Good tone is a very subjective thing. What one person thinks is good tone is not necessarily what another person considers good tone. For me Jodanchudans comment sums it up perfectly. He said "It's interesting tone, variety of tone, fitting the tone to the song that counts, not just constant 'big tone' ".
Talking about variables, a huge one is what key is being played. Most of what I hear as 'fat' tone is an A harp or lower. Pretty hard to get fat with a 'F', what you get is sharp, like a razor which has its place too. ---------- Lucky Lester
Well i am with Theo on this..Mark Ford does it for me. He doesn't have that the old school 'Fat tone' but he sure does have 'Phat tone' But using the classic definition to me, its Dennis Gruenling. But hey every guy mentioned so far triggers it for someone.Thats just the way it is.
@shbamac"For real. There is just something about the way he moves around that I don't care for. Just bugs the hell out me. "
Funny that because ,much as i love his playing,i feel exactly the same when i watch him on stage. Another one whose stage presence i find a bit off putting is Jerry Portnoy..all that crouching bent over stuff. MBH disclaimer:(required these days) it's just my opinion and no i won't put up a u tube showing me being the consummate entertainer on stage.^
Jehosaphat, I'm glad I am not the only one. I know what you about Portnoy. There are others as well... But I'm glad they got there thing and it works for them.
@didjcripey You wanna hear fat tone with an F harp? See below.That 10 blow at 45 seconds even sounds fat. How many of the guys mentioned here ever throw in a 10 blow on a F harp with their rigs? I agree about the low harps. Any of you that have heard Jason in person unmiked and acoustic know his tone is HUGE. He just doesn't normally set his rig up that way. Line em all up side by side with the same rig, same key harp, and ask for big and fat tone.....Mr. Ricci wins hands down.
I've no idea what to unzip or which tape measure to use to judge these "who's the biggest" competitions, but, of all the players I've had the pleasure to hear "just play" (with no mics, amps, stages, shows, etc, just sitting the same room) the three whose tone struck me as particularly powerful are Lee Sankey, Joe Filisko and Grant Dermody.
----------I just left a comment on the William Clarke thread that I thought I would reiterate here since the subtest to my whole observation is "tone": p.s. I agree with the M. Ford, and Dennis G. elections too: William Clarke:The biggest sound in the business!! The first time I saw him in a joint called "Manny's Car Wash" in NYC I sat next to Johnny Winter. Like myself he was unfamiliar with W.C. live (W.C. had recently released "Blowin like Hell" ). J.W.'s literal quote "I haven't heard a band like this since Muddy's early years" was accompanied by a kind of dreamy-saintly smile. W.C. gave big-generous music to his audience...When he stomped his feet, when he got down on his knees, when he opened up with Tsunami songs like "Blowin like Hell" Whoa!!! Facebook
Last Edited by bigd on Mar 30, 2013 11:17 AM
@Hdude: Maybe I use the term 'Fat' in reference to tone the wrong way. To me it implies a thick sound with lots of bottom end. While Jasons tone in this clip is thick and overall awesome, to my eras it has not much bottom end, simply because a F harp doesn't produce any low frequency. ---------- Lucky Lester
59 Bassman re issue .. Tubed for harp with U7'S 5881, 5751 ,5AR4 ,, Holy Grail Plus for reverb .. Vol jumped across channels .. 98 % Tongue Blocker .. Getting a good connection with your Diaphragm is key . like BBQ Bob says relaxed playing not tense .. will give you the best results .. my picks is hands down ,, James Cotton , Mitch Kashmar First pos blow bends are Stevy Wonder ish unique sounding , Jason Ricci ,Paul Osher , Kim Wilson , And Phill Wiggins ,, hands down in front of a vocal mic , Big Giant Sound .. --------- Have Harp Will Trave
I like Deak's choice of players. I also love that Bill Lupkin clip. Dennis gets huge tone in part because he plays very low harps, amplified, and know how to work them.
Last Edited by kudzurunner on Apr 01, 2013 4:12 AM
@tmf714: "@Ryanmortos-I have heard your tone-and those guys could fart and sound better than you-"
I hate to be a nag, but direct personal insults are in violation of the forum creed. Ryanmortos's bragging, however objectionable or laughable you find it, is not in violation of the creed. A simple "Gimme a break!" would make the same point.
An essential component of tone is attitude (or whatever word you want, that's mine). A pissing match over various opinions may be inevitable but, for what it's worth (my opinion), let it go -move on. We believe what we believe, Hallelujah. Also, I'm willing to bet 99/100 of the people we correspond with here by text would have nothing but fun together in person.
@Littoral-I did not know you were a moderator- You are entitled to your opinion,but the move on stuff-that's best left to the moderators of this forum. Nothing wrong with spirited debate-{my opinion}.
Last Edited by tmf714 on Apr 01, 2013 6:32 AM
can an amp tech measure how much gain a tube has? i took my amp to a respected tech told him i put these tubes in to lower the gain ay7 au7 5751 they are black plate triple mica halo getters from the 50s.
he laughed, when i asked...said they were not lower gain,that he tested them and they were off the chart is it possible the older tubes were better made and had higher gain the the tubes made today? i am a bit perplexed by his response ---------- tipjar
Last Edited by 1847 on Apr 01, 2013 10:35 AM
It is very satisfying combo...your set-up seems interesting too.
What I'm noticing with this set-up that I really like is the presence, middle, bass and treble controls are a lot more responsive then other combos I've tried. And the different mic inputs... normal 1 and 2.... bright 1 and 2 are really responding in a positive way. All 4 inputs are giving a nicely different feel to the signal. And the way those inputs showcase different mic elements is pretty cool. The amp has a range of different tones and sounds to choose from :)
5Ar4 ,, 5881 power . 5751 V1 ..12AU7 V2 .. 21Au7 V3 ...My map has been played by RJ Mischo ,, Rick Estrin ,, and a few other big names .. and they all said .. Deak what did you do th that amp .. Its a monster .. ---------- Have Harp Will Travel
So you pay big bucks for a customized harp so you can produce a non-fat sounding tone?Since no overblower is getting nominated for this fatness award,what can be said about overblowing and tone?
It`s Easy,dead or alive,i`ve never heard anyone have dynamics and FAT tone like Big Walter, EASY... any one else is assimilating !
Last Edited by colman on Apr 05, 2013 3:03 PM
