and plugged it into the external speaker jack of the Greta. I immediately had to spin down the volume knob when I turned my mic's switch to "on" because of the blast of feedback that ensued. You talk about rich, dark, distorted tone? That little peewee amp has GOT SOME! It's too bad though...looks like Fender's discontinuing them.
Sidenote on the Greta, I dunno why they designed it like this, but that little amp has NO ventilation to it whatsoever. I mean, I realize it's only got two tubes that are usually used strictly for preamplification purposes, but those two tubes STILL have to create some heat inside that casing.
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Hawkeye Kane
Last Edited by HawkeyeKane on Feb 25, 2013 8:23 AM
They are discontinuing the Greta? I didn't know that. I, much like HawkeyeKane really like the look of it. If they are going to discontinue it.... i guess i better grab one up quick.
I don't know that they're axing them for sure. But it's getting harder and harder to find anyone selling them online, and the guy at my local shop said he hasn't seen them available for order from Fender in some time now. ----------
I have a Greta and love it -sounds good with both harp and guitar
Here is my Greta--with a guitar but it is not a trebly amp so harp tone is good--Skip to around 4 minute mark to get a good listen to amp ( guitar is long sold )
Not reviving this for any imperative purpose....but I was browsing Fender's website this morning (which still has both the Excelsior and the Greta listed, so I guess they're not axing them just yet), and I found these nifty vintage looking photos that look like they came straight out of a 60's catalog. I especially like the kids expressions in the Greta picture.
I bought an Excelsior Pro in sonic blue to go with my Strat Classic Player. The Pro model has a better speaker.
As amps go, it's got basic control in volume, bright and dark tone switch and the tremolo.
It's very simple and encourages you to use the controls on the guitar to get a nice sound. I haven't used it for harp, but I'd suggest getting a cheap EQ pedal. For the money, they're awesome.
