KingoBad
547 posts
Jan 03, 2011
8:06 AM
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Anyone ever use a Harmony H-410? I have a chance to buy one for about $200 and wondered if anyone had played through one.
I have a Kalamazoo 2 that I love, I just don't want to buy something that is mostly the same thing.
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toddlgreene
2385 posts
Jan 03, 2011
8:10 AM
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EDIT:I was mistaken:They both use 6QB5/EL84 power tubes. I thought the Harmony was a 6V or 6L...
I'd pass on it, based on my thought that one good EL84 amp is enough. Unless you're the collector type. If it's it good shape, you could probably flip it for another 100 bucks or so profit.
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Todd L. Greene, Codger-in-training
Last Edited by on Jan 03, 2011 8:17 AM
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KingoBad
548 posts
Jan 03, 2011
10:33 AM
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Thanks for the input todlgreene. I think I will pass on it. I'm sure I can spend my cash on other more productive items...
Last Edited by on Jan 03, 2011 10:33 AM
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toddlgreene
2386 posts
Jan 03, 2011
10:38 AM
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Honestly, kingo, if I were gonna spend right around 200 on a small amp, I'd seriously consider the VHT. That way, you'd had two different sounds to choose from with two very portable amps.
And, for the money, there's all those ophan harmonicas out there, just dyin' for an owner...
Not to mention some choice microphones and effects that could be had with that money...I'm just sayin'.
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Todd L. Greene, Codger-in-training
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MJ
244 posts
Jan 03, 2011
10:46 AM
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I read this interesting review on said amp.
http://www.harp-l.org/pipermail/harp-l/2003-April/msg00231.html
I feel that every amp needs to be test driven by the potential player, then you can only tell if it is for you.
Last Edited by on Jan 03, 2011 10:48 AM
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Joe_L
953 posts
Jan 03, 2011
11:29 AM
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Try it if you can. Expect to spend some dough repairing it.
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The Blues Photo Gallery
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MP
1214 posts
Jan 03, 2011
12:12 PM
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-i've recorded with that amp. it/s a champ type imitation beginers amp. nice tone. one 8" alnico speaker. 5 watts RMS maybe? good for aound the house.
$200 is steep. $50 tops is reasonable---------
MP
hibachi cook for the yakuza
doctor of semiotics
superhero emeritus
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Bruce S
13 posts
Jan 03, 2011
12:36 PM
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I built a clone of the circuit, minus the tremolo. It's a great sounding amp. An interesting thing about the design is that the preamp stages cascade into one another and the volume is between the preamp and power amp stages. The voltages are lower than the K'zoo. The result is an amp that can really grind, but isn't too harsh.
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Piro39
1 post
Jan 03, 2011
4:26 PM
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This is a great small harp amp. I have had one with a 10"speaker for fifteen years. I love this amp. Good luck on getting one for $50. I think that they now go for around $200.
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MP
1215 posts
Jan 03, 2011
5:35 PM
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i've had three of those.
all with the tremelo circuit.
the 10 in H-410 doesn't mean ten inch speaker. they all came with 8s. i used to wonder what they'd sound like with a 10.
they are nasty. i don't know if they are $200 nasty.
the japanese acquired the Harmony name in the '60s. those models aren't as good----------
MP
hibachi cook for the yakuza
doctor of semiotics
superhero emeritus
Last Edited by on Jan 03, 2011 5:36 PM
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Greg Heumann
964 posts
Jan 03, 2011
9:05 PM
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i've got one that's been sitting around the shop for years. Just to lazy to do anything with it. It isn't as loud as a Kalamazoo for sure but it does have nice tone. I will entertain any reasonable offer for it.
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/Greg
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htownfess
238 posts
Jan 04, 2011
2:37 AM
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An H410 is probably redundant if you have a Kalamazoo 2. As Bruce says, it's mellower, tends to make any halfway decent mic or player sound good, but it's still an EL84 amp.
The late-model, at least, Harmony H410A came with a 10" Jensen alnico. The "A" stands for America, as there was some difference between U.S. and Canadian electrical standards. Pete Sheridan raved about the 10" H410A in his amp/mic guide in the early Kevins Harps catalogs, calling it his favorite small amp, so the eBay price crested around $300 for a mint one at the turn of the century, before the word really got around about Kalamazoos.
And I spent about seven years trying to find one, including visits to all eleven music stores in the metropolitan Green Bay area on a visit to that town (one way to see a city). Back home, a year later I spotted a suspicious amp corner sticking of a store owner's personal stash behind the counter. My friend talked him into letting my try it, and it didn't work, so I scored a nearly mint example for $100, and a new main tube fixed it.
It's a nice amp, but not a seven-year-quest's worth. Cool guitar amp, good tremelo. Right now mine has bigger coupling caps and filters and doesn't sound that much different from a 5C1 Champ. One thing you can do with the H410 cabs is make a different baffleboard--it's possible to squeeze a pair of 8s in, and a shallow 12 may also fit, though the output impedance is 4 ohms.
Nowadays, for $200 it needs to be a clean and healthy example. Output doesn't drop much with a mismatched 8 ohm speaker in there, but a harp-friendly 4 ohm 10" is hard to find, short of paying around $100 for a Weber Vintage one.
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MP
1226 posts
Jan 04, 2011
11:13 AM
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speaking of pete sheridan...i was asked to review and endorse his apocryphal 'quest for tone' booklet with all its' wild and bizzare claims. good read! losta pictures so it makes it easy.
it appears that harmony made bass amps. a 4/10 and a 1/15. i've never seen these amps, but i've never seen a manticore either.
anyone ever encounter one of these mythical beasts?----------
MP
hibachi cook for the yakuza
doctor of semiotics
superhero emeritus
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MJ
245 posts
Jan 04, 2011
11:51 AM
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"i've never seen a manticore either.
anyone ever encounter one of these mythical beasts?"
MP.. Only the one that delivers my paper. :)
Last Edited by on Jan 04, 2011 11:51 AM
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MP
1227 posts
Jan 04, 2011
2:05 PM
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-i've only seen one delivered on paper by the artistic, yet fevered brain of a medival monk.
i'd give the beast a wide berth, MJ ---------
MP
hibachi cook for the yakuza
doctor of semiotics
superhero emeritus
Last Edited by on Jan 04, 2011 2:07 PM
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