Rick Davis
372 posts
May 09, 2010
10:18 AM
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I’ve seen a few remarks online by harp players maligning combo harp amplifiers that have a single 12-inch speaker. They take it as a given that the 1x12 configuration is known to be inferior for blues harp.
WTF are they talking about?
David Barrett has a Museum of Vintage Blues Harmonica Amplifiers at his Harmonica Masterclass website, and the most common configuration of all the amps listed is 1x12.
The list of legendary harp amps with a single 12-inch speaker includes (but is not limited to):
-Ampeg Reverbrocket
-Ampeg Jet
-Fender Tweed Deluxe
-Gibson GA20
-Gibson GA40
-Premier 120
-Silvertone 1432
-Silvertone 1482
-Kendrick Texas Crude
Indeed, the Masco PA amp that Little Walter was believed to have used had two 1x12 cabinets.
The Kendrick Texas Crude has been unfairly maligned by a certain competitor, which may have started this weird canard. I’ve played the Texas Crude and it is a beast: Loud, crunchy, and soulful, and remarkably feedback resistant.
Certain 12-inch speakers are well suited to harp tone. They have a great balance of fat lows and punchy mids, more so than other single speakers. Smaller speakers sound too pointy, and larger speakers sound too woofy. Amps with multiple speakers often cost much more then single-speaker combo amps, and they lose the cohesion of sound that emanates from a single driver. There is a very good reason so many classic harp amps are 1x12: They sing.
When I asked the question on Harp-L last year I got many different answers about the best speaker configuration for a gigging harp amp. Two very well known gigging pros replied with something like, “Just give me a good 1x12 amp.” I agree.
UPDATE: I thought of another great vintage 1x12 harp amp: The Flot-A-Tone amp my friend Al Chesis owns. Two 6L6 power tubes, great tone.
What is your favorite 1x12 harp amp?
[Also posted a the Blues Harp Amps Blog.]
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-Rick Davis
Blues Harp Amps Blog
Roadhouse Joe Blues Band
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JimInMO
54 posts
May 09, 2010
10:52 AM
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I usually play harp through the PA but I have used my Fender Blues Deluxe Re-Issue a few times and I think it's great. I've heard the tone control circuit is similar to a Fender Bassman. Mid, Bass, Treble and they inter-react with each other. I can set it up so there's not much chance of feed back and it's LOUD. 40 watts.
Last Edited by on May 09, 2010 12:44 PM
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bigd
111 posts
May 09, 2010
10:52 AM
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I own a Premier with a 12". Here's the confusing part- It is a twin 8 (the chassis reads twin 8) but has a factory installed 12'' so I guess Premier saved a bit by not rebranding the name when they put a 12 in the twin 8. Of course the original cabinet is different than the twin 8. And it has reverb. It's a great amp. And then my friend Mark Grandfield (High Kings of Blue) who is an encyclopedia of vintage amps recently sold me one of his Holy Grails: A harmony combo bass amp with a 12. both amps have Jensen 12''s. Both these amps are super light and the latter is disproportionately loud. d
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Myspace: dennis moriarty
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Ev630
380 posts
May 09, 2010
10:53 AM
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Clark Beaufort. Bought one today.
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Rick Davis
373 posts
May 09, 2010
11:37 AM
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EV, you get all the cool toys...
But $2250 for a 5E3? Yikes! Did you have to tweak it for harp? It's a guitar amp...
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-Rick Davis
Blues Harp Amps Blog
Roadhouse Joe Blues Band
Last Edited by on May 09, 2010 4:51 PM
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Blueharper
114 posts
May 09, 2010
4:28 PM
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The aforementioned Silvertone 1482.
To my ears has just awesome tone for a small amp.
