Frank
2673 posts
Aug 31, 2013
2:34 PM
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Would you like to play your harp through this amp setup :)
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tmf714
1919 posts
Aug 31, 2013
2:49 PM
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I will take this setup anyday-
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didjcripey
607 posts
Aug 31, 2013
3:01 PM
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My experience suggests that musicians that need to be louder and have the biggest amp tend to be trying to compensate for something else.
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Lucky Lester
Last Edited by didjcripey on Aug 31, 2013 7:43 PM
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Frank
2675 posts
Aug 31, 2013
5:21 PM
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You're the only one who mentioned "loud" so far in this thread cripey, what does that suggest? LISTEN to the dynamics those guys pull off playing through those sweetazz amps - gotta say, they are workin those babies mighty fine :)
Last Edited by Frank on Aug 31, 2013 5:23 PM
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didjcripey
608 posts
Aug 31, 2013
6:07 PM
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It suggests that the musicians I play with that have big amps can't resist the urge to play loud (our bass player's amp is bigger than my refrigerator).
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Lucky Lester
Last Edited by didjcripey on Aug 31, 2013 10:59 PM
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nacoran
7088 posts
Aug 31, 2013
7:09 PM
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Back in my first band we were having a practice and the guitar players were getting a little out of hand. They had 50 watt amps, but the practice room really was only a glorified closet. The bass player got annoyed and turned his 300 watt amp up. Things starting falling off of shelves. :) (That was back before I took up harp. I was a lead/backup singer and shaker player then.)
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1847
1031 posts
Aug 31, 2013
9:24 PM
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he is no longer the only one to mention loud
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master po
i get a lot of request when i play my harmonica
"but i play it anyway"
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1847
1032 posts
Aug 31, 2013
9:55 PM
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they have no excuse..
they have their amps up as loud as can be
so they have their so called tone
why is it that it does not sound like music?
duane and dickie on there worst day sounded
far better than that....
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i get a lot of request when i play my harmonica
"but i play it anyway"
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Last Edited by 1847 on Aug 31, 2013 9:56 PM
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Kingley
3086 posts
Aug 31, 2013
10:53 PM
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I value my hearing too much to play with anyone using that kind of rig, let alone use one myself.
I have to say on a side note, I don't like the sound Rod gets from those HarpKing amps at all. It's overly distorted and just sounds like crap to me. To me the best recorded sound Rod ever had was on the Harpburn and California Boogie albums. I saw him live a few years ago and he was playing through a Super Reverb and a Bassman. That gave him a great sound and nowhere near as distorted of those Harpking amps. Mind you he was still too damned loud.
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The Iceman
1135 posts
Sep 01, 2013
4:46 AM
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Are those Marshall Amps in the first picture?
Ah yes, I remember the rock bands in the 70's using Marshall amps. Saw Humble Pie at a fest in Germany and Steve had a literal wall of Marshall Amps behind him. Sounded great but was the loudest guitar I'd ever heard at the time. However, in the 70's, who cared?
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The Iceman
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Kingley
3089 posts
Sep 01, 2013
4:54 AM
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I went with some friends in the late 70's to watch Motorhead. They were just stupidly loud. Inside the hall the volume was so loud you couldn't hear a single note, just a deafeningly loud noise. I honestly can't find words describe how loud they were. That's how bad it was. We left halfway through and about a quarter of a mile down the road you could hear the notes and lyrics perfectly. Don't even know why I went as I didn't even like heavy rock and still don't.
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Frank
2676 posts
Sep 01, 2013
5:39 AM
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That setup sounds like a harp would sound lovely with it... Very impressive how those guys created a pleasant dynamically charged performance while playing at satisfying volume levels - quite the fine performance! :)
Last Edited by Frank on Sep 01, 2013 5:40 AM
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blueswannabe
265 posts
Sep 01, 2013
5:40 AM
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I'm sure all those amps go up to 11.
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jbone
1343 posts
Sep 01, 2013
6:05 AM
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It's nice to have an amp that enhances tone a bit and takes the sound out to the audience. To me the only goals for having an amp are just that, to hear oneself on stage and take the sound to the patrons. I've played with guys who are amped out to here and wear custom earplugs. Why?? Their position is, the tone happens at high volume so they need the plugs to hear the tone. My position is, it's hunting bunny rabbits with rpg's. What about my 12 watt amp that I can't possibly hear with 50+ watts of distorted guitar next to me?
