Martin
505 posts
Nov 04, 2013
4:15 PM
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Tomorrow I´m going to check out various settings w/ mic, harmonica, straight to PA at a friend´s house. (There will probably also be some tampering with my RP pedal.)
This guy is not entirely convinced that you can GET a good sound with just mic and PA -- but that I am, since I´ve had it myself and heard it lots of times.
I´m trying to find some Youtube samples of this to show him but don´t seem to come up with a whole lot ... which is annoying me a bit.
Any links to a stripped down, good, diatonic harmonica sound w/ *cupped* mic into PA would be very appreciated.
Last Edited by Martin on Nov 04, 2013 4:16 PM
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9000
181 posts
Nov 04, 2013
4:44 PM
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James Cotton: mic, cable, PA.
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Music speaks where words fail.
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jimr
55 posts
Nov 04, 2013
5:26 PM
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Me into a generic PA.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8M8kPlX7ICI
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bigd
499 posts
Nov 04, 2013
7:44 PM
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Here's a cheap recording of a PA solo:
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Martin
506 posts
Nov 05, 2013
4:23 AM
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For Christ´s sake, Dennis -- that´s really great! Both the playing and the sound.
That´s exactly what I´m looking for, a touch of the Lee Oskar w/ War sound.
What is it you use here?
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bigd
501 posts
Nov 05, 2013
7:45 AM
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That's back a few years at a "blues jam". I posted it because it's a generic sm58 into the PA, i.e., one of the vocal mikes. Under the "generic jam" circumstances I have no idea what the PA settings were. I work a small stage in a club in NYC weekly backing a parade of singers...Because of the limited space I have gone from blowing through a bullet into a miked amp previously to one of the generic wireless vocal mikes straight from the PA these days. I Definitely miss blowing through an amp as it gives me a bigger bodied sound. On the other hand I lose some of the nuances when blowing through an amp that I get on a vocal mike through the PA. The example above that turned you on is me playing hard in earnest because I love minor songs... thus it comes through the PA with grit. I'll be very interested in where you land in your explorations! My best. d
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Martin
507 posts
Nov 05, 2013
8:52 AM
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Thank you, Dennis. To a considerable extent (and read me right: in no way as a devaluation of your excellent playing!) the quality of the PA has bearing upon the sound.
What these last hours with my friend has taught me is that I have rather neglected this aspect of the overall sound. (I´m very far from tech-minded, alas, and have been unfortunate with a crappy PA as of late.)
First I went straight in with my Beyer mic, made some adjustments and found a passably warm sound. In no time.
Then I added a Boss parametric EQ, and could enhance the warmth as well as adding some mild distortion. Easy.
Then starting anew, we began to tweak the RP 150, me giving instructions ("more bass, add some dirt" etc) and after a couple of hours we had four or five good harmonica sounds from the RP. (I could not have done it alone.)
Tomorrow these will be tried on that crap PA, and let´s say my expectations are realistic -- but it will be interesting.
Maybe I´ll have to buy a bloody amplifier.
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bigd
503 posts
Nov 05, 2013
4:17 PM
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I envy your freedom to experiment with tweaking efforts, e.g., pedals. I do a big show on a stage that resembles a pizza oven with a sound man that bites when you make requests. On the other hand I get paid well to be acoustically abused and the audience shake their hips when I solo! My best. d
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9000
182 posts
Nov 05, 2013
4:25 PM
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Check out Richard Hunter's RP patches. They're great!
All the best,
Jay
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Music speaks where words fail.
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1847
1278 posts
Nov 05, 2013
4:44 PM
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i like the end of the solo at 51 seconds
very dramatic.
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i get a lot of request when i play my harmonica
"but i play it anyway"
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Martin
510 posts
Nov 05, 2013
5:24 PM
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@bigd: Actually the RP pedal ain´t much more space demanding than, say, a (large) pack of smokes. Well, two packs ... But I´ve seen videos of your place and I understand, that´s really crammed.
Also, there´s of course the sound man aspect to factor in: what would he do if you started running things by yourself?
@900: Yes, I´ve got Richards patches, but I really haven´t found anything with the appropriate amount of warmth among them, on the neutral/cleaner side, with bottom and warmth. So I fiddled a bit with a few of the delay/reverb settings at the end of those 50 patches on the RP 150 and I *think* I´ve got something,
(remains to bee seen in a critical context).
If so, will make a recording.
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