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JDH
26 posts
May 09, 2010
5:04 PM
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Well Rick, I have a Mission 5E3 with numerous upgrades, including MM trannies, american and british tubes, mallory 150 and vintage caps, Weber 12A125 with a smooth cone. It's a great guitar amp and I can work with it for harp, but My Simmon's built MA17 in to that weber 12A125 is going to be my pick for a 12" speaker harp amp.
By the way Micheal Clark doesn't charge anything extra to tweak an amp for harp, they are custom built as they are ordered. I think EV630 prefers his tweed amps stock guitar configuration with no harp mods, but I should let him answer for himself.
Last Edited by on May 09, 2010 5:26 PM
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congaron
875 posts
May 09, 2010
6:08 PM
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It's not a combo, but a single 12 inch jensen under a Valve junior really sounds good...needs mic'd though.
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roadharp
45 posts
May 09, 2010
6:34 PM
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i have a blues jr nos relic with ajensen 12 inch speaker and i love it.i use the fat switch with my green bullet and every body says it sounds great.
Last Edited by on May 09, 2010 6:37 PM
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Joe_L
233 posts
May 09, 2010
8:02 PM
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There ya go!
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MP
242 posts
May 09, 2010
9:06 PM
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at my next gig i get to use a TWEED DELUXE. impeccable tone.
that's a good list of 12" speaker combos. i've used at least 4 of them including the TEXAS CRUDE.
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Harpaholic
79 posts
May 09, 2010
9:14 PM
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I'll just name my three 1x12's
1958 Premier 120
1966 Premier G2R
1964 Multivox Bass Combo
The 120 is the loudest before feedback
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bigd
112 posts
May 09, 2010
9:28 PM
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Oops! That's what I meant to id: Mine is a Multivox Bass Combo rather than a Harmony Bass combo: Harpaholic: How do you like yours? d
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Myspace: dennis moriarty
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JDH
28 posts
May 09, 2010
9:41 PM
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I forgot about this one because I sold it almost 20 years ago. I had a Tweed Deluxe model 5C3, it was the best sounding harp amp I had ever had at that time and rivals anything I own today. It was never loud enough for anything I was doing at the time, so I sold it to pay the rent one month. JD
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Ev630
382 posts
May 10, 2010
2:48 AM
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Actually, Rick, with all the options on my model, this Beaufort sells for $3,197.
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htownfess
74 posts
May 10, 2010
4:21 AM
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"Actually, Rick, with all the options on my model, this Beaufort sells for $3,197."
But they did throw in a free anti-feedback chamois.
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Ev630
383 posts
May 10, 2010
6:47 AM
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Of course, I never said I paid that much for the amp! (And it's even more expensive with the anti-feedback chamois and ziploc bag, as you well know, 'Fess).
JDH - yep I usually prefer unmodded Fender tweed circuits. The only modded amp I have is the Masco, which will sound dandy through this Celestion Blue.
Last Edited by on May 10, 2010 7:08 AM
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Ev630
386 posts
May 10, 2010
7:57 AM
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This Premium model ($2,250), 2nd hand with maybe 20 minutes usage, comes with the following upgrades:
* Reverb ($500)
* Regulator/Attenuator 0, 3, 6, 9, 12, 15 dB ($285)
* Upgraded Power Transformer ($75)
* Padded Tuki Cover ($87)
* Fully reclinable leather seats
* Sports suspension
* space in the trunk for golf clubs
I paid $1800, including postage and insurance.
Not a bad price for the premium 5E3 copy in existence, with ALL the bells and whistles!
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Harpaholic
80 posts
May 10, 2010
8:27 AM
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Dennis, I actually got mine from Mark. I just had Keith Robb service it, set up in inputs impedances properly, add a 1/4" jack to run an 8 ohm cab, and do a few minor tweaks for harp.
I got it back last week and replaced the RI Jensen with a 63 C12Q.
I took it to a jam on Sat, and it's even better than it was before! Fat, thick, and louder than it was.
I got a lot of comments on the tone.
I was going to sell it, and keep the other two Premiers, but now I can't decide?
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bigd
113 posts
May 10, 2010
8:37 AM
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Thanks H. So our Multivox's are cousins then. I have a new blues gig with (of all people I know: Nick Ashford of Ashford and Simpson "Solid as a Rock") beginning tomorrow night and weekly thereafter. I'll preview the amp then. Mark is a friend and Manhattan neighbor who raved about the amp so I traded him a couple of smaller amps for it
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Myspace: dennis moriarty
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Harpaholic
81 posts
May 10, 2010
9:13 AM
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I think they are the only two in existince? I've had a lot a dealings with Mark over the years, he's a great guy! Tell him Joe in Reno said hey.
I forgot to mention, I had my amp guy draw up a schematic with all the componet values, and voltages.
An amp like this should be preserved, or copied.
Mine has 1-7591 1-12Ax7, and an SS rectifier, do you have the same one?
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Oisin
556 posts
May 10, 2010
9:37 AM
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This isn't a very popular choice for harp but I have a 2 x 12 Vox 50watt modelling amp that I think sounds great for blues harp.
I also have an ancient extension valve amp for a record player that sounds better than any small valve amp I've ever tried.It has an eliptical speaker which is about 12" at it's longest point.
Do these count?
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Oisin
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tmf714
104 posts
May 10, 2010
9:38 AM
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I purchased a 50's Danelectro Maestro from Dennis Gruenling not too long ago-I can take it out to jams and such,but it would never be my main gig amp.
I don't know of too many current pro blues harp players that tour with a 12 as their main amp.
I'm not talking a Cruncher,Meteor or Harpgear,as they have combo speakers-I'm talking a single 12".
Mark is a great guy-I sold him a Dano 15 I purchased form Sonny Jr-he loved that amp.
Last Edited by on May 10, 2010 9:41 AM
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6SN7
51 posts
May 10, 2010
9:50 AM
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I use a Tweed 1958 Fender Deluxe as my 1x12 amp in small clubs and ones with teeny bandstands. There are no mods to the amp, it is perfect as is. But I would rather use a 4x10 size amp as it sounds and projects great, much better than a 1x12. You feel it as well as hear it.
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Ev630
387 posts
May 10, 2010
9:52 AM
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These amps are great for smaller gigs, Thomas. But I agree, for medium to big rooms, a 4x10 can't be beat.
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6SN7
52 posts
May 10, 2010
9:55 AM
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$x10's , it's all about pushing air baby!
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Ev630
388 posts
May 10, 2010
10:00 AM
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Sorry, not Thomas, 6SN7... I agree!
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walterharp
321 posts
May 10, 2010
10:28 AM
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1953 Montgomery Ward (Danelectro).. 12 inch speaker, nice for practice and recording
Last Edited by on May 10, 2010 10:39 AM
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Ev630
390 posts
May 10, 2010
11:13 AM
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Amp pooooooooorn!!!!
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Rick Davis
380 posts
May 10, 2010
11:52 AM
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Ev630 sez: "These amps are great for smaller gigs, Thomas. But I agree, for medium to big rooms, a 4x10 can't be beat."
Nonsense! In any medium to big room your amp gets mic'ed up anyway. Heck, in medium to big room your 4x10 gets mic'ed up! Even at blues jams you can run your amp to the PA.
Every "Pro" harp guy I've seen in concert in the last several years had his amp mic'ed up. Rick Estrin had his 6x10 100-watt HarpKing mic'ed in a medium room last month.
The "I need a monster amp for big rooms" thing is a falacy. It is a persistent falacy, but false nonetheless.
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-Rick Davis
Blues Harp Amps Blog
Roadhouse Joe Blues Band
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Oisin
557 posts
May 10, 2010
12:01 PM
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AS I thought...you guys need to get a room
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Oisin
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Rick Davis
381 posts
May 10, 2010
12:07 PM
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JDH-
My 1953 Masco ME-17 into a stock Epiphone Valve Jr. cab is a terrific harp amp, but I didn't include it in the list because it isn't a combo amp.
