Im looking to upgrade to a new mid sized amp. So far it looks like the Sonny Jr amp is the best. How do the HarpGear amps compare? Both pricy but seems worth the investment.
Well I can definitely help you out on this. I've got a Super Sonny 410 and a HarpGear HG50 1210. It all depends on what sound you want. The Sonny Jr amps are specifically voiced to that gritty Chicago sound - not a clean sounding amp. You can run a delay pedal in front of it but that's about all. The HarpGear amps are clean sounding amps and take all kinds of pedals very well which is why Jason Ricci likes them so much. They are both wonderfully crafted amps.
Hi Cap'tn i just got a Harp gear-2 from the helpful info from my Bro's Here at MBH it's a great amp my next amp will be a Double trouble,
one of the biggest deciding Factors with my choice of the amp was,,being a gear freak i had to find out was componets drove the beast what was it nade from;
When i found out it was made from a Pine had quality Transformers driveing it and other top quality components with a weber speaker this was a major factor in my Purchase,and i got it cheap allso
i showcased my amp at my Locale Harp club all the members where more than impressed we didn't use effects pedals just a Vintage GB strait intio the amp
iv'e had time to play with the settings now and just so impressed i could swear right now ?%$#@*&en Bejeezuses there good amps.
Go to Yuotube type in what Harp Gear amp ya looking for check the Vids they sell there selves..
I own a Harpgear Double Trouble and a Meteor Mini Meat. I've played through several Sonny Jr's. They are all different.
The sound of the Meteor Mini Meat reminds me of a Masco PA. It's got a killer overdriven sound. Sort of like this.
The Double Trouble is a bit cleaner. It reminds me of a mini-Bassman. It sounds a lot like this:
The Cruncher is somewhere in the middle. It's darker and has a bigger bottom than the Double Trouble. If my memory is correct, the Cruncher was used in this video:
Joe beat me to the punch on the considering a Meteor,I,ve had the Big Guy for about 5 yrs now and am a very satisfied customer.Its a Tone Monster and every thing that I had been looking for and more being a player since 74.It might be another amp that you may want to consider,Great Amp,Great Sound,Great Service!
CJH, I have a Sjr 410 and a harp gear. I use a Turner+2 CR mic and Bottle-o-blues mic with both amps. I like the Turner for the powerful sound.
The Sjr is an amp that is very responsive. It sounds punchy, creamy distorted Chicago honk and you feel the sound in your bones. It keeps up with a loud band and you don't need a PA. No effect pedals needed but some times I use a DanElectro delay.
The Harpgear 2x8 sounds a litte more trebly but great distorted sound. Tight cupping makes it sound fantastic. Not as loud but I bought it for smaller stages and the line out feature and of course the tone.
I love them both for there different tones and get positive comments on both. I do live in Hawaii:) Dose anybody else?
Last Edited by on Mar 05, 2010 8:45 PM
Wow - someone asks "which amp" and the answers are actually GOOD! Not "the one I bought is the only one worth owning". I too am familiar with the amps in discussion and agree they're all great harp amps. The Double Trouble is very impressive for its size and weight - it projects better into a room than I would have expected. Ultimately one VERY important variable is speaker surface area. The Cruncher has more than the Double Trouble, the 4x10 amps have a good bit more than the Cruncher. In my experience, this makes a HUGE difference in how well the amp can be heard in loud environments like jams, but is also inversely related to practicality - they are heavier and bigger. The HG50410 and SJ 410/Super Sonny are probably the tops in that game, at least and until you look at a Harp King with 6 10's. THAT amp weighs a ton and won't fit in my trunk, so it is out of the question - but I enjoy listening to Rod Piazza blow through his. ---------- /Greg
Regarding the Harpking amps mentioned I have found there to be some variation in the tonal qualities (aside from the obvious differences related to the number of 10''s in the cabinet). I have played on Dennis Gruenling's 6 10'' HK and found it smooth with one of his crystal mikes. Then again I found my 4 10'' HK harsh for myself and sold it to Dennis G. and have listened to some of his recent youtubes on it and it sounds smooth. I regret selling my 2 10'' HK (formally called a Soulful) because that was a powerhouse of a modest sized amp. I lent that one to Dennis G. for a show and he loved that one too. As much as I love John it is a an axiom that Sonny, and Brian, and Scott are easier to communicate with and get the product delivered relatively expeditiously. Here's a video of the Soulful (2 10'' created but exploited less by John Kinder). Harpking Junior: SOULFUL AMP ----------
HarpGear, Sonny Jr, Meteor. All of these amps are simply fantastic.