I have hearing loss in my mid range and it affects how I play and interact with band and duo mates. I can't afford to lose any more, once it's gone it can't be replaced in any real way. Hearing aids are like the worst amplifiers on the planet. So I'm told.
I let my '59 Bassman go last year because it was unwieldy and not really practical for most of my musical endeavors. It was a great amp but I decided if I needed that much power I ought to be making a living with music and that was not happening. Add to that the idea that a clear clean signal is also a good thing for a lot of harp work and it's not even a consideration to lug 50 lbs of cabinet around, it's more about small venues and street gigs with no amps at all, or low power amps at best. I want the crowd to have a conversation in front of the band without yelling. I want the patrons to stick around.
A band I was with several years ago opened for Bobby Rush in a nice big convention center auditorium. I had a 30 watt Peavey Delta Blues 210 amp and it was plenty. Why? The sound guys did a great job is why.
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Last Edited by jbone on Sep 01, 2013 6:08 AM
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Rick Davis
2295 posts
Sep 01, 2013
7:44 AM
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I tried playing though a bandmates's Marshall stack back in the 80's. It did not go well.
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-Little Rick Davis
The Blues Harp Amps Blog
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Rick Davis
2296 posts
Sep 01, 2013
7:58 AM
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BTW, in the top video you can see the clear "amp sheilds" in front of the wall of Marshalls. Bonamassa has his own signature line of amp shields. Guitar players like these things because they can crank their amps to ear-bleeding levels without injuring the audience.
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The Blues Harp Amps Blog
The Mile High Blues Society
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Frank
2678 posts
Sep 01, 2013
8:32 AM
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Right, can't speak for how others managed their setups with these amps - though this setup sounds like a harp would do wonders with it...again they manage to play some serious dynamic tonal blues with that particular setup :)
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The Iceman
1137 posts
Sep 01, 2013
8:37 AM
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I found out from working w/production people that eventually for some rock shows, the stage visual of a wall of Marshall's was an important part.
Can't remember the name of the rock band, but heard they had a stack of Marshall "shells". Behind one was a Fender amp mic'd for the lead guitar - mixed properly by a competent sound man.
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The Iceman
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Rick Davis
2298 posts
Sep 01, 2013
8:41 AM
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Frank, it stands to reason that the amp shields would lessen feedback for harp players. It might be worth a try.
My favorite application for these shields was when a drummer in a former band of mine put an elaborate set of shields around his kit during club gigs. He was a pretty good drummer but TOO freaking LOUD. The shields helped a lot.
And.... if loud amps are a phallic symbol, the amp shields are, well, you get it.
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-Little Rick Davis
The Blues Harp Amps Blog
The Mile High Blues Society
Tip Jar
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Frank
2679 posts
Sep 01, 2013
8:53 AM
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It's impressive how those guys played that setup so softly - really a great display of working the spectrum of sound to entertain the audience :)
Speaking of phallic symbols, when my wife sees a dude driven a truck as big as tank - she'll say, guy must have a small dick...
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LSC
496 posts
Sep 01, 2013
11:06 AM
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@Iceman -
Henry Vestine when he was with Canned Heat used to use an amplifier from an LA builder, can't remember the name anymore. It looked similar to a Dual Showman head. He'd sit it on a chair in front of a speaker stack two high and four wide. All the cabinets were empty except one.
Eric Clapton when he was with the Yardbirds sometimes would stick a broken string around one tuner to make it look like he had broken it because he thought it looked cool.
Some guys have an interesting way of interpreting the "show" in show business.
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LSC
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S-harp
169 posts
Sep 01, 2013
1:31 PM
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Ah, yes ... Motorhead ...
I listened to a soundcheck they did some years ago.
A wall of Marshalls ... of course ... and it was so loud it hurt ...
Then they turned on the PA!
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The tone, the tone ... and the Tone
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Frank
2688 posts
Sep 02, 2013
3:45 AM
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