Last night, I sat in with some buddies at one of their gigs. The owner of the establishment is a harp player. He had setup a Kalamazoo 1 that had been refurbished by Greg Heumann along with one of Greg's wooden mics.
It had been a a few years since I had played through one of these little amplification gems that Greg had worked his magic on. Man, it sounded really great. If you're looking for a small amp or a mic, it's worth talking to Greg.
maybe so...if you're a broke dick. He's got to make a profit, or it ain't worth it. He's always been fair with me. Try find someone else to do the same thing, cheaper. I didn't think so. Why the negativity?
I don't what "overpriced" means, and we are all on budgets these days, but let's think about it. We are seeking enjoyment from our playing in many different ways, but to get a kick ass tone has to be first and foremost for most of us, or else why all of the fuss about mics and amps on this forum? If someone wants to get a little glass bottle or a beat up box and DIY and make a mic and and amp (as I have seen on here) for yourself, then go for it. God Bless America, The Land Of The Free. Or buy the lower priced or less quality equipment and live with it. It's your right and privilege, and hey, people got to eat, have a roof over their heads and get around too.
But for me, I want the best that I can find if I can pull it off. Let's go back to good old fashioned saving up for something, and buy quality instead of constantly going to Wal-Mart, if you get my drift. Overpriced is a relative term. If you are paying for quality, American made craftsmanship with GUARANTEES against defects, I can't see how you can go wrong with Greg's products.
His website states the amps start at $269. I got lucky and found one on craigslist for $80. It has tone to the bone. Fact is they just don't pop up often.
@BluesJacketman - I do get a premium for the amps I rebuild. Why do some people pay that?
1) I have rebuilt well over 200 Kalamazoo amps. I know how they're supposed to sound. You can buy and rebuild one, but how do you know if it is right?
2) I do top class professional work. Ask anyone who has looked inside an amp I've rebuilt. No hot melt glue. No "knot in the power cord" strain relief. No wire nuts. No electrical tape. Actual reduction in total lead length on key components for noise reduction.
3) I offer a warranty on the amps I sell. Try to find someone else who will offer a warranty on a 45 year old amp.
4) I offer service, consultation and support - for life.
5) In order to do all of the above, I have to buy an amp, get it shipped to me, spend some time working on it, have an inventory of parts to repair it (do YOU have power and output transformers for that amp in stock? I do. Do you have speakers for that amp in stock? I do. Do you have pots and switches for that amp in stock? I do. Etc.
All of the above is why some people choose to buy an amp from me. If that is not your choice, that's perfectly OK with me.
"I could pick up a kalamazoo and refurbish it for around 300$."
Perhaps, but you can't sell it for $300 and operate a profitable business. People pay others for what they don't know how to do, or don't want to do, or don't have time to do.
What Greg said. I've done several business transactions with Greg. A couple where he could have charged me but did not. I have one of his Zoo's and love it. Especially knowing that I'm not going to get electrocuted by some ancient wiring. He is one of the most ethical and fair guys I've ever had the pleasure of dealing with and he will gladly help out in answering questions or concerns one may have. Top notch guy. We're blessed to have a man of his caliber in our little harp world.
Unless you know how to build and/or repair an amp, it can be an expensive endeavor. Plus, there are a lot of crappy amp repair guys out there. I know several of them. Greg isn't one of them.
I've known Greg for about ten years. I've had him work on three of my mics. They are all "go to" mics. They sound great and will probably be very usable long after I am gone. I've played through probably a dozen Kalamazoos that he has worked on. They have only one thing in common. They all sound great.
Aside from my tweed Champ clone which I built, Greg's Kalamazoo rebuilds are my favorite sounding small amp. Had I not finished my amp, the week he brought a Zoo to RJ Mischo at his jam, I probably would own one of Greg's refurbished amps. They cost less than it cost me to build my amp and it sounds great.
Greg's a trustworthy guy, a good harp player (who know how stuff is supposed to sound) and a good friend.
Greg H. is a class act! I have purchased both a custom bullet mic and an ultimate 57. When you receive the package, inspect the craftsmanship, take into consideration the time he spends with you before and after the transaction is complete, as well as his expertise/kniwledge, you almost feel like you should be paying MORE than he charges. In fact, this thread has only convinced more to purchase a Kalamazoo from Greg!
@BluesJacketMan - As my mates up the Rhondda would say, "Bollocks!"
I suspect you have never seen Greg's work, have never played one of his Zoos. To come on this forum of all places and make a statement that Greg Heumann's Zoos are overpriced pretty much indicates a man who is, as we say in Texas, "All hat and no cattle."
do you really think it is right to pile onto somebody that has an opinion on something that is so judgmental?
but, heck- the guy with the $200 amp stand was obviously a craftsman and doing what no one seemed to be doing. what happened to him? did ANYBODY buy what was obviously a well crafted amp stand?
There is no clarity to his post other than an attempted slamming of a small businessman. With something that is baseless considering a Kalamazoo from Greg is only marginally more money than a VHt special. 6
His other posts are anti seydel and how he got ripped off on a mic deal. Which last I checked stores trade up, not equal value. A 99A86 cm in a shell generally speaking runs $200and up. Most stores take trades ins for maybe 60-65% the eBay selling price of the item in for store credit. So in that case it was 57%.