I've played harp through all kinds of 5E3 amps: from stock vintage 50's amps to new tricked-out boutique amps. The old vintage amp sounded best, but none sounded even close to the tone from a real harp amp.
The 5E3 amps are GREAT guitar amps, but only marginal harp amps.
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-Rick Davis
Blues Harp Amps Blog
Roadhouse Joe Blues Band
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Joe_L
235 posts
May 10, 2010
12:29 PM
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Rick - you are comparing "Pro" harp guys with the rest of us. Most of us aren't going to have a sound guy running a sound board at a jam or a Friday night gig at a local bar. Having a larger amp is a nice contingency plan for dealing with the unknown elements.
It's sort of like bringing a knife to a gun fight. A knife can be a lethal weapon, but it may not be the right tool for the job.
Rick Estrin's 6x10 Harpking addresses the unknowns. While there may be a PA with a sound guy in Denver, there may not be one in Omaha. Could he get away with an amp with 4x10's? Sure, but he's not usually the guy lifting it.
Do I have an amp with 4x10's? Nope.
Do I need an amp with 4x10's? Not really. I've got an amp I like with 2x8's and another one with 2x8's and 1x10.
Do I want an amp with 4x10's? Only if I come across "the right one at the right price."
This discussion could be analogous to the SUV discussion a few years ago. Does anyone really need a Hummer? In most cases, no. That didn't stop people from wanting one and buying one.
Some people just don't dig many of the 1x12 multi-6L6 powered amps.
To answer your original question, a Yamaha JX50. 50 super clean, solid state watts funneled into a Yamaha 12" speaker. It was my first amp and I learned a lot about microphone technique with it.
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congaron
884 posts
May 10, 2010
12:53 PM
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"The "I need a monster amp for big rooms" thing is a falacy. It is a persistent falacy, but false nonetheless."
I am finally blessed to have a lead guitar player who understands this. He runs small tube amps from 7-18 watts, mic'd and usually attenuated. What a pleasure to play alongside this guy with my valve junior mic'd.
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strawwoodclaw
28 posts
May 10, 2010
7:31 PM
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There's no set speaker size that works best for Harp - I am using a 15" Jensen that sounds as good as any.
I had a Premier 120 that used a 12" & the sound was perfect for that Little Walter Chicago HONK
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JDH
32 posts
May 10, 2010
7:44 PM
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That's what I said Rick, my 5E3 is a great GUITAR amp. Just yankin' on ya a little about the Skip Simmon's masco. (grow a sense of humor man)
However, my second post, a good working 5C3 deluxe with it's octal base grid leak bias input is a killer little harp amp. I just wasn't getting the volume I needed when I had mine 20 years ago. There are times I could use an amp like that now with lower volume playing.
I have some killer harp amps in my collection, one built by Micheal Clark specifically for harp, others built as guitar amps, by Fender, Gibson, Supro, Magnatone, and Masco that just happen to be great harp amps without any modifications. Only four of my amps are single 12" speakers, and they just seem better suited to guitar. I used to play harp through my Deluxe reverb a lot in the 70's and 80's, but I generally use crystal mics anymore and it's not a good amp for crystals, besides it's become my main guitar amp, now that I don't pack my Super Reverbs around.
Much of what the typical "harp mods" do, is make an amp so undynamic, compressed and distorted that anyone that can do a warble and bend a note sounds "cool". A good player can plug a decent mic in to a stock super reverb or bassman and get good tone, they did it for years before there was a Sonny Jr or a harp amp blog or the inner net.
Last Edited by on May 10, 2010 10:00 PM
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JDH
33 posts
May 10, 2010
7:52 PM
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@strawwoodclaw, I've been playing my masco's through old Jensen P15P's and love the sound. JD
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Ev630
392 posts
May 10, 2010
9:27 PM
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It's not simply about volume, Rick. A good 4x10 - i.e., a GOOD Bassman - will deliver a bigger, better bass response due to the cab size and a more open, richer tone than a smaller cab. That's a fact you can take to the bank, amigo.
