|
Dirty-South Blues Harp forum: wail on! >
Mission Chicago amps,revisited
Mission Chicago amps,revisited
Page:
1
toddlgreene
2032 posts
Nov 03, 2010
11:21 AM
|
It's been a while since I've read or heard anything about this amp. Supposedly, there were going to be some at SPAH. Did anyone get an opportunity to play with one or hear one live? I'm tucking money away for an amp about this size, and I'm considering it among a few others in the same wattage/size category. At the moment, this one still has them all beat on price(still 999$).
----------
Todd L. Greene, Codger-in-training
|
bigd
236 posts
Nov 03, 2010
2:03 PM
|
Indeed that price with that description by a builder with a terrific reputation is seductive. I'd love it if their was a flood of reviews. In all fairness Rick did I think try to organize more info and there are sound bytes and descriptions on the amp website. At the end of the day- I'm liking the idea of money back guarantees on harp-voiced amps although I'm pretty sure such guarantees are easier to request than to actualize from a workmanship perspective... d
----------
myspace facebook
|
shbamac
13 posts
Nov 03, 2010
7:54 PM
|
I bought one and received it a few weeks ago. I went with this amp for several reasons: builder, components, features and most of all big bottom end... which it delivers. I went with the 1x12. Bruce, the builder, is a very busy man but took the time to answer all my questions/concerns in great detail after I received the amp. He repied to all my emails on the same day. Piror to the sale it was a bit harder to get a hold of him though. So far I counldn't be more pleased on a customer service level (post sale). I haven't have the time fully test/break the speaker in or change out any tubes to see it preforms/sounds with a different line up. But so far so good. Love the amp.
|
toddlgreene
2037 posts
Nov 04, 2010
5:11 AM
|
shbamac-thanks for responding. I'm glad to hear you've had what sounds like a good experience thusfar. Do you play live with it, or just in a woodshedding capacity? I have a lot of questions, but I won't nail you with them at once.
----------
Todd L. Greene, Codger-in-training
|
toddlgreene
2038 posts
Nov 04, 2010
6:31 AM
|
this is a review posted on Rick Davis' blog from a Mojo Red. A good review overall.
***********************************************************
[NOTE: Mojo Red -- AKA Ken Mergentime -- is a very fine harp player well known to the blues harp commmunity. He sent this review unsolicited to the Harp-L list.]
I own the first production version of the Chicago amp by Mission (built by Bruce Collins). I've been playing through it for several months now and I LOVE it. It's got some great features for harp players and looks just beautiful with its tweed 1950s Fender style cabinet.
Anyway, here are my impressions:
Things I love:
- The lacquered tweed cabinet (Fender 1955 Wide Panel Deluxe) is beautiful!
- The single 12" speaker (Eminence Patriot "Cannabis Rex") is VERY efficient and can handle a whole lot of output without breaking a sweat.
- Plenty of power (@ 35 watts) so I'm never buried in the mix unless I want to be.
- GREAT set of natural overtones. This thing is rich with overtones, and just sings! The more I play through it the more I love it as I discover -- through varying my attack, vibrato, cupping techniques, tongue slaps etc. -- that this amp really responds spectacularly well, and offers a very nice pallet of tones.
For example, by using a delayed attack on a low harp, I can get a wonderful trombone-like sound (a-la-Dennis Gruenling). This I never expected, and really kicks butt on those slow blues numbers, especially 3rd position minors.
- I love the "Deep" switch which boosts the bottom end response. I just leave that sucker on all the time. Playing a low harp, like your G or Low-D can be a powerful experience -- it's all out front, despite the band's volume. This is a GREAT feature!
- I love the line-out on this amp as it has it's own volume control on the amp! I've had several occasions to use it now, and it's MUCH better than micing the amp. Once set up, if I need more through the mains, I can tweak it myself (drives the sound guys crazy).
- The tone (bass/treble) controls really REALLY effect the tone (what a concept). Other amps I've used, the tone controls seem wimpy for harp.
- The amp has two inputs (Hi and Lo) for using different types of mics. I'm using the Lo input for really hot mics, like my 1950s Green Bullet and my super-hot wood-bodied crystal, and use the Hi input for lower-output mics, like my JT-30, or my RE-10.
- It comes with a switch that allows you to change from cathode bias to fixed bias on the fly. The difference is subtle to my ears, but one provides a little more vintage sound to my ears, so I leave it there (not sure which bias that is, however, as they are not marked).
- It has a gigantic 50-watt power transformer which I'm told is the secret for the HUGE bottom end you can project.
- The feedback resistance on this amp is phenomenal, even at hi volumes. Not completely immune, but easily managed.
- I haven't added any pedals to the amp yet, but Bruce tells me it's very "pedal friendly" whatever that means. I'll take his word on that as he's come through with everything else he's promised.
- Bruce, incidentally, is GREAT to work with. Since mine was the first production model, he would often come to my band's weekly blues jam to hear for himself how the amp was breaking in. He actively solicited my thoughts/impressions as a player. Bruce, BTW, is an engineer who really knows his stuff. He's been building custom tube amps for guitar players since the 1980s. The Chicagoamp is his first go at a purpose-built harp amp and he's hit a home-run in my opinion.
- The pricing on this amp is fantastic. Much less than comparable harp amps from other custom builders, yet the quality is still amazingly high.
Things I don't love:
- Initially, I found my amp to be a little edgy/harsh with high-key harps (at higher volumes). I went back to Bruce for a little tweak. Bruce then installed an additional toggle switch inside the cabinet that he calls the "crowd-friendly" mod. It cut the harshness right out of that puppy without sacrificing power or projection. However, if I find myself on stage with some guitar shredders, I can still flip that toggle and it will have more cut, but I don't need that for what I generally play.
- In addition, the speaker itself, being brand new, needed a few hours of stage time to mellow out. It did mellow out a LOTafter about 20 hours of play. Now it's smooth and creamy.
- At 35 Watts this thing needs a bit of push to get it to break up like smaller amps, but I can still get around that by pushing the volume on the amp and holding back the overall volume using the VC on my mic. I'd like a little more break-up sometimes, so I'm thinking about picking up one of those "Harp Break" pedals from Lone Wolf for when I want a more over-driven sound. Might add a delay pedal as well for a little slap-back when I want it.
- As a player, I wish I had a better vibrato... Other players with great vibrato pull more out of this amp than I can... but that's not the amp's fault. :-)
***********************************************************
----------
Todd L. