Every now and then I´m browsing Youtube in the hope that there somewhere might lurk some little comparative review of the HB52 and one or two other mics, played on machinery that is relatively clean sounding so you get a clear notion on just how the mics sounds. No joy this far -- but I might have missed something?
Hi I have a Blues Blaster as well. Never got used to the sound, not enough low end, to sqeeky for me. Experts are not enthousistic about it, they prefer the vintage Astatic JT30. You could consider to have it modified with a vintage element.
I agree with you, a shoot out with a relatively neutral sounding amp, and no effects would be nice. Blues blaster and vintage JT30, green bullet 520DX and 520 with cm or cr element. That would interest a lot of harpers. There is a recent mic shoot out here on the forum. Have you checked it out?
Last Edited by Ger Scheeve on May 01, 2020 4:17 AM
Thanks Ger. Opinions appear to vary about the new Blues Blaster, but what you say about lacking low end was news to me. And very interesting, since low end is what our instrument is in dire need of. (I believe I was responsible for that recent mic tread here.)
I had heard that same thing many years ago. In the 90's. In fact a guy gave me his BB when he heard a real deal cm powered Green Bullet. I found the same thing, low end just was not there when compared with a vintage mic. Nice shell but the element and the connector not so great. Mine had an xlr built in. I passed the mic on to someone else. Looking back I would have kept it, stripped it, and installed a screw on connector and a nice cm or crystal element. ---------- Music and travel destroy prejudice.
Not to be overly pedantic, but the HB52 is called Harp Blaster, not Blues Blaster. The BB is an old mic, and was never regarded highly by harp players. It's important to keep the names straight to avoid confusion.
Oops, sorry Martin, for overlooking that you placed the comparison ;-)
Yes jbone, agree with you about the bulky XLR sticking out on the Blues Blaster. Until now, a 520DX was my main ax for an odd 20 years. Replaced the chord with a good quality Tasker mic chord 10 years ago. Never felt the need for a connector on the shell. Pig tail is the best option for me. Light and agile.
Thanks Garry. I dont have a Harp Blaster. Know nothing about it. But they put on that bulky connector again ..... Just saw they sell a clip as well. Long time ago I made a nice clip for my T3. After I saw it bashing to the stage a couple of times, I had this wonderful inspiration: what is on the ground, cant fall down. So now I have a box with 8 little compartments for my harps, and a big compartment, with foam on the bottom, for my mic. the box is on the floor, in front of me on stage.
Last Edited by Ger Scheeve on May 01, 2020 12:16 PM
From Fritz- R.I.P. Und zoh, the question deals with the iconic HOHNER BLUES BLASTER, now the single survivor of the ASTATIC JT-30 line of microphones that have played such an important part in popularizing amplified harmonica. ASTATIC (absorbed by CTI and then absorbed by OMNITRONICS) has fitted a number of variations of large format / large diameter (2" diameter) crystal and ceramic elements into their communications mics (JT-30's and T-3's being principal favorites) over the years. Yes, there were noticeable differences in physical detail, but they were generally high output units with that distinct gutsy sheetmetal-ripping edge they became famous for. It's been over half a dozen years since I heard from an officer at OMNITRONICS that the supply line for the MC-151 crystal elements (I believe he'd mentioned they were being produced in Austria) was about to dry up, go out of production. Rick Epping of Hohner was very interested in finding a replacement element in order to keep the HOHNER BLUES BLASTER in production. They (HOHNER) settled on a medium-format (1 3/8" diameter) crystal made in Japan, using a wider gasket to fit it to the mic's shell. Unfortunately, even raising the resistance of the HBB's volume control from 500K to over 1MEG couldn't put the bottom-end back into the HBB's response curve... OK, in brief: The original large format crystals found in the JT-30's and HBB's could sound scary-BIG when healthy (remember they ARE crystals); The newer medium-sized Japanese crystals sound extremely thin and nasal by comparison. NOS and good used large diameter crystals ARE out there in ever-dwindling numbers. HAPPY HUNTING!