Plus I can always turn it DOWN. I can't turn a small amp UP.
And who has a sound man except at festivals? Not me.
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htownfess
75 posts
May 10, 2010
10:07 PM
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Rick Davis, May 9:
“The list of legendary harp amps with a single 12-inch speaker includes (but is not limited to):
-Ampeg Reverbrocket
-Ampeg Jet
-Fender Tweed Deluxe...”
Rick Davis, May 10:
“The 5E3 amps are GREAT guitar amps, but only marginal harp amps.”
Wow, there’s the hot topic for Rick’s next hard-hitting, conventional-wisdom-challenging blog post--he can do a comparison test of a harp amp with itself, depending on what day of the week it is. I can see the title already:
“Fender’s 5E3: Marginally Legendary, or Legendarily Marginal?”
Reminds me of what Rick said about the Mission amp:
April 27, 10:13 am: “An amp will NOT make you a better player, no matter who endorses it.”
April 30, 3:12 pm: “This amp will make you better, not the other way around.”
The Mission amp is completely different before and after lunch. You don’t even have to wait a whole day, like you do with the 5E3. You have to wait three days.
Maybe that's why the seller let Ev630's new Clark go so cheap--the amp was marginal when it arrived and the seller gave up after 20 minutes. Hang in there, Ev630, and remember that tomorrow is another day. It's all good. Legendary, even, on alternate days.
:-)
Last Edited by on May 10, 2010 10:20 PM
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htownfess
77 posts
May 11, 2010
12:57 AM
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Yes, and you know the proper ritual for getting that red meat: take your scoped rifle and head for the mountains of Europe or the Caucasus, hire a local guide and bag yourself a wild chamois, dress that carcass for your red meat dishes and tan the hide into chamois cloth of your own making.
Of course, the oldtimers in Mississippi had to make do with the local fauna, but why do you think Muddy Waters was running those strings of traps when he still lived on Stovall's Plantation? Possum and raccoon make a tolerable chamois in a pinch, if you know how to tan them, and the gypsy woman told Muddy there was someone in his future who would need a lot of chamois cloth. The rest is history.
Maybe they've got gazelle or something suitable where you are? Bon appetit, and try not to fall off any crags. That Wile E. Coyote pleated accordian wheezing just doesn't work for harp tone IMO :-).
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5F6H
120 posts
May 11, 2010
2:59 AM
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@ Rick: "Every "Pro" harp guy I've seen in concert in the last several years had his amp mic'ed up. Rick Estrin had his 6x10 100-watt HarpKing mic'ed in a medium room last month."
Even in medium venues, a high profile act will typically go through a PA (I know guys who mic up EVERYWHERE), it's not necessarily to hit a particular volume level, more to get a decent spread of sound around the venue, so that the audience get a reasonably even mix wherever they might be. There's a little bar not that far from where I live, it's got a small main room, a narrow bar out the back, & rooms up stairs - everything has to be mic'd so it can be pumped around the whole venue.
Lets get back to the OT - Bruce has said that this amp is designed to be good value, mid range & portable - a compact "pick up & go" amp. This has more of a bearing on why he ended up with a single speaker design. Multi speaker options are in the pipeline for an upcharge.
Yes, there are great 1x12" amps, but if you took a particular, fixed bias, 6L6 chassis & connected it up to 1x12" & 3x10"/4x10" cabs, at matched loads, reasonably similar speaker design & SPL (they will never be exactly the same) you will get more volume out of the multiple 10" arrays. Again, Bruce has been transparent about the compromise in that respect.
