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Dirty-South Blues Harp forum: wail on! > tone! from Ronnie
tone! from Ronnie
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kudzurunner
4621 posts
Mar 21, 2014
4:20 AM
Crystal Astatic and early 50s Fender Champ. Ronnie Shellist. Whew! TONE.



And some damned fine playing, too.
rogonzab
512 posts
Mar 21, 2014
6:03 AM
I love that champ sound.
Kingley
3528 posts
Mar 21, 2014
6:46 AM
Adam did Ronnie tell you it was an Astatic crystal and a Fender Champ? I'm just wondering how you know. Because it certainly doesn't mention that in the video notes, and there aren't any comments on the video mentioning that fact. Either way whatever rig Ronnie is using, it's in the PA system and has added equalisation on there as well I suspect. No denying though that it's a good sound and of course Ronnie is very good as always.
The Iceman
1547 posts
Mar 21, 2014
6:55 AM
All the right moves musically. Elastic stretched rubber band (one of my teaching techniques...will tell you about it some day) tension and release at the best critical spots.

ya
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The Iceman
1847
1611 posts
Mar 21, 2014
7:32 AM
you could easily play that room with out pa support
i would suspect.
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i get a lot of request when i play my harmonica
"but i play it anyway"
Kingley
3529 posts
Mar 21, 2014
7:43 AM
I agree you could easily play a room that size without PA support. However I'm pretty sure Ronnie is in the PA here as well. That looks suspiciously like a Bose style speaker to Ronnies left. Plus of course listen how much bottom end that amp has. If it is indeed a Champ, it'd be unlikely to have that much bottom end and sound that smooth at the volume it would need to be without being in the PA.
1847
1612 posts
Mar 21, 2014
7:59 AM
a 127 element and a 151 sound similar
i am going out on a limb here
i am guessing 127 ceramic?
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i get a lot of request when i play my harmonica
"but i play it anyway"
Greg Heumann
2652 posts
Mar 21, 2014
8:13 AM
@Kingley -(on behalf of Adam) Ronnie said that was the gear in his original post on Facebook.
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1847
1613 posts
Mar 21, 2014
8:18 AM
if it the older champ on his site
then yes i would agree he mic'd it up
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i get a lot of request when i play my harmonica
"but i play it anyway"
Kingley
3530 posts
Mar 21, 2014
9:59 AM
Thanks for clearing that up Greg. I've now seen the post by Ronnie on Facebook. It's a 1950's Fender Champion 600.
Joe_L
2444 posts
Mar 21, 2014
12:02 PM
Kingley - Throughout most of that clip, he is playing with a very airtight cup. You can hear it periodically throughout that clip.

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The Blues Photo Gallery
Kingley
3532 posts
Mar 21, 2014
12:16 PM
Joe - Yes I realise that. Even with a very tight cup though in my experience it won't give you that much bass at the volume needed without PA support. I could be wrong, but I expect that Ronnie was most likely running the volume around halfway on the Champion 600 and using the PA to boost it slightly. Either way it doesn't really matter. The music he was playing is far more important than the tone and I'm sure we all agree that it was pretty damn good harp playing

Last Edited by Kingley on Mar 21, 2014 12:17 PM
1847
1615 posts
Mar 21, 2014
1:05 PM
yes fine plying for sure
the earlier fenders had a smaller speaker
so most likely thru the pa
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i get a lot of request when i play my harmonica
"but i play it anyway"
walterharp
1351 posts
Mar 21, 2014
1:13 PM
really, tight cup most of the clip? I would say around half, just when the amp distorts and gets noticeably louder.. you can see him pick up his right hand lots. I was actually thinking this was illustrating how a tight cup can add emphasis, but is more effective when used only some of the time. the tone, is good regardless of how tight or loose the cup is, and lots of that is really nice deep vibrato
MindTheGap
369 posts
Mar 22, 2014
3:34 AM
So what is the conclusion on the PA/No PA question? Is this the result of masterful technique getting a rich sound from a small amp, with some volume, on it's own?

This is relevant to the discussions about small amps in bigger settings e.g. Harp Study's question about the Bugera V5 in KB's KentuckyBlues V22 review or my thread Small Amp, Angry Wasp. 1847 gets a pretty rich sound from his - but then there are all the variables (room size, general volume level, recording kit) which makes it hard to judge from the different recordings.

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mtg

Last Edited by MindTheGap on Mar 22, 2014 3:42 AM
SuperBee
1790 posts
Mar 22, 2014
4:24 AM
i'm ready to be surprised when its proven to be just the tiny speaker in the champ...but for now i'm betting on a PA being involved.


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