Unfortunately John Kinder doesn't make the HarpKing amps anymore (even though they are on his website). Apparently he decided to concentrate on making the AFB+ and his other pedals instead.
Of course custom amps are great but don't forget some of the current production line Fender amps make great harp amps. The '59 Bassman LTD and the '65 Princeton Reverb Reissue are both great amps for harmonica.
I'm sure if you picked any of the amp people have mentioned you will have a great amp.
Aloha all for responding! Lots of good points and suggestions. I will look into the Kingley post about John not making amps any more. This will defiantly make a difference in my choice. The size and punch of the Double Trouble seems a good fit for me. I would like to try some different pedals like the Lone Wolf Delays, Kinder, BBE and Boss, etc. So the post regarding the Sonny Jr. not being 'pedal' friendly is a consideration. Thanks Cisco. Thanks for your post Greg! I look forward to using your SM57 mic with whichever amp I decide on. Yes, in Hawaii on Oahu. I run a charter boat business here. Day job! There is talk of a blues cruise off Waikiki!! www.sailmakani.com Mahalo once again everyone... Jon
I currently have a Sonny Jr. 4X10 (Super Sonny mod). It can play clean or dirty, depends on how you set it up, worth the trouble to mess with it, very versatile. I had a Kendrick Texas Crude, coolest looking amp out there, big tone, but required a lot of fiddling to get the sound I wanted. I also have a Kendrick Champ clone, great small amp, always get good comments on it, big sound for an 8" amp. If someone was inquiring about getting a nice harp amp my advise is always to start small, like the Champ, might be all you need and the size and convenience of the small amps might mean you'll practice more. Oh yeah, don't overlook Greg's modified Kalamazoo II amps, I had one of those, hard to beat for the tone and price!
Last Edited by on Mar 06, 2010 6:03 AM
To say that the Sonny Jr amp is not pedal-friendly is perhaps a bit too strong. The Super Sonny sounds fantastic without them, but adding a bit of delay for some rooms does not hurt at all. It's a very versatile amplifier: you can set the character of the sound you want (from 'clean' to deep 'grunt'by changing pre-amp tubes and/or the tone settings. Gary sold out on the Super Sonnys but he is currently working on a new amplfier, The 'Avenger'. It's going to be an absolute killer amp.
John is not building amps any longer. I just bought a 4x10 HarpKing from Rod Piazza-one of Rod's personal amps. John wanted Rod to take over the business,but he just does not have the time or facilites. This is the best sounding amp I have owned-I previously owned a Hoffman kitted ,all NOS tube,point-to-point wired RI Bassman,and played through Kim Wilson's 4X10 Sonny Jr before it was shipped to him. I have also owned a Black Face Super Reverb,a Silver Face Twin,and a 50's Danelectro with a 15" speaker modded by Sonny Jr. I use a Boss RV-3 digital delay with reverb through the HarpKing,which eliminated some of the harshness Dennis spoke of. All the Kinder controls,ie the midbass cut,AFB,and UB allow the player to custom tailor the tone and presence to their personal preferance. These features also allow for the ultimate in feedback elimination. As far as mid-sized amps go-Sonny has all the bases covered with the Cruncher and Avenger models.
Last Edited by on Mar 06, 2010 12:38 PM
I have a Double Trouble that I love the tone of, however, I think something a little large would be more versatile. I tend to play the DT with a wireless and lose just enough volume/presence that I run out of headroom. If things got "loud" I would always have to rely on monitors.
