Mike - there is a lot of great music out there. Listen to some of it. If you are uninspired, that's a problem you are going to have to work through. If the music doesn't move you, find some that does. There are tons of tunes out there.
Lip pursing or tongue blocking is meaningless. It's what you do with those tools that count. Listen to some records. Try something other than harp players, since you've probably moved beyond them in your artistry. Try some singers or guitar players.
Good call. I have a beautiful bullet from blowsmeaway, but haven't spent much time playing it. For one, I am currently not gigging regularly, and when I have been, a clean tone has been preferred.
Rick's vid of the Masco vs. the Bassman sorta sums it up for me. I hear either the warm muted Bassman sounds or the really crunchy sounds. I think the dynamic range of a SM57, for example, gives me something in between and with a wider response.
Swezey8: Where did you hear that Pat Ramsey was a pucker player? I've listened to a LOT of Pat's music over the years, and I hear a bunch of TB. 'Course I could be wrong (as least that's what my wife says -- a lot).
As to HarpNinja's question, I can't think of any specifically who don't tongue block, but Sugar Blue, Mark Ford and Andy Just are all pretty damn speedy and get great bullet tone.
Last Edited by on Oct 30, 2012 7:57 AM
I am uninspired in regards to amped sounds. I've dialed in some good "clean" tones as that is what I was using for the last year or so. I'd really like to dial in a rawer blues sound using a bullet mic.
I've never been a bullet player and would like some references tones to help me dial in a recordable sound. Right now, I end up getting a sound that is too warm - for my taste. Think of the Bassman in Rick Davis's recent post.
More than embouchure, the thing is note separation when playing fast and the dynamic range. I don't hear those issues with Sugar Blue and Pat Ramsey. I am definitely splittin' hairs here. I will try and post a clip of what I mean.
The Para Driver DI I use has SO many tones options it is overwhelming. I am not even sure what I am after. I just know I can dial in a crazy good champ tone and some warm/clean Bassman, but I think I am after more of a Pat Ramsey sound...I guess a Mark Ford-ish thing would work too...just a sound that I like that is still fairly dynamic. Right now, I end up not liking the sound, so I go back to playing acoustically, lol.
Sometimes, I hear really compressed dynamic range from bullet rigs - where it is sorta like a telephone, and I don't like that at all. I'll just post a clip of what I mean tonight. The real issue here is me and not knowing what I want in a dirty sound for blues.
If I picked up a gig for tonight, I'd just go with a AKG D5 and a very clean and slightly compressed sound...pretty much straight to PA. I want to rock out to some backing tracks at home, record them, and find things to work on technique wise.
I think Pat mixes embochures. I don't really play the same riffs, but the more I think of it, I probably play a lot like he does. We have similar tone...I am talking playing wise and not gear wise.
Is it trebley or something? I don't know how to describe it. Maybe it is not open enough with the mouth or what. It just doesn't sound as oval as I want it to. I don't want to sound like Jason Ricci, but his tone is sounds very oval to me...Charlie Musselwhite sounds less oval too.
Listen to the first couple bars of Jason's version of Afro Blue. That, to me, is perfect tone. It is slightly crunchy, but dymanic with huge bottom end and very clear tone.
Pat sound has more treble, I think, and less clear bottom end. It is thicker sounding, but now as wide. I can't not have that sort of sound with an overdriven rig. In fact, I probably have a trebly acoustic tone, even when I tb.
I've spend a lot of time woodshedding my acoustic tone, but still find my single note playing sounds the same tb or pucker and I have to keep my jaw dropped when playing the middle of the harp. Especially on fast runs. I tend to let me jaw close too much. On the bottom end and top end, I've had better habits. In fact, I really really like my tone on the top end of the harp. I realize a lot of the sound comes from me and not the gear, but I've heard enough of me playing different rigs to know what they can add to the equation. ---------- Mike OOTB Harmonica Price List VHT Special 6 Mods Note Layout Comparisons Quicksilver Custom Harmonicas (Updated 10/25/12)
@ Mike- Yeah, I like the Princeton sound he has here. I think he chained two Princetons together but not sure about this video specifically. What I like is the separation you can still hear in his faster lines which sometimes gets lost in overly crunchy/muddy setups.
@ MN- This is what Jason said about Pat
"Pat was a total lip purser and didn't even know people could bend while tongue blocking until the KC spah. [the SPAH convention that was in Kansas City in, I think, 2005] Pat would of course tongue block octaves."
This came from Winslow and can be found here http://www.bluesharmonica.com/pat_ramsey_0
He is definitely using TB techniques with octaves and warbles, but like Jason I think that is more for certain effects than as a default playing mode.
The last few songs are studio tracks. All were done with the same SM57, but in the darker ones, I was using a Vibro Champ. The clearer ones were a Double Trouble. The DT tone is pretty much my favorite that I've heard of my playing. I guess I could try to get closer to that.
When I hear these clips compared to what I am getting with my current rig, I hear my sound going from "contemporary" to traditional blues. I can't tell if that is coming from the mids or treble.
Lessoned learned - my modded DT with an Ultimate 57 is tonal nirvana for me. I don't have the DT anymore, nor do I need another, but I could just use that as a reference for dialing stuff in.
I hate my vocals on that last NR album. It doesn't even sound like me. I don't know if they were squeezed, over processed or what. That is just not what I sound like. There is an acoustic instrumental on there and my acoustic tone sounds good.
As I process this while typing, I think I like a sorta Pat Ramsey Princeton or Carlos Del Junco Ed sound...
(BTW, the Carolina Blues clip is the same rig I've had for the last two years with a AKG D5. The Groove Stew sampler is the same Vibro Champ as the studio recordings, but with less bass to make it cleaner...that is my default live sound and has been the last 4 or so years...clean with some tube warmth.) ---------- Mike OOTB Harmonica Price List VHT Special 6 Mods Note Layout Comparisons Quicksilver Custom Harmonicas (Updated 10/25/12)
Last Edited by on Oct 30, 2012 8:35 AM
I used to play a Shure 520DX through my single 12" speaker tube amp. I believe I may have been using some kind of distortion pedal or multi effect pedal. I definitely think this sounds compressed.
Here's an open mic recording with the same amp single 12" speak tube amp about 5 years later and much improvement using a stick mic: Big Legged Woman
Solo at 2:35 you can hear how compressed this sounds. I think it may be my proximity to the recording device. The amp wasn't mic'd in either clip.
This is just through a PA with the same electro voice stick mic from the second clipStatesboro Blues
I think this sounds less compressed than the first two. It's taken me forever to write this post and I don't even know if I am helping anymore.
Last Edited by on Oct 30, 2012 7:37 PM
Gotta say, if you haven't figured out how to answer this question then not many people will. My latest effort is my upgrade to the SM57, bulletized. With a prime 4-10 and mic technique my tonal range has really increased. By tone here I am referring to EQ range and compression. That's all much more accessible now. My acoustic tone is very much TB, reminiscent of Kim Wilson/William Clarke. I do use a delay and only conceded to that recently. Anything between the harp and the tubes gets in the way. IM"H"O
Last Edited by on Nov 01, 2012 6:19 AM
Mike- why a bullet all of a sudden? Thought you liked dynamics,like a 57. I'm in the minority in finding a bullet too muddy for my tastes. Just got an Ultimate 57 from Greg and find it dirty enough for blues without losing note separation. I can vary the dirt by moving the harp further from the element.
FWIW-The Nighthawk's Mark Wenner is primarily a pucker player.