The above quote from Fritz jives with my experience. You can buy two Hohner Blues Blasters (I know nothing about the current "Blaster") and they look identical on the outside. Inside though, the originals had the Astatic MC-151 (the MC-127 molded into metal with paper 151 "sticker" label). Later ones with the small (thin sound, no good) Japanese crystal element. During the 1990's I had friend who had bought an old TV repair shop, thousands of tubes, adapters, connectors, elements, etc. I got to look through. Anyway, he found a wholesale house with a leftover stock of these MC-151 with stick crystals (they were not being produced but there were pockets of NOS inventory. I bought 20 of them @ $9.99 each (should have bought more!) and went through them. Per the above "they were generally high output units with that distinct gutsy sheetmetal-ripping edge". There were LARGE variations, some gritty mids-highs, no bottom, some more distorted, some cleaner/smooth like ceramics, etc. 2-3 of the 20 were outstanding, punchy with full bass, etc. That is about my experience on the HBB too, I have had a couple that smoked! Most mediocre or almost dead/thin. I have sold about 25 crystals past 2-3 years to mic builders, harp players, friends....it took way more than that to find 25 decent ones (R-7, 101, 151, etc.). This is just part of process to have the ones I play and record with. It's just total "luck of the draw". Other/best option, find a good dealer, spend more for one that is verified solid. Or, of course vintage CM/CR route would be way better than anything made now. Although, I have not tried Greg's Bulletini.
Martin, I’m sorry to stray from your OP but the conversation is gone that way. Just my small contemporary experience with the world of crystal elements; maybe 2011 I bought a mic with a Turner crystal which was rather weak and growing steadily weaker it seemed. I saw a person selling a lot of harmonica gear online as they prepared to emigrate, and I purchased one of his NOS mc151 (sticker) elements. This was a ‘deep breath’ moment for me. $160 was involved and no way to assay the quality of the item. I had heard they were quite variable so I knew it was a gamble, and I’m not much of a gambling person. I wired it in to my JT30 shell, very careful to use heatsink on the tag and it all went smoothly. I tried real hard to like it, made sure I gave it every chance with a number of different amps, but it just isn’t all that impressive. It certainly has that crystal quality in respect of the way it can keep going, but it just lacks guts I feel, and I know it’s relative to my ability to drive it so I’m just comparing to what I get from some of my other mics.
Despite my feelings I kept trying with the mic. I noticed it was very sensitive to the mic handling, more so than a lot of my mics, there’d be a big drop off in volume and bass when I took a hand away, so I kept thinking maybe it was all about my relative competence or otherwise, and I would use it when I had an opportunity. One day I forgot it was in my case and I left it in my car all day out in the heat. This was like a >100 day, and I forgot all about the mic in my case until I got up to the car after work to head to rehearsal. That car was like a killer sauna and when I realized my crystal was in there, in my black case, I experienced some concern for its welfare. I had to drive about 15 minutes to the studio. Enough to get really hot in the car, not quite enough for the aircon to win the battle and cool me down, so I was also pretty hot when I arrived. One of the first things I wanted to do was check whether that crystal had survived so as soon as I was plugged in I attached the mic and tested it. In the process, with sweat running into my eyes, and wiping it away and getting my hands nice a slippery in the process I dropped the mic. In a desperate attempt to save it I managed to knock it about 5 feet across the room. I thought that was it for my $160 crystal and consoled myself with the thought that it wasn’t a great example anyway.
I tried it out at home later and concluded it still worked but now had a strange distorted sound which was unusable.
This was about 3 years ago I suppose. Maybe 2 1/2. 6 months ago I saw another fellow nearby selling some NOS 151 sticker elements. I enquired about the price, thinking maybe I’d roll the dice again if the stakes weren’t too high. Well, he was thinking more like $230 and you know it isn’t even so much the money or the low odds, I realized I just object to principle involved. So I didn’t even make a counter offer. I’m just not gonna be involved in the game. I dunno there’s any logic. Logic tells me it’s fair enough if a person has a rare item that people are willing to pay high prices for out of proportion to any objective measure of ‘worth’ or ‘value’, they can ask what they please. But I’m not gonna play that. NOS sometimes means ‘good, unused, lots of life, not worn out’, but with electronic components, as time passes, increasingly it means lesser quality stock which was previously unable to be sold. I think if people are going to ask $200 for a crystal NOS aka an unknown quantity, the option of buying from mic builders of solid reputation looks more attractive and reasonable all the time. If I was buying a crystal I believe I’d definitely be looking to someone like Greg at blowsmeaway, or Dennis G or someone else who trades on their reputation and knows the difference between a good element and an average one.