@JDH: "Much of what the typical "harp mods" do, is make an amp so undynamic, compressed and distorted that anyone that can do a warble and bend a note sounds "cool". A good player can plug a decent mic in to a stock super reverb or bassman and get good tone, they did it for years before there was a Sonny Jr or a harp amp blog or the inner net."
I have no idea what "typical harp mods" are. I do a lot of harp mods, personal "fittings" often in conjunction with A/B tests against circuits that are "as they left the factory"...typically you only end up with a handful of values changed, often less difference than that model was changed during it's legitimate production run (there are a dozen permutations of a "stock 5F6A bassman" that I know of, countless undocumented changes to brown tolex Fenders, and from one end of the scale to the other they can sound very different). If the mods change the character of the amp so that it is unrecogniseable, then you probably started with the wrong amp in the first place. Often all that is required is a little more flexibility with EQ & feedback rejection. Piazza & Clark both often used a tape delay between mic & amp, basically inserting a whole single ended amp in the chain, with a delay...that's quite a mod in anyone's books...but I do concur, good players have been getting great tone out of some stock Fenders for years (a 3x10" brown Bandmaster or Concert is a great amp, period). Note also that some artists have tried a lot of amps of the same type, selling on the ones they were less than happy with.
The Sonny Jr that you mention (assuming 410, Cruncher) does not really follow the route of "typical harp mods" (e.g. circuitwise, along the lines of say a Texas Crude, or a Harpking) so I don't think it is fair to lump that particular amp in that bracket.
To pontificate over whether 1x12" works (as an aspect in isolation from other aspect of circuit & output) or not is irrelevant, if you're interested in the Mission try one or take a punt, if you're not, then don't. You can't really guage it's performance one way or the other, by comparisons with other amps, or without trying it in person.
It's the human condition to try and categorise things, find patterns that make the world simpler for us, more secure...but the reality is you have to try things out. Every few months I am reminded that making assumptions is dangerous & end up learning (again...if that can be categorised as "learning") not to try and take things for granted.
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Ev630
394 posts
May 11, 2010
3:03 AM
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Hey, all I said was I just bought a Clark.
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Hondo
21 posts
May 11, 2010
3:49 AM
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I'm not a pro and I know about a 5 watt being small for gigs but the Valve Junior half stack (w/ good tubes) and the 12" Eminence Lady Luck speaker get pretty good reviews.
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jbone
320 posts
May 11, 2010
4:10 AM
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i've had many compliments on my silvertone 1482 as a harp amp, and i like the tone. it has a jensen special design ceramic 12 in it, which replaced the stock 12. i am considering getting the original reconed and putting it back in just to see how it sounds. all original tubes except one 12au7 in pre amp 3. but as it sits i like the 1482 a lot. in fact it will be gigging with me tonight.
i got to play through a '57 princeton some years ago and it sounded great also.
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Ev630
400 posts
May 11, 2010
4:30 AM
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By the way, wasn't gonna let you guys in, but this is a great place to buy harp amps, 12" singles or otherwise...
http://www.thegearpage.net/board/forumdisplay.php?f=6
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JDH
35 posts
May 11, 2010
7:54 AM
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@5F6H The mention of Sonny Jr was used as a time reference, to make the point that some pretty great harp was played without "real harp amps" and sounded as good as anything today if not better. Actually the only Sonny Jr amp I've played through personally was a Sonny Jr 1, it was interesting, just not for me. I considered a Sonny Jr 4-10 when I bought my Clark, but Micheal was just such a pleasant laid back guy to deal with and understood what I was wanting, and it is exactly what I wanted, it's the perfect amp for me.
What I've run in to at some jams is guys with modified bassman RI's and clones that are so mushy and bassy they have no dynamics or edge. It always seems to me that those amps won't project or cut through the mix unless you play them so loud you are over the top of everything else. I have also heard some popular harp specific amps that sounded the same way when I heard them live, they were not Sonny Jr amps.I said right in my post that my Clark bassman is modified for harp, it's set up with a grid leak bias input. Otherwise it is a stock 5F6 circuit. I'm not anti-modification, many of my guitar amps (amps used primarily for guitar, Rick) are modified, a couple pretty extensively.
