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Dirty-South Blues Harp forum: wail on! >
New elements
New elements
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Seven.Oh.Three.
210 posts
Apr 18, 2013
7:54 AM
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Why is it that nobody can produce a new element that can compete with the elements of the past? Clearly there's a market for good elements so what's keeping someone or a company from producing a good modern element at a reasonable price? Searching Ebay recently and looking at Mic's & elements there's plenty of examples of vintage shure elements with an asking price between $150-$200 and even then you're taking a small gamble on what you're actually getting. And then there are crystal elements.... I couldn't imagine buying one off ebay. So what's the deal?
Thanks!
7.o.3.
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HawkeyeKane
1594 posts
Apr 18, 2013
8:32 AM
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It probably has a lot to do with the time and resources required to make elements of that caliber. Times have changed.
In the days that elements like the CM/CR black & white labels, MC-127 & MC-151, and American D-5 were made, the mics they were made for weren't really intended for harmonica use. And once those style mics went out of style for their original purposes and Shure, Astatic, etc. realized they could still sell them to harp players, they moved with the times and looked for more economical ways of building elements for them.
For instance, it's a lot less time consuming to make a ceramic element than to wait for your crystals to grow, and then harvest them and shape them into your element. Similarly, the simple modernized dynamic elements used in mics like the 520DX and the Peavey H-5 are a lot less costly to produce than a controlled magnetic or controlled reluctance element is.
I agree with you 703. It's a frustrating situation for our line of work. But you really hit the nail on the head in your 2nd question above. REASONABLE PRICE. These days, what's reasonable? Twelve years ago, I bought my first harp, a MB1896, for $20 in-store. If I went in today to try that, I'd be paying a little more than double. As I quickly learned after getting into this instrument, it can wind up being one of the costliest instruments to play professionally. And the amplification gear is no exception if you want quality.
It WOULD be nice if a major sound company today would get a clue and develop a good bullet-element for harp. But they'd have to see proof that there is a demand great enough to warrant it. Maybe all us harp players should make some signs and picket in front of Shure headquarters? :-)
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Hawkeye Kane
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didjcripey
528 posts
Apr 18, 2013
9:31 PM
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A 520dx and vintage 520 are different types of elements. The dx is a dynamic element and the old 520's were controlled magnetics, they operate on different mechanical principles and respond differently.
The vintage elements are not 'better' than modern elements they are actually quite low fi. Their high frequency response is relatively poor which helps take the edge off for harp and they were made in a way that accidentally works well for harp in a noisy environment.
Although there is a lot of harp players, I don't think the market would really be that big.
A good modern element at a reasonable price is the SM 57.
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Lucky Lester
Last Edited by didjcripey on Apr 19, 2013 2:28 AM
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