Hi all i need to get aholder for when i play slide and harp at the same time ,so will need a holder , i've seen a few on ebay , the dunlop one looks good , but is it robust ? is there any really decent one to go for that is comfortable and doesn't look like you've brokeen your neck in a freak accident! ( sheer vanity ?) also the adjustment that stays put , ie no plastic screws etc any help will be most grateful thanks in advance
I have the dunlop and it's tricky to work with. Difficult to change harps one-handed, and it doesn't stay in position well. The best of a bad lot I've tried is the Lee Oskar.
Gary Applegate sells one that mounts to the microphone,, specifically, it is a small bracket with a round hole,,which you unscrew the windscreen of your mike , slip the bracket over the mike shaft, screw the windscreen back on to secure it,, then there is a little harp size bracket attached (actually one piece with) the round hole bracket, upon which you can either with a supplied heavy duty industrial velcro , or with a magnet mount he sells , just quickly attach or detach your diatonic,, best device I ever used,, nothing in front of your face that looks like a hospital traction device.. under $30 btw available from Jim McBride who makes the Bottle O Blues mics
I like Kingo's solution. If Olivia Wilde wanted to hold my harp for me, I think I'd have a really hard time turning her down. ;-) ---------- Hawkeye Kane
Just a few days ago I got one of those gizmos that holds the harp with a magnet to an SM58 mic. It works great--but I do get some pop and a lot of nose noise from it at full volume--so I had to put a windscreen on the mic, which crowds the harp a bit and rubs on my nose. Overall--I would rate it very highly though--just for the freedom from the rack it affords--and the fact that the mic is totally out there and ready to sing into.
I am still working on coming up with a solution that could get a cupped sound and be miced--but still be able to sing through the mic as well. I have one that I like pretty well now--but I still get too much noise out of it.
I don't know if there is a perfect solution--I think I spend too much time trying to solve problems like this and not enough time just playing the damn music. . . ----------
Thanks for your suggestions , i forgot to say i'll also be singing as well , so i can't really have much stuck on the mic . what i also have done before is have a normal sm58 through the PA and also a bullet mic srewed onto a boom stand as well ( the thread fits well!, as itbhas no volume control on the mic itself ) which give a nice vocal sound through the normal channel of the amp,and the guiitar through the bright channel .i find the vibrolux works better for this than the super reverb ,because i can have reverb in both channels I'm more after an uncupped harp sound for this project at the moment , but i'm still experimenting i7ll see what ebay and shops throw ,up , i'm off to pick up a deluxe reverb that a friends just bought this weekend ,so i'll see what the shop has , if not , back on the ol laptop hunting ground cheers all!
I use this one. I have been using this style for 40 years and still love it. Most people spend way too much time trying to get things set just right when in reality simply playing for many, many, hours, days, years, is what will get things sounding/fitting right. To truly master the harp rack will take a lifetime of playing hours and hours a day just as it is true for any instrument. Cut and paste playing is easy. Becoming an artist takes a lifetime. Most people that try the harp rack give up. Look how few rack harp players are out there and most that use a rack hurt my ears. It is like learning a new instrument and most are not inspired enough to work through the learning curve. No harp rack will make you play right better than time playing! I use to spend 5-15 hours a day playing for 20 years. I still put in 3 or so hours a day on weekdays, and 3-10 a day on weekends. I don't time it or have a schedule. I have been driven to do it for this long and still am, so I do it. Don't force or structure your playing. Let it come busting out of you and run with it and when it leaves do something else. that is how to become a musician vs. a cut and paste player. Walter
---------- walter tore's spontobeat - a real one man band and over 1 million spontaneously created songs and growing. I record about 300 full length cds a year. " life is a daring adventure or nothing at all" - helen keller
I've ordered the konig and meyer rack as it seems to be robust , hhopefully big enough so , i don't end up having a secondary tache in te shape of a harp stuck to a mouse trap ! juts hope it stays put when i'm playing , technique hopefully shouldn't be too much of an issue , i suppose if i position it right , it will be ok . when i play harp on sundays i'm usually comping to support the rhythm with just an acoustic guitarist and fellow band mate , but i thought , he does his own solo stuff away from the band , so i also could do with a project that pays ,i've got soemgigs already lined up ,s o it gives me an incentive to get the set together . i7ll post up any vids once i get going on it ! and thanks for the tips , it's what these forums are great for!
, i need that harp to stay put , also to remember to strap my guitar on , especially the resonator , as it has a habit of sliding south to the floor when i get whacking on it with the edge of my thumb , ( sounds great for basslines ) i don't use a pick . i also will be using my guild starfire for the hooker type sounding stuff , in a way it will be a mix of allsorts of dirty old blues which i don't get to play in my regular band , so will make a nice change from rockabilly twang and worrying about skint double bass slappers everytime i leave the house !
yes, Harplock,, that is the one I spoke of that fastens to the microphone itself,, , Gary Applegate makes them,, you can get them from him for about $25 or so,, or get them from Jim McBride at Bottle O'Blues.. the microphone guy.. Jim ALSO sells a discrete strap that goes around your shoulders,, and keeps the standard type harp racks from swinging back and forth as you slide up and down the scale on the harp.. about $20 I think...
thanks , last time i tried to check out bottle o blues site i was having trouble with internet , i'll try again ,very soon ,and see what's on offer , as i live in UK , it might take a while to get it posted over here