In a more recent development and to end on a more optimistic note, recently clearing some clutter I found the unfortunate crystal I’d set aside and marked up as experience. I decided to remove the damaged element and use the shell for something else, maybe load a CM and sell it. I took off the grille, and briefly wondered whether the rattling might have been due to something shifting due to the impact when I’d inadvertently thrown it across the room. So I plugged it in and tried the element and to my surprise couldn’t detect any problem. Reassembled the mic, no problem. So, I’m pretty sure my playing has come along a fair way since last I had this mic. I might resume the experiment. (Pretty sure it’s just an average example though).
I have one of those astatic branded JT-30s from the 90’s with the xlr connector... does anyone know if the insides of that are any different than the old blues blasters?
Very sorry guys, I wasn´t minding my p´s and q´s: of course I should have correctly named the new Hohner mic *Harp Blaster HB52* and nothing else. Stupid of me; and I knew that the old Hohner mic was considered something of a failure. And Garry, you were certainly not "overly pedantic" in pointing out my mistake, but commendably precise.
Now, despite that, there was interesting input here, and I thank you for it. I have never owned a crystal mic, and I´m somewhat wary of them -- despite Superbee´s story -- since I understand that they have a rather limited life span. Can´t afford that.
However, Ronnie Shellist´s video above is precisely the kind of demo that I´m *not* looking for. He appears to be a decent guy, so nothing personal against him, but I find it impossible to identify the particular qualities of this mic when it´s played through an amp with this much dirt in it, and also not with another mic as reference. This comes across more as a commercial for Hohner -- and perhaps Supro amplifiers as as well. I´m still hoping for a comparative study, and, sadly, I´m not the kind of guy that can fork up $200 just because it´s fun with a new harmonica thing.
I did a video where HB52 was one of 5 mics at 3:09:
A real amp was not used. But it was the same settings for all mics. It's a very competent mic. You cannot expect rhat it has the same personality as Calrad or Spher-O-Dyne but it's good enough!
Hohner Rocket Amp harmonica in the key of Bb with microphone connected to Behringer MIC100 tube preamp connected to DigiTech Vocal 300 effects processor connected to Boss BR-1200 digital recording studio. Microphone 1: Shure 533SA ”Spher-O-Dyne”. Microphone 2: Astatic MC-151 crystal element in red JT30 shell. Microphone 3: Shure Black CR element from 1949 in silver metallic Turner shell. Microphone 4: Hohner Harp Blaster HB52. Microphone 5: Element from Calrad mic in black Shure 520 shell.
@Martin, I guess there are different characteristics in different crystal elements, but the upside is if you get a good one it is very well worth it. I swapped for a Ruskin custom built crystal mic some years ago and it was phenomenally good. Worked best with a Bassman but even with a small amp the tone qualities were great. Warm but clean and good breakup with tight cup. Light to hold as well, it was built into a motorcycle turn signal bezel of all things. It was also built so that I could not get inside- likely so repairs or mods could be done only by a pro. To this day I regret selling it off some years ago. I am pretty sure it was a high end vintage crystal element. ---------- Music and travel destroy prejudice.
I might own one of those HB52's or I might own a Bulletini, but I am not going to set myself up for the heartbreak of dropping a $400 vintage crystal Mic and/or always wondering if, "today's the day". I'm quite happy with stick Mics.
