Anyone use the harp break in their chain with a big amp?
wanted to get one and was wondering if its a must have or does the BBE sonic maximiser or similar pedals do the same job. The vid from Ron Sunshine seems really good.
See here
any thoughts?
---------- Oxharp
Last Edited by on Feb 25, 2010 10:16 PM
Using a shure Bullet and driving the tubes a bit more I get enough breakup. Think I'll pass on this one. I might upgrade my delay pedal. Any opinions on LW vs BBE vs Boss? ----------
The Original Downtown Philadelphia Fatman... Accept No substitutes!
I'd probably go for the Harp Attack over the Harp Break if I was buying one. Simply because one is valve and the other is Solid State. I feel that the valve would give more warmth.
Bluzdude - I'd go for either the Boss DM-2 or the BBE Two Timer myself. I much prefer analog to digital for delay.
Currently I'm not using anything other than a mic into an amp. In fact my DM-2 is up for sale on ebay.co.uk at the moment along with a Boss OC-2 and a BBE Sonic Stomp.
I use the Harp Break along with LW Delay and Kinder AFB into an HG50 1210 - it's a very useful bit of kit.
If break up is specifically what you are looking for at low volumes, then it is a better choice than the Harp Attack as that is what it is designed for. The Sonic Maximizer certainly doesn't do the same job - I had one of those for a while, but ended up selling it on.
If I'm using my bigger amp (the HG50), it's good to have it to step on when you need that bit of extra drive, though I don't use it all the time - I can fully recommend it if you are running a big amp.
Incidentally, are you running the Harp Break off mains? I was getting a lot of buzz with my original adapter (relatively cheapo), so bought a regulated one but - while not as bad - I'm still getting buzzing noise through the amp when I step on the HB. Fine with the battery.
Last Edited by on Feb 26, 2010 4:42 AM
I'm trying to sell my harp break if you have any interest. I barely used it and it's in excellent shape. I'm trying to get about a $100 for it. Hit me up at tolga7t@gmail.com
Oxharp--Usually one tube stage in the chain is enough to warm things up, whether it's SS Harp Break into valve amp or valve Harp Attack into SS PA. Using a harp-specific preamp into a big valve amp can be less feedback-prone than getting the same overdriven sound out of the big amp alone; the Harp Commander was originally designed to do that job, more than go into PAs.
The price difference on Harp Break and Harp Attack is around the cost of a typical good-quality harmonica. The Harp Attack is worth it if you might play it through the PA very much--having that one tube stage for warmth makes a tangible baseline difference. The Harp Break is oriented a little more toward all-around use, as a mic buffer in clean mode, or as a mic booster via the bass boost & level controls (contemporary bullets tend to lack bass, as do some vocal mics).
Chinaski--Randy has said that standard AC adapters don't have enough power supply filtering for his preamps. Regulation alone may not be enough; I'd go with the specific adapter Randy specs for a Harp Break or Harp Attack, or look for one with as much more filtering as you can find.
Htownfess-I'll echo that power supply info you shared-I was having noise issues with the LW Octave onstage, and it was due to using a Radio Shack adapter that apparently didn't have the proper filtering. Randy brought one of the Dunlop(I think) ones he recommends to a show of mine-it made the difference. ---------- Todd L Greene. V.P.
Still not sure which one to get as I am in gear heaven with my new Bassman and I am just loving the sound of Ron sunshines demo.
I have been looking at the specific sound that Jerry Portnoy get on the vid with muddy and was hoping to get somewhere near that kind of harsh raspy sound.
Hi Bro's it's Friday night had a great jam my Bro Guitarist is Smashed gone to bed been Playing through my new Toys Harp Gear-2 Lone Wolf Delay,in the Vid RSS explaints the pedal is good for High Wattage amps i been cranking the amp to get it to Break up what pedal would be good for my amp would the Harp Break be any use to me..
Nasty - you shouldn't really have any call for the Harp Break with a smaller amp, as you can afford to really crank those things. I have an HG2 2x8 edition, and I never use the HB for that. I just turn that sucker up to around 8-9 and those smaller speakers really sing.
The HB is best suited to larger amps that you would not always want to turn up to that kind of capacity.
Just kidding, trying to break the ice... hey, lighten up fella's.
I have a couple questions, I hope you all can help me out.
I'll be touring in Europe for two weeks soon with a very loud band and the backline amp for me is an Ampeg Reverberocket Reissue. Here at home I play an SJR 410 with a Kinder AFB, a gate, a reverb and a delay pedal. I have a LW Harp Break and have been experimenting with a Fender 59 RI to emulate playing through an amp with high gain front end tubes, with good results. I don't expect as good a sound from the Reverberocket, though. First question: where should I put the Harp Break in the signal path in relation to the AFB? Second question - any advice on how to wrangle the Ampeg into a useable tool?
I bought Tolga's Harp break and got to use it last week at a gig. I haven't experimented much with it yet. I used it in front a DM-2 into a fender champ with a new bullet. I liked the "fattness" it added. I think I'm going to enjoy this thing. I haven't tried it straight in to the PA yet. ---------- If it ain't got harp - it ain't really blues!!!!
I have a HarpAttack and a Delay from LoneWolf. I don't get the whole analog thing, it sounds good enough for me! And, the HarpAttack is cool, too! hahaha.
