The recent comparison between the Harp Break directly into a PA and the Sonny amp was very interesting. Does anyone here use the Harp Break into the PA at gigs or jams? For playing the blues, which mic seems to work well with this pedal?
John, do you mean the comparison video from Ian Collard? Did he reveal which was the harp break? Oh, yeah I see he did. Ok, scratch that. ----------
Last Edited by SuperBee on Mar 21, 2013 6:47 PM
I've literally walked into a Jam..signed up and when my turn came..plugged in my C/M via a Harp Break into the PA,and been a very happy camper. But..done the same thing somewhere else and it twas shit. (I luv the freedom that good pedals can give you,no huge amps to cart around (or buy) and if'n it suits you can just get a cab to a Gig!) But..not all PAs' are the same or run by people with more than one brain cell so it can be a crap shoot for jams. In the end though the Harp Break is a great pedal and coupled with a good mike and some technique it is the bees knees.
The Lone Wolf pedals are great pieces of kit. They work well with any decent mic and can give you a superb amplified sound. The "crap shoot" comes when you plug into an unknown PA. You are then at the mercy of whoever is doing the sound. If they don't have a clue what they are doing then you risk sounding like crap. If they do know what they're doing (or if you can explain to them what to do) then you'll sound great. I use a Harp Attack and have never had any problems getting a good sound.
@john95683, don't hesitate, lone wolf distortion pedals are all great. Like Kingley said it's not a total lifesaver, however, you still gonna have some fustrations from time to time depends on the venue and the folks you have to deal with but that has nothing to do with the pedal.
My personal experience with the harp break is exactly like Jehosaphat so my advice would be; think of it as a small-portable version of your harp amp. It's smaller, easy to cary around, easy to adjust and not much issue with the feedback but you gonna have to face the same problems like you would have with the real amp in the real situations. Something like, can I have a bit more volume? or maybe can you guys play a bit softer? Could I adjust the board a little bit.. that kinda stuff. I'll tell you what's the real lifesaver, your volume knob on the board, plug the mic through the pedal and to the board and put the volume up a lot then you can just use your mic's volume control to control it.
*Another advantage of the pedals is that they don't have just one sweet spot at a certain volume. They don't sound so much different when you change the volume.
Last Edited by puri on Mar 22, 2013 1:24 AM
"*Another advantage of the pedals is that they don't have just one sweet spot at a certain volume. They don't sound so much different when you change the volume".
I haven't had a chance to try this but that's hard to imagine with the sweep of most pots. I hope it's true.
I haven't tried it through a PA, I use it through my Champ clone too, helps with the low tones. But I don't think I use it with any of my other amps, they all have tone controls and they all sound great without adding distortion. All are vintage tube amps. Actually thought of trading off for another Tone+, I traded mine away. But saving it for a PA makes sense.
@puri: good stuff! Did you use anything other than the Break on the first 2 recordings? Also, I did mean the VC on the mic so I WOULD expect a very noticeable difference when you change the (mic) volume. Again, I haven't had a chance to try this but that's hard to imagine the sweep of the mic pot wouldn't effect the sound. @rbeetsme: I got my break very recently and it is NOT helpful with my Concert amp but, like you, saving it for a PA makes sense. If that works and there's a decent PA (etc.) then a seamless plug & play would be awesome. OH, now that I think of it, why not add the PA harpbreak as an additional mic set-up & sound even when I'm working with an amp? Oh yes. I do like that idea...
Last Edited by Littoral on Mar 22, 2013 9:19 AM
@Littoral - "Did you use anything other than the Break on the first 2 recordings?" Mmm I'm not sure what you mean. Have you got me mixed up with someone else? cause I have got no recording. As for the affect of the mic's VC to the sound when you sweep, to me the charactor changes very little when compare to harp amp. Once you get the setting that you like on the pedal it seems like the sound stays pretty much the same louder or softer.
I also wouldn't use it with amps. I just don't see the point. I bought it to use it through PA.
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