This past Tuesday, I hit a local jam. I packed the Double Trouble along with a Shure 520DX and a Lone Wolf Tone+ pedal. I didn't bother bringing any other pedals.
Yup, the bass player, Marc Carino is a former member of the Fabulous Thunderbirds. Robi Bean is an excellent drummer. He's been beating his way around the world for years.
I miss the Mojo jam. Haven't been in a long time. Too long a drive since I moved up here. That IS a great line up - love playing with all those guys. You sound great as usual, Joe. But I swear I've never heard you sing before! Is that a new endeavor? ---------- /Greg
Hi Greg - Thanks for the kind words. Unfortunately, our paths don't seem to cross very often anymore. Do you still go to the Old Princeton Landing on Sundays? If so, I'll have to head out there.
The vocal thing is new for me. I know, it's sort of shocking and unsettling. I started in November. I sort of got pushed into it. I'll tell you the whole story the next time I see you.
In retrospect, I wish I had started doing it years ago. As you know, it's nice to be able to call the tunes you want to do. I love playing Rice Miller and Junior Wells tunes. I've played more of those songs in the past three months than the past thirty years. As a result, I've been playing a lot more harp, too.
I own a hg50410, all orig 5 pre-amp 60 concert, 59 bassman and a hk610. The hk610 is thee best and most versatile. It's big and heavy but worth the hassle. It doesn't fit in my trunk but lies down sideways on the back seat very well. Peace, DR
I enjoy the heck out of my HG-35. So much so, I'm thinking about an HG-50. (Anyone selling one?). The amp responds the way I want an amp to respond. The SJjrs just don't do it for me the same way. But it's all personal, and usually ever-changing, this thing called "taste". ---------- 12gagedan's YouTube Channel
Carl, well, if you are leaning towards offloading it, drop me a private message on youtube and we'll talk. Anyone have opinions 4x10 vs. 1210 HGs? ---------- 12gagedan's YouTube Channel
HG 50 is my fave for the Fender Concert AND Fender Bassman combination like qualities. The HG 50 is certainly a further deviation from the Fender Bassman than the Sonny JR But both rigs are luxuries, furious and incredible in their own rights of course.
I had the priveladge of playing the first ever HG 50 ever built and helped work out a few early bugs with Brian. Randy Singer now has that amp, it is model -1 (negative 1). I do miss it very much (like an old lover for real!). Almost all my vids from the last 5 years or longer are with that rig. I did over 1,500 shows on -1 (Whos name was Carmalita) she only broke once the first week (bad cap and all the rest after her were built with different ones cause of that) .
They are truly mind blowing amps, both. I have a vid on the youtube of my old one. My newer vids are on a borrowed HG 50. I have a hard time describing why I like them over other similar rigs suffice to say the tone sounds to me like a more symmetrically cut stone....I know thats abstract but something about the way they handle our frequency (at least mine) seems more congruent and well shaped. It's crazy. At that level it's really like choosing between Drew Brees and Aaron Rodgers. Either way your in great hands.
Last Edited by Moon Cat on Apr 04, 2013 12:20 AM
I prefer the 4 10" but I love both and it always takes a minute to decide which I like better...I would have to take the 2 10" 1 12" on the road to know and I'm not sure I would dare to part with the 4 10 to even try so I kinda suck.
Imagine this: what if I got a 1210, then jumped it together with the HG35? It would be like having both, maybe? We'll see. All speculation at this point. ---------- 12gagedan's YouTube Channel
@mooncat: as it happens, there is a recording of that event. which is interesting because it provides a rare opportunity to hear both your hg50 and bassman amps in action at the same gig, a few minutes apart.
I am looking for a sonny jr Amp and do live in Holland. Unfortunately I see that the website of Sonny stays under construction. Does anyone know how I get hold of one of his amazing sounding Harp amps?
Thanks for helping: my email: hansvanderveen1@hotmail
Just to provide you with an explanation....Sonny has pretty much retired from building new amps. That's why the site says it's under construction. However, used ones do crop up occasionally on this forum and elsewhere. ----------
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