So ribbing someone who comes in overwhelmingly negative seems inline.
@eharp - Yes the stands were well crafted but if there is not sufficient perceived value then there is little market.
I thought they looked well made and had a couple of clever design features but to me they were just a nice piece of furniture. If I wanted something to sit my amp on in my living room or studio and didn't mind spending that kind of money I'd buy it. But neither of those is the case.
As a tool, which is how I view all my gear, there are other, vastly cheaper, ways to get your amp off the ground and/or tilt it back. And would one really want to expose an expensive and well crafted piece of wood furniture to the hazards of real world gigging?
Those, I believe, are the reasons it didn't sell not because anyone was simply being bloody minded. ---------- LSC
i use a MojoKane/Ellis Bourbaneau modded Zoo almost every gig, unless i need more gas. Then it's a Bassman. Love my Zoo! ---------- MP affordable reed replacement and repairs.
"making the world a better place, one harmonica at a time"
click user name [MP] for info- repair videos on YouTube. you can reach me via Facebook. Mark Prados
I think we should go easy on BluesJacketMan, he only has 10 posts (so is new)?
Unfortunately you picked on one of the wrong people, Greg is very highly respected on here and does a lot of custom work for many of us. In addition he is always willing to share information.... one of the good guys, as you will find out.
Perspective, people. We're talking about a relatively small amount of difference in monies. Yes, you could probably find and procure a K'zoo for a hundred bucks, or thereabouts. You then drop some more money and your time (maybe the time spent is fun for you and we won't count it) to spruce it up a bit. How much do you spend to bring it up to sparkling? Fifty? A hundred? Is your amp now something that can sit side by side with one of G's? I doubt it. The one I got from Greg has a mojo component that (when combined with the 'one-stop-shop-turn-key' factor), couldn't have been duplicated by me or I dare say anyone else without a significant tool-up at the front end.
I'd like to point out a couple things here. Has anyone checked out how much good playing Fender Champs cost? Now go back and check Greg's price's for a rebuilt WARRANTIED Kalamazzo. Buzadero had a good point, but I'd like to also point out that if you buy a Kalamazzo for $100! It probably doesn't work! You can obtain these amps for about $250. That is not knowing how long they are going to last, how's been inside it, nothing! So you bring to someone that is a good tube tech and he makes it right for $100. OK that's $350 That's a stock Kalamazzo $350. Most people here don't even realixe that when you bring an amp to someone to have it retubed. They will install new crap tubes from China our Russia if you don't know any better! Most often the tubes that were in it are better! I know alot about this subject that's why I know he has a great service for harp players. It's easy for people that don't know what they are talking about to make negative vague statemants!
I think everyone should relax a bit. If this were a oral conversation, the question would have been answered once and forgotten. But in the age of The Internet, even if the poster got the message after the first few rebuttals, people still feel the need to fire away. I'm sure there was nothing personal about the question in the first place. If this were the movie "Ivanhoe", there would be 25 chain mail gloves in the middle of the floor to defend Greg's honor. I'm sure that the message has been received.
"I think everyone should relax a bit. If this were a oral conversation, the question would have been answered once and forgotten''.....Indeed: maybe it's a side effect of growing up in a section of the Bronx where you looked someone in the eyes when you challenged them or working with vulnerable populations in health care or having children but I hate bullying and some (obviously not all!) of this keyboard invective feels like bullying to me. ---------- Facebook
Can I chime in here? BluesJacketman is totally entitled to his own opinion. If I were him I would have omitted the "so" or added "in my opinion" to reduce the flaminess - but I still support his right to say what he thinks. I do appreciate all the on-board support from everyone.
@Belfast - I do ship overseas and have done so a few times but the cost of shipping is astronomical - about as much as the amp - and then there's the 220V conversion. You can go the cheap route which is to simply use a travel transformer - about $15 and it works - but if you want the amp's power transformer replaced it will add about $130 to the price (the transformer alone is $95 and then there's a bit of labor to fit it.)
For some people money is no object. I shipped a Kalamazoo to a guy in UNited Arab Emirates - shipping was about $400. He didn't blink. ---------- /Greg
I didn't buy either of my Zoo's from Greg, but I will be sending him one. I just can't bear to without my one working Zoo, but I imagine I'll finally get tired of having my upper lip zapped, complete with the huge blue spark light shows. This happens everytime I forget I'm holding the harp mic and approach the vocal mic. Remember,having a pro take care of your stuff is safer.
Greg's got to be feeling the love! In defense Bluesjacket, I can't afford one of Greg's amps at this point, but I can't afford a Rolls Royce either, and if I were buying a violin, I could probably tell the difference between a $20 toy and a $2000 professional model, but I'd be hard pressed to tell the difference between a Stradivarius and the regular pro model. If you can't hear the difference, haven't experienced the difference, then the price difference is huge. Right now I use a 30 watt Park amp I got bundled with another amp at a garage sale for $30. Lot's of people who've played Greg's stuff, who's opinions I respect, say there is a difference. I like to think at this point in my harmonica playing career, when I finally get to hear one I'll be able to hear the difference, but, like I said, I've heard lots of people's opinion who have, and even if I don't, someone in my audience may, and that's good enough for me.
