I got to demo a Quilter Phantom Block and the new Hohner mic. There are a few clams while jamming, but I thought some of the folks here might be interested in those items and what they sound like.
I always like yr stuff. I love yr ascending descending runs. There the kind of leads that can follow a great guitarist lead, without loosing energy on stage.
Nothing to do with yr playing, yr really good. Can u (if time allows} do another demo with bass up, mids down about 20-30%, highs ok. The playing was unreal, I thought the tone was thin. This has nothing to do with yr cupping or playing. I think some of these mics tend to sound thin. I have enough mics anyway. Iam looking at this quilter stuff and want to know the tone possibilities. If u can’t I understand
Thanks for post, just started looking into Quilter stuff.
Thanks for the kind words. I would totally agree that this combo sounds bit thin.
The eq is pretty limited on this, and I had the tone knob almost turned down the whole way as I thought it was pretty bright too.
The first clip I recorded, which is way shorter, used a SM57, and I thought that sounded better.
That being said, I usually use a SM58, Fireball, or Shure 588 and a pretty clean rig. I thought they all lacked the bottom end of my usual rig.
I still have the Phantom Block and Blaster at my house. I plan on doing a few demos with a Joyo American Sound as well.
Edit***
I still had the original video of just my phone mic on my phone. I am not sure if this helps with understanding what the mic/pedal comb sounds like or not.
Well, there are a lot of amp samples already in existence.
Also, many of us play mostly at home or mostly sit in or do jams. Hauling amps is, therefore, pretty tricky. Venues are also requiring less and less from amps.
I haven't used an amp in 10 years. I rarely even use pedals like this. More and more I play cleaner and cleaner. ---------- Mike My Website My Harmonica Effects Blog
EDIT: I thought it sounded thin, too. I can't tell if it is the mic, the pedal, or the combination of the two.
Mike, I also am playing more and more clean harp through a PA, sometimes with reverb, but often with no effects at all. When I play straight to the PA I am either cupping my Ultimate 58 or just playing to a vocal mic in a stand. A lot of my change to playing clean to the PA is based on the folk and Americana genres of music I have been performing that are good with clean harp.
Playing through an amp>>> In the year before everything shut down I used an amp and my CM Brown Biscuit maybe 4 times during the year. That was for amplified BLUES gigs or jams as opposed to playing through the PA at most other times. Most of the time my tube amps just sit unused these days.
Bad Monkey Pedal to split signal>>> I played some amplified harp in a Honky Tonk band I am part of, but in that band I used a Bad Monkey pedal (TURNED OFF but powered by a battery!) to split my signal. I sent a clean signal to a 10 watt tube amp with 8" speaker as a side fill stage monitor. I sent the speaker emulation PA output of the Bad Monkey to the PA. When turned OFF the Bad Monkey pedal doesn't offer heavy distortion (turned ON the distortion sounds thin to me). The PA output when the pedal is turned OFF just adds some speaker cab texture that sounds pretty good with harp. I had been ready to sell my Bad Monkey pedal to a guitar player until I read about using it to split a signal and to get speaker cab emulation to the PA.
PA advantages>>> Using the PA for FOH sound gives the sound person control of levels, but does not create overwhelming stage volume as does a big amp. Using a side fill tube amp lets the band and me hear the harp. When a bigger amp is used to fill FOH the stage volume can become brutal.
JOYO American Sound>>> Mike, you have discussed and demonstrated the Joyo American Sound pedal before. Based on your recommendation and recommendations by others here I bought one last year. I have not used it yet at a gig (was going to use it this spring), but to my ear it offers great blues harp tone. I like that it can be adjusted to get many different sounds. I don't care for the "buzzy" trebly fuzzy blues distortion that many seem to enjoy.
The JOYO American Sound let me dial in a beefy distorted sound that I really like, though you could get the fuzzy sound with adjustment if you want. I have not gigged with it yet, but it is a strong contender for future gigs when I want stage volume manageable and need FOH power through the PA. I don't like super loud stages (hearing issues) and have not been using my louder tube amps at all.
I would really enjoy seeing/hearing you demo the JOYO A.S. pedal here on the forum, perhaps with different mics.
Your playing is always great! I became a fan at the SPAH in Minneapolis in 2010. ----------
Doug S.
Last Edited by dougharps on May 21, 2020 8:38 AM
Regarding the Quilter Phantom Block, I like that it needs no DI box and it is powered by phantom power, so no batteries or power supply. I like that about it, just one item playing straight from mic to PA. It might be a good choice with the right mic if the tone and distortion could be adjusted to suit the individual player's preferences.
Regarding the JOYO American Sound, when I played it through my Electro Harmonix 44 Magnum (set at 9 o'clock, below the 44's breakup) to a 12" speaker I like the JOYO drive at 9 or 10 o'clock and the voice at 1 or 2. I adjusted level and the tone controls by ear, with slight bass boost, a little mid boost, and slight treble cut. It sounded really good for the sound I sought. ----------
I really like the Joyo still. However, I've been focusing on using just an eq pedal with a couple effects. Even thebes is to just deal with soundman who aren't familiar harp.