My response was directed at Rick's comment that there is "NO AMP" that compares with a "REAL" harp amp.
I think he is mistaken, to put it nicer than I would if you and I were just sitting here having a conversation about great amps like the 3-10 bandmaster , concerts, bassman, and super reverbs. BTW if I refer to a bassman or a super reverb and I don't add the RI, I'm thinking of the real deal.
I wasn't in any way knocking Gary/ Sonny Jr or his amps, I like Gary we've had comunications that were quite friendy and enjoyable, along with some that weren't, but quite obviously he builds some very popular amps.
I think most intermediate players tend to like amps that have a lot of compression and distortion, while more experienced players would intend to use those things in moderation. I played harp through guitar amps for thirty years with no modifications, it didn't sound bad!
Last Edited by on May 11, 2010 8:41 AM
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5F6H
121 posts
May 11, 2010
8:35 AM
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@ JDH "My response was directed at Rick's comment that there is "NO AMP" that compares with a "REAL" harp amp.
I think he is mistaken, to put nicer than I would if you and I were just sitting here having a conversation about great amps like the 3-10 bandmaster , concerts, bassman, and super reverbs." Agreed...although I am familiar with the majority of harp amps available right now & carry out harp specific mods to popular guitar amps, I see amps as amps...some by quirk of design/luck/happy accident are excellent harp amps just as they are (sometimes ideas from one are transferable to another)...I have played through factory spec (I hate the phrase "stock", it is often misleading/misunderstood) guitar amps that are as good as any amp out there currently offered for harp...and I certainly haven't played through every guitar amp.
"I wasn't in any way knocking Gary/ Sonny Jr or his amps", no, I didn't think that you were...I just made the point to avoid any backlash from Gary, or any quick to offend SJ customers.
"I think most intermediate players tend to like amps that have a lot of compression and distortion, while more experienced players would intend to use those things in moderation." Amen to that, the sound I'm looking for now from an amp isn't necessarily the same as when I started playing, as i have developed my playing, I want the amp more & more to get over what I'm doing (sometimes they'll do it "as they come" sometimes with a little help)...I know I'm certainly not alone in that. My philosophy though, is that once you, or anyone (especially someone who is looking for a little leg up), have paid for an amp ($1000+ typically for a working, serviced stage amp) it should do what YOU need it to do, if changing a couple of $1.50 parts & an hours labour helps you, then that's better than taking a hit at resale and having to make sacrifices to buy another amp with 99.9% similar parts to the last one.
"I played harp through guitar amps for thirty years with no modifications, it didn't sound bad!" Indeed, as there were no "harp specific" amps prior to the 90's, all classic references for electric harp tone were recorded on just "amps" (or, occasionally, straight to the desk).
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Harpaholic
86 posts
May 11, 2010
8:45 AM
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"NO AMP" that compares with a "REAL" harp amp"
WTF is a real harp amp?
A lot of the old Premier/Multivox's were built for accordian, which makes them perfect for harp.
I've owned well over 60 amps that are known to be good for harp, including several modern boutique, and harp modded amps. What a waste of time, and money that was!
IMO, nothing ever made can duplicate the syrupy thick fat bell like tone of an old Premier/Multivox, and I know several well known pro's that would agree, including John Nemeth, Kim Wilson, Mark Grandfield, and maybe even bigD?
Last Edited by on May 11, 2010 12:14 PM
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Ev630
403 posts
May 11, 2010
8:52 AM
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I sure do dig Dennis's tone and phrasing!
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5F6H
122 posts
May 11, 2010
8:53 AM
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"A lot of the old Premier/Multivox's were built for accordian, which makes them perfect for harp." ...2x 6V6/7591A Ampegs & some Red Bank Dano's too.
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