I'm going into the studio next Monday to record a one-man-band album and I've been working up some new material. The song that I discuss on the following video is one of the things I'm going to use. I'm still polishing it, but the amplfied harp sound is exactly what I want; when we mic up the drum and cymbal pedal, it's going to rock.
I realize there are still people out there who feel that big tube amps, bullet-style mics, and full-time tongue-blocking are the only route to a big, full sound. May they rest in peace.
Damn well done...all of it. You got that "obscene rolling motion groove" going which always seems to work a crowd up into a frenzy. (I especially like when I see someone use those wrists to get that warble..instead of shaking that head) Regards, Me
I loved that video with you showing off your big amp - I haven't been the same since watching it -, I had never even thought of amplified harp til I watched that video - you got me hooked : )
I realize there are still people out there who feel that big tube amps, bullet-style mics, and full-time tongue-blocking are the only route to a big, full sound.
May they rest in peace.
Thanks mate you may wish to have a little rest right beside us trads in our Graves i can't see anything Modern about this style of Performance,
when are you going to Break new ground this is to me Trad style performance not worryed about tone or what ever else comes into the mix, it's not Modern by a long shot so why did you make this comment,Im shure you must have known a trad would say something,
i would have liked to give some constructive comment but this comment tells me us Trads should just Butt out your not worryed thats cool, But it is always good to hear the other side of the fence instead of getting 100% butt sucking comments you may wish to take some on board maybe not but it is always worth a listen,
so sorry Bro I can't comment with out causeing a we Love Adam war,
saying that please don't think I'm ignorant i will give the Album a Listen But Please no Tambourine:)
---------- Cheers mate:)
Last Edited by on Jul 14, 2010 6:11 PM
So let me get this straight: if one wants to be "trad," one is required to don the trad uniform: big tube amp, bullet mic, and 100% tongue blocking? Did I get that right?
NOD, I think it's possible that you guys in Oz divide up the blues harmonica world a little differently than we Yanks do. The whole point of my comment--the one you've invoked--was to point out how absurd it is to imagine that a few hard-and-fast signifiers like "bullet mic" and "full-time tongue blocking" can help any rational person make sense of the instrument. Blues harmonica just isn't that cut-and-dried. The world is more complex than that.
I don't worry about that crap. Bullet mic? Great, if it's your thing. My thing is the mic I've used for 20 years. (Billy Branch's dynamic mic is a lot older and more beat than mine, BTW. I can't believe he uses that thing.) I just go for the sound I have in my head and play the best damned music I can. But I'm aware that a lot of people don't do that. They focus on externals, not things intrinsic to the music.
You took the bait. Damn. Truth is, I was hoping to educate people, wake 'em up (if they needed waking). Maybe even draw a chuckle of recognition and relaxation from somebody who had been devoting a wee too much energy to worrying about bullet mics and full-time tongue blocking.
Your ears are good, though. This was indeed my trad cut, in a manner of speaking. I was trying to cut right to the heart of what blues harp, amplified, is about. Stomp-down and mash it hard.
Last Edited by on Jul 14, 2010 6:28 PM
So let me get this straight: if one wants to be "trad," one is required to don the trad uniform: big tube amp, bullet mic, and 100% tongue blocking? Did I get that right? No
No im not a fan of Big tube amps my uniform Dunlop Vollys cargo pants bass ball cap, i think all that fancy dress stuff is for wankers,ie Australin for Show ponys:)
NOD, I think it's possible that you guys in Oz divide up the blues harmonica world a little differently than we Yanks do.
Got me thinking on that???? Ya right:) ok what we all call trad would be the fathers of the Blues Sonny Boy, Howlin Wolf and so on,
we are truly Starved of anything modern or of a connection to the Music Being played in the Clubs of your wonderful land Today,
so anything other than what we have been exposed to from the masters of the past i would say to me is modern the Nat Riddles album old Hat to you guys maybe,
but it was the most refreshing thing i have listened to it took me down on the streets of New York, then listening to Leandro Fararrie again fresh modern,
I have Been Listening to MBH BBQ-Bobs Album Live at the Water Front this gives me a connection to whats going down in town on your side of the Pond, Old School Player but again to me Fresh as a Daisy:)
so from a US or AUS point of view we may be clouded on what we term Modern Blues,
The whole point of my comment--the one you've invoked--was to point out how absurd it is to imagine that a few hard-and-fast signifiers like "bullet mic" and "full-time tongue blocking" can help any ration person make sense of the instrument. Fair enough mate:)
Ok takeing that on Board im with you im not concerned about a bullet mic or if it will make for a better performance or full-time tongue blocking,
but i bit of tongue slaping would spice it up some what,get a bit of vamping going drive the groove harder slowing it down a bit getting nasty,
i find the Foot drum to be a bit to dominent or say it's way out in front i know it's a visuale thing adding to the performance,
but ever thought of a stomp Board amped up you can shape the sound would work good in a studio enviroment, and performance wise it will give you the same sound but it will be a very differnt visuale performace somthing no one else is doing getting them going with ya feet a stomping poeple will be more inclined to gett up and Boogie with ya Beat:)
i'm making 2 stomp boards at the moment well as soon as i stop typeing im out in the shed finishing them i should post i pick i guess, anyways thats my positve comments got no Negs")
I don't worry about that crap. I just go for the sound I have in my head and play the best damned music I can. Thats whats it's all about Bro:)
But I'm aware that a lot of people don't do that. They focus on externals, not things intrinsic to the music.