Looks like the "Hakan" video above should be the answer......everything I have seen him do is very cool. On the crystals, I would concur with "jbone". I remember the Ruskin Mics, Mark Hummel actually invited me to sit in about 18 years ago, played through his Bassman and he had one of those. I have played 45 years, I play crystals (except for country/jazz then mostly a 585 or 545 if through amp) and have really only had 1 or 2 go bad.....that is referencing past 20 years I have played them. For a Vintage Bassman (I've had about 8-9) or especially Concert Amps they are sweet. To me it really depends on what amp you have and what you are looking for. In general, when I go to something else, it's a 1961 99G86 R5 CM. The Sonny Jr amps sound great with anything. Everything I have tried (and I have not tried Bulletini) of anything made since 1990's, none of them sound as good to me as a vintage CM/CR. There are many CR's I do not like, just too "dirty" sounding. A good mic dealer (I am not one but, have sold many elements to mic builders and many went to pro players) should offer a return if you don't like output/tone. When I sell an element I do that. If a crystal has the tone you want then I say go for it.
In my experience a lot of elements/mikes can be made to sound very good when they are played through the right equipment(to suit the mike) EG i have a 10$ karaoke no name mike that put through a few pedals(especially including an EQ) sounds great. A C/M through the same setup is crap. There are just so many variables when it comes to microphone comparisons that it is, in the end, just a crapshoot really. I've been in jam situations where i have played someone else's setup and sounded like donald duck and other times when it's my gear it is them quacking. No one microphone will suit all players that's for sure.As an aside imo ,when it comes to playing blues harp your cupping technique is the most important element(pardon the pun) in getting a good sound out of any mike. An acquaintance of mine, who is a very good player,pure bends,OB,s etc ,has a thin tone whatever mike you hand him. Hakans demo is very good but if you can't set up the same system as him it all seems a bit pointless really.
@Håkan: Many thanks for that demo. Väldigt uppskattat. To my ears, the Sphere-o-dyne takes the cake, and it´s perhaps one of those I should chasing next time I´m on a gear hunt!
@indigo: No, not pointless -- but of course one has to take into account that this is a particular sound that you perhaps cannot set up in a live context. But some of us do studio stuff; also, the differences you hear between the mics are quite obvious and that´s interesting per se.
I asked David Barrett if BluesHarmonica.com was going to review the Harp Blaster HB52. He will do a review, but at this point he likes it. The complete post/response (visible to non-members) is here: https://www.bluesharmonica.com/harp_blaster_hb52
I have had the HB52 since the beginning of the pandemic. I ordered to have an an alternative to my vintage mic. (Turner body with a shark fin/CMR element) I have been playing it with my Epiphone Jr.(stock except I switchout out the 12AX7 to either a 12AY7 or 12AU7)
HB52 v. the Vintage Bullet Mic..Simply put, easier to hold, seal, do hand effects, and much less feedback issues. In terms of sound, my ear for that kind of pallet is not as well defined as everyone here it seems, but it appears less muddy to me that the vintage mic. My vintage bullet mic is big and heavy. While I have big hands and should be able to hold it easily, I nevertheless will often find myself oversealing this mic and other heavy vintage mics too often, because I am trying to keep a hold of it. The HB52 can be held easily with my pinky or pinky and ring finger, which opens up more hand effects to me. I am more interested in coloring the tone with hand effects than the gear, so even if they sounded identical, I would gravitate to the HB52 for this quality alone.
I live in SE Texas, near near Louisiana. In reality, I don't play out using mics much other than blues jam and when some local people in my area want me to sit in. 99% of my "sit-ins" are with musicans that graviate to "Regional Southwest Americana," referred to locally as "Texas Country/Singer Songwriter." For the sit-ins, I am generally in the PA, and use a 58 that they supply, or my Ultimate 57, with the ULT57 as my preference, as I can control my own volume and sing through it as well.
I will be using the HB52 at the jams now. The vintage mic is great, but I suspect I will be able play the HB52 with impunity all night and be comfortable.
My goal is to own only two solid mics, so I can pack light and and have less to keep up with when I get out to play. The ULT57 is one that meets my criteria. It is a solid workhouse for all occasions, and I can always play it through my Boogiman pedal to get some real grit, tone modification, and/or compression. I have not brought the HB52 to any jams, but I suspect it will fill the other side of my dynamic duo from its ease of use alone.
Last Edited by Chris Sachitano on May 05, 2020 7:42 PM
