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Dirty-South Blues Harp forum: wail on! >
Mission Chicago amp vs. Cruncher
Mission Chicago amp vs. Cruncher
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HawkeyeKane
912 posts
Apr 30, 2012
11:50 AM
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I haven't gone through all the posts in this thread, so if this has been touched on before now, then shut me down.
hvyj wrote very early in the thread's life: "None of the purpose built harp amps (Cruncher, Harpgear, Meteor, Mission) have built in reverb which is an omission I've never understood."
Well...all the POPULAR purpose built amps are in wanting for a reverb. Heck, Kendrick puts them on their guitar amps, but leaves them out of their harp amps. Yet Hohner and Seydel's own amps both have them. I know, the Hoodoo Box isn't all that reputable, and I've not heard anyone with a report on the Hyperamp (though it seems pretty comparable in design to a Princeton Reverb RI), but it strikes me as odd that the only ground-up harp-built amps are the ones from the harmonica companies themselves.
Hohner Hoodoo Box 5W Harmonica Tube Amp
Seydel Hyperamp HA1510REV
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Hawkeye Kane
Last Edited by on Apr 30, 2012 11:59 AM
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5F6H
1179 posts
Apr 30, 2012
12:52 PM
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Hi Hawkeye,
The reality is that reverb is not a highly sought after feature by most harp players. The small scale builders are also more concerned with building amps wth a good & distinctive tone...they know that harp players will typically have a favoured wet effect they can put in line.
Reverb also requires extra tubes & inevetibly gain, which some find unhelpful. Again, many in-line stomp boxes are configured (theoretically) for "unity" gain...easier to handle than an extra couple of tube stages, feedback-wise.
To correct you, if I may, to my knowledge alone, Kendrick has built at least 2 models of harp amp featuring reverb, the "1210" and a Black Gold 35W Harp amp. They were also mooted to be building a 100W amp with reverb...never seen any official details, just gleaned from their monthly bulletins. Perhaps Holland too? Kendrick (& the other builders) will often fit reverb modules on request...I'd be very surprised if there weren't ANY Texas Crude owners with on-board reverb. Don't forget that reverb also adds considerable cost...around $500 from the bespoke builders! A big factor in these recession hit times, with already very competitively priced products.
The Hohner Hoodoo Box is not a "harp amp" in anything like the same context as SJ, Meteor, Sonny Jr, Mission, Kinder instruments.
The phrase "from the ground up harp amp" is often used but perhaps misleading too. Amps, whether for harp, guitar, or whatever...use tubes. These tubes need to see certain voltages & configurations for them to work & deliver sound. These facts are common to ALL amps. Don't get me wrong, some designers have gone out of their way to bring you complete designs that have never seen before, but the broad features within have often been identified in existing designs as "beneficial" for harp...when you break it down, we are talking about technology that has been in existence for the best part of 100yrs...the details differ, but the concepts have usually existed & been tried before.
Some of the best "from the ground up" harp amps were made for people to play guitar, bass & even sing through!
Buying from a "harp amp" builder (with sufficient research & testimonials, of course - try before you buy) assures you something that is tailored more to our needs & takes some of the risk out of purchasing a handbuilt amp.
Of course, I could be flat wrong...in that case, if you or Hvyj were to offer a harp amp with reverb, you might just clean up the market! ;-) Forgive me if I don't hold my breath on that one :-)
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www.myspace.com/markburness
Last Edited by on Apr 30, 2012 12:54 PM
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Mojokane
537 posts
Apr 30, 2012
12:53 PM
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Rick
your topic should have read...
Mission vs.......anything else you might want to throw at me.
Which could, more politely implied, mean..the Cruncher.
I'm not a fan of "sponge"..., "thin".., or "overly compressed"....
The EL84 Kalamazoo Model One never seizes to amaze!
My latest thread "show n tell"?
The 4X10 idea was a BIG success! I shit you not!
With a handsome head cab made for me, the 4X10 Rola's have it all. It sounds like 30 watts!
Just not possible you say?
For the money...be my guest!
Great sound for ALOT less. And no heated forum thread to bicker about.
Greg knows the deal with the Zoo's.
But now I think people should know the latest Zoo combo.
Absolutely fantastic.
I'll find a way to post something for you' all. But right now, I'm going over to cut down my cab a little to make it more portable. The 4X10's are even better than 2X12's. WOW!
Hail to the EL84!!
my pal played his guitar through it and it sounded just like a Vox AC30.
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Why is it that we all just can't get along?<
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hvyj
2366 posts
Apr 30, 2012
3:59 PM
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Re: Sonny Jr. 4x10 Since my last post in this thread, I've played through one several times at jams. There's this harp player who has one and is at just about every jam and sets up early. He's nice guy and lets me use my own mic or his and fiddle with the dials on his SJ as much as i want.
After at least a half dozen attempts, I CANNOT get an even tone out of this amp. The low notes boom. You don't really notice it with a bullet mic because of all the distortion, but with a 545 it's very noticeable. Not my favorite amp--but YMMV.
Also recently played a whole set through a Meteor using my 545. In general, much better than the SJ but impossible to get smooth articulation on fast high end runs. It's not that the tone is uneven like on the SJ, it's just that the high register is not reproduced with any warmth at all and sounds very grating. FWIW.
Last Edited by on Apr 30, 2012 4:07 PM
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Willspear
172 posts
Apr 30, 2012
4:37 PM
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My experience with the full size meteor was such that if it wasn't cranked it just plain didn't do anything.
once it was at a minimum of past 4 it was full of tone. I didn't care for the meatier channel for me. I thought the cleaner channel was better though I am sure someone would disagree. no issues with articulation that I remember. I do not spend considerable time drilling the upper octave of the diatonic though it bothers my tinnitus. Next time I play through the meteor I will try to dwell in the upper register.
both the meteor and harpking610 really seemed well to do with my hottest mics. I dug the masco vibe of the meteor with a hot bullet.
the harpking is great due to shear available volume but if you have a kinder afb there is little point to deal with it. I think other amps are more toneful at so much less of a price tag and weight. you can approximate the paper tearing effect of the harpking with a kinder afb and a bassman.A guy I play with owns a harpking and a guy a couple towns over has the meteor.
someone by me has the 4x8 sonny jr which sounds like it would be cool for small room playing though I havent heard it in person. The guy whose sound I like best locally just uses a 4x8 maestro which kills for the small club scene. I have a line up of amps I use but the bassman is the winner for overall usefulness. A real 65 super reverb I have been eying is also quite high on the list though.
not boutique or vintage but 2 guys here play boogies often and one of them is a great player the other isnt my cup of tea but has decent tone. I have tried both boogies and hate them those two both sound better through other amps to my ears.
just to agree with the above the very best harp amps skip the verb imo. Reverb =more gain. I am sure the black or brown 410 concert easily rival the bassman. though I own neither.
Last Edited by on Apr 30, 2012 4:46 PM
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