Some Poeple got to many toys and want to play with them all at once gets to complicated with you on that one:)
You took the bait. Damn. It was a big chunk:)
Truth is, I was hoping to educate people, wake 'em up (if they needed waking). Im no sleeper Im a Midnight Creeper:)
Your ears are good, though. This was indeed my trad cut, in a manner of speaking. I was trying to cut right to the heart of what blues harp, amplified, is about. Stomp-down and mash it hard,
you stripped down well:)
---------- That didn't hurt Good Onya Mate!!!
Last Edited by on Jul 15, 2010 5:35 AM
@Adam - If Billy Branch's dynamic microphone you are referring to is an ElectroVoice 635A, it's possibly one of two that I sent him several years ago when he got all of his stuff stolen. I bought four of them on ebay for a dirt cheap price. All four of them sounded good, but were very unattractive. I sent him two of them.
They were pretty beat up, but those microphones are nicknamed "The Hammer" for a reason. They are almost indestructible. They are used by television and radio broadcasters. They were also fairly popular vocal microphones.
They don't have the bass response of an RE-10, but they are pretty good harp mics. They sound really good with his solid state Peavey amp.
it'd be sweet if you taped some of the sessions and then perhaps sold them as "behind the scenes" I'd get a kick out of something like that. ---------- I could be bound by a nutshell and still count myself a king of infinite space
@JoeL: Yes! I googled an image and that is indeed the mic. I figured he'd had it for 20 years! And you're right: he gets a great sound out of the thing. At the Chicago blues fest on the main stage he was playing through some sort of Bassman and it sounded extremely nice.
When do you think it will be released? Are you just selling it on your web site, or do you have a deal with a recording label? What I mean is will it be available on Amazon and/or Itunes or just off your website? I'm going to buy it either way!! I was hoping you would do it!!!
Sounds huge, Adam! Is that just the HG2 or are you splitting the signal between two amps? Take good notes of how your setup is recorded in the studio and share if you would be so kind. ----------
Crescent City Harmonica Club Todd L Greene, Co-Founder
good luck on the album adam I hope you are very successful with it hopefully your you tube lessons have given you the exposure that people will want the cds
Todd: No, I'm not using the HG2 in this video. I'm using my usual rig of the Premier Twin-8 paired with a Kay 703 by way of a passive signal splitter--a Y connector coming out of my Boss DD-3. I used the same rig in the studio.
I will definitely provide detailed notes on how we achieved the sound on my forthcoming solo album when the album is released. I learned a few tricks this time around.
ETA for the album is about a month from now, I hope. End of August. I've recorded the 16 or 17 tracks that will be on the album. I've got rough mixes of all of them in my iTunes folder. We're mixing and editing on Tuesday. I'm producing Brandon Bailey's first album next weekend and trying to finish mine in and around all that. Suffice it to say that there's going to be a LOT of one-man-band harp action out of MBH this fall.
I realize there are still people out there who feel that big tube amps, bullet-style mics, and full-time tongue-blocking are the only route to a big, full sound. May they rest in peace.
I'm with you Adam - I think the RIGHT amp is the way to go. Big or small, it's the tone that counts. And I know a lot of folks feel the same way. That's why Dennis M and Joe and others have posted videos with great tone out of all sorts of amps and mics. I myself own five amps, from a 4 watt Princeton through to an 18 watt Masco, a 30 watt Pro, and a 45 watt Piedmont and Super Sonny. It's what you do with them, amigo, and whether they are right for the application.
Besides, the great trad players have often recorded with smaller amps - folks like the Walters, Guyger, Wilson, Smith, Estrin etc. Layla was a Champ and Zep was a Supro. Big sound in the studio!
And let's not forget that James Cotton gets his tone through the PA and a stick mic - and it's the SAME damn tone he got when he played a JT30 and smaller tube amps up until the mid to late 60s. There's a lesson there for all of us.
Thanks for posting the Howlin' Wolf vamp. Great stuff.
Have you finished your homework Thomas? Big Mama is Big Mama Thornton. MWB is the muddy Waters Blues band. I believe the album was recorded in LA. Check it out.
I believe you stated "he gets the same damn tone" through a stick mic and a jt-30. I know the tonal differences are obvious in the above videos-you are not going to get the same tone between a bullet mic and amp as you are through a stick mic and pa. You aint gonna tell me nuthin bout Cotton-he handed me his mic and harp at a gig and I played along with the band for a few minutes-I know James fairly well. When James lets you play his harp,then you can talk shit-till then,go back to blues school-dont pull that punk ass shit with me.
Thomas, I think the essential thing is that we are communicating. You're still angry and hurt, but at least there is that two way communication. Good effort, son.
By the way, I am very familiar with those clips. Despite slight tonal variation - one is brighter - they prove the point that James Cotton sounds like James Cotton every damn time. Same damn James damn Cotton damn tone.
