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Dirty-South Blues Harp forum: wail on! >
just a new member introduction
just a new member introduction
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prasatorr
1 post
Mar 26, 2013
1:58 PM
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hello, i've just registered to this neat forum, and having read the FAQ i figured it'd be nice to introduce myself, (although i'm not sure whether it's really worth starting a new topic, but what the heck)
my name is Tomas, 21yrs old, and i'm from Slovakia (central europe).
first of all, i have to say that playing blues harmonica is an extremely rare thing around these parts. although it makes me quite unique in my enviroment, there's just too many downsides to it. there is nowhere to turn for instruction or advice in person, and even some of the best musicians around here have only little experience with harmonica as a serious instrument. it's kind of odd, given that other genres of "the rock'n'roll family" are actually quite popular here. anyway, i'm telling you all of this in order for you to understand why i'm exceptionally grateful for an opportunity to participate on this forum. also, i kinda hope it will excuse me for all the stupid questions you're going to get from me in the future :)
i picked up my first harp aproximately 3.5 years ago, so you can imagine that i'm not quite much of a player yet, but i'm getting there slowly, mostly with the help of the internet (and such wonderful teachers as adam gussow [thank you!])
at the moment i'm tackling with the problem of picking up my first amp (yay!)
so i guess this could be my first topic: i've just purchased Hohner Blues Blaster mic, and i'm trying to decide what kind of amp to get. i guess it'd be for the best to start with some kind of medium-priced acoustic guitar amp. my current hottest candidate is Kustom Sienna 30, or ZAR A-40R (local stock is quite limited, and frankly, i'm just a poor philosophy student :P)... maybe you'd like to offer some suggestions: like what kind of amp is best to start with.
alright, i guess the post is already long enough as it is, so i'll just drop it here for now.
thanks for reading. lookin' forward to your responses!
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nacoran
6607 posts
Mar 26, 2013
2:29 PM
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Welcome aboard! I can't remember the name off the top of my head, but I think there used to be a harmonica manufacturer in Czechoslovakia, although I don't know if it was in the Czech or Slovakian part.
I'm not an expert on amps, but I'm sure the experts will be along shortly. :) I do know that more is sometimes less with harp amps, depending on what sort of sound you are going for. Larger amps are harder to distort. If you can, take your microphone down to someplace that has some amps and try playing through a few different ones. Everyone's taste is different.
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Joe Strouzer
10 posts
Mar 26, 2013
2:32 PM
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Hi Tomas,
Welcome to the forum!
It can definitely be hard when you have no one to meet and talk harmonica to. my advice would be to make sure you get to any gig or concerts that you know there will be a harp player at and go talk to them after a show (you will often find them by the bar...), everyone I have met so far has been really friendly and happy to discuss playing/ give some tips.
In terms of an amp, I guess it depends what sound you are looking for. I've spent the past year playing a Fender Champ 600 I picked up off ebay and never had any problems. Its not a huge amp but its got a warm tone, is portable, suitable for practice at home and fine for gigs as long as it gets mic'ed into the PA. its also very affordable...
just saw one on ebay uk going for £70
also there is a little article here from Adam
http://www.modernbluesharmonica.com/harmonica_amps.html
good luck and happy playing
Joe
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www.josephstrouzer.com
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rogonzab
253 posts
Mar 26, 2013
2:51 PM
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Welcome!!!
Maybe you should write a list of the amps in your budget, and maybe someone can tell you his/her experience whit harp.
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orphan
269 posts
Mar 26, 2013
3:34 PM
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Welcome to the forum prasatorr. Do you have the opportunity to try the Kustom Sienna 30, or ZAR A-40R? Some amps might not be very friendly or adaptable to your style. Also, as your technique develops, you might want a different amp. You might consider an amp with good resale value.
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prasatorr
2 posts
Mar 27, 2013
2:32 PM
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thanks for all the advice! basically, i thought it would be for the best to rely on my own personal experience with what i have already tried. the two amps i listed were already "ran through the filter" of what i'm looking for. i think i'll be getting the ZAR A40R for starters and see if i can develop some kind of personal style with it. it's still a long journey ahead.
i'd like to pose a different questions though. a rather technical one: is there any key difference between amp and PA system in terms of sound?
i mean, i think PA systems usually have wider sound-picking freq than amps, right? doesn't that alter the sound too much?
especially when you mic a small amp to the PA, i would expect the final sound to be hugely altered, as the signal takes a real long journey until it comes out of the speaker!
ps: nacoran: to my knowledge, the closest we ever came to that was some time around 1830s, when a german manufacturer resided on a territory that was only later to become part of czechoslovak republic. there's also a czech toy factory which makes harmonicas for kids, but that's all i'm aware of. but than again, i'm not aware of a lot of things, so who knows :)
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