Sorry if I´ve touched upon this before but the question lingers. This is very close to The Sound in my book. Some grit, some varmth etc. Very versatile. My impression is that he is not using an amp here, but I´m on really shaky ground when it come to analysing sound. Also, my impression is that he´s rather high on the mids on the EQ.
I´ve meet Lee once, but hadn´t this particular tune on my mind then so couldn´t ask him. He had probably not answered. Lee had a "clinic", and when you brought up the sound (he played a couple of tune and sounded marvelous) issue he swiftly returned to his preferred topic, which was marketing his harmonicas. (No harm in that but it ain´t no clinic.)
Im no expert on harmonica sounds, but Id like to take a crack at it.
To my ear it doesn't sound like anything special. Just an EQ set up the way is supposed to be. I think were so used to hearing the HONKING that anything else seems foreign.
I think that if he had been playing any chords it would have given it away a little easier. But it just seems like a nice clean mic, maybe cupped to overdrive slightly and smooth out the sound so that you dont get the acoustic reeds sound. Seems like no amp, just straight to the board. And obviously a bit of time effect (delay/reverb) Idk maybe im way off base, but thats what I hear.
Edit: Ahhh. Greg you beat me too it. Must have been posting as I was listening to the video. But yea I hear the same thing. Thought maybe it was a trick question. ----------
Last Edited by Killa_Hertz on Sep 09, 2016 8:47 AM
Since it is a studio recording it is hard to say if he played through a JC120 or straight to the board through a preamp. It is a relatively clean mic, EQed for harp, with reverb.
Probably the mic is hand held and cupped, but in a studio they can really modify whatever they recorded, however they recorded it, so who knows?
More and more I am drawn to this kind of sound as opposed to distorted harp, though a bit less reverb. ----------
I agree with Greg. Handheld (light cupped) mic direct into the PA. with some reverb and a good eq setting on the channel. Which is one of my favourite ways to play. In my opinion if you've got decent acoustic tone, this set up really allows it to shine through. I wish people would play like this, more of the time. I personally find it musically much, much more pleasing than the bassy heavily overdriven sound that has become the sound of choice for so many players these days.
@Kingley: "Good EQ setting on the channel." Yes, that sounds plausible -- and I also agree w/ Greg -- but, aye, there´s the rub: what would those "good" settings be here?
It´s music to my ears that some of you appears to be drawn to this sound. The heavily distorted Bullet/Bassman sound worshipped by oh so many harmonica players is sometimes a little bit tiresome.
This has a hint of distortion, that seems to be possible to extra emphasize with cupping. I note that you (Kingley) say "light cupped", and I agree. But doesn´t that go against the grain: we must cup those mics like mofo´s in order to get warmth and so on, per earlier threads in this matter?
Not trying to pick a fight, just curious.
@Greg: Aren´t you one of those who say that the Very Tight cup is a conditio sine qua non for good amplified sound?
Martin, well It depends on the room of course. Generally though boosting the mids, keeping the treble low and boosting the bass a little would get you in the ball park. The volume slider and gain control would be set to 'clip' a little as well I'd imagine. Then reverb to taste.
No, we don't really need to cup mics heavily for a good sound. That tight fully closed cup has a time and place where it's useful. However in many instances letting a little 'air' in with a looser cup create a much more pleasing, more clarified, less muddy sounding type of sound. A good player will of course utilise all the various cups to create a good sound. Personally when someone plays with a tightly sealed cup for the majority of the night. I find it becomes a boring one dimensional sound after a short time. If you watch someone like Dennis Gruenling, Mitch Kashmar, or any other top pro player. They vary their cupping style through each song and this brings large amounts of pleasing tonal character into a song. A good tight cup can be used to great effect and many people think it's the bees knees. However it certainly isn't the only game in town. If you listen to all the great recorded material though that variety of cupped sounds is evident for all to hear.
I'm pretty sure Greg refers to the very tight cup as good for good amplified sound to over drive mics that respond well to it (57, 545). When I play PA I really prefer my bulletized 57 to allow some subtle distortion -as appropriate. And of course that's true for PA and amp. Otherwise, what Kingly said. I will add on the EQ question the obligatory "the player".
@Kingley. Thank you, and I´m with you entirely. In my earlier playing days I was rather caught up by that cramped cupping style, but remember an interwiew with Paul Delay where he pointed to the need to, so to speak, let the air in every now and then, and it was liberating.
@Littoral: Yes, "the player". Certainly. I sometimes explicitly beg not to hear that. Not because it´s wrong but because it is, as you say, obligatory. From a standpoint of pedagogy I can see the need to inform beginners of the importance in what their specific input is, but I think most of us who have been playing for a while a pretty clear about it. And, as Harold Melvin sang, "If you don´t know it by know you´ll never ever get to know it" ... Although I don´t subscribe to the somewhat ridiculous notion that "99% is the player" and so on, it is to a great, to a considerable, to an extremely important degree -- The Player.
i would argue that perhaps 80 percent is the player, does that sound about right?
the next biggest consideration would be the mic. i think that matters most in terms of equipment. then which amp that is used. after that any effects.
he does have a fabulous tone, especially on the that track in particular. i bet it would be easy to contact him, in this day and age. he is a very gracious gentleman, i bet he would gladly respond .
aren'e all you folks on facebook? perhaps someone could ask him? if not i can try to see if an email would go thru later this week.
Ribbon microphones are the most sensitive of all microphones. They feature a very thin aluminum diaphragm that is placed between two magnets, which causes it to be fragile. The acoustic pressure from the front or back causes vibrations based on the acoustic waveform. Unlike the Condenser microphone, Ribbon does not require any Phantom Power and unlike the Dynamic microphone, it will blow if phantom power is added. Ribbon microphones are said to pick up smooth and warm sounds, which is why they are mainly used for guitar amps, strings, and drum room mics. Popular Ribbon microphones are: Royer 122 V, Beyerdynamic M260
@Martin re: "Greg: Aren´t you one of those who say that the Very Tight cup is a conditio sine qua non for good amplified sound?"
When I refer to "amplified sound" I am actually talking about the Kim Wilson/Jason Ricci/Rod Piazza/Gary Smith/Mark Ford/Aki Kumar/Charlie Musselwhite/James Harman/Rick Estrin etc...... sound - when THEY use a cupped mic and amp - that's MOST but not all of the time.
I refer to the sound of Lee Oskar's recording above as "acoustic".
Yes, this is subject to misinterpretation as BOTH use microphones and amplification. I'm just in the habit of referring to LO's sound and sounds like it as "acoustic" tone and the aforementioned guys as "amplified" tone.
WhenI perform more than a few tunes, I always do both - "amplified" through one of my wood bullets or a Bulletini into an amp; acoustic through the vocal mic (usually an Ultimate 58) that I also sing through.
@1847: You´re most certainly right when it comes to his gear choices. (He says a bit about it here: http://www.hunterharp.com/loskars-favorite-harmonica-things/#gear) But I´m not that convinced when it comes to his more recent sound -- liked him better in earlier days. And, yes there are amps visible in the clip -- but are they connected to him? I can´t see. (Lee´s somewhat contortionistic physical style is a bit hard on the eyes, I must say, still I keep looking at him, perhaps expecting him to walk right off the front part of the stage ...)
He´s on Facebok yes, or more precisely his *company* is, so I don´t think he would notice an inquiring nobody -- but I might take the chance and "befriend" him.
@Greg: It´s funny you use that terminology, but we all have our different ways. I hear this as very much "electric", perhaps because I´m stupidly over-sensitive to the "acoustic" harmonica sound, or most of it. Quite frankly, I think the instrument *needs* some "amplified" enhancement to come into its own.
Last Edited by Martin on Sep 12, 2016 9:59 AM
I bet he would answer an email, he is a rock star, dont they just sit around a swimming pool all day drinking mimosa's. i think doug had it right, not likely he would use the roland amp in the studio... no need... a preamp into the console i also agree that it is an amped sound.
at the end of the video i posted, it appears his harps are on the amp .... he is reaching for something just before the video ends. he always used an amp live from what i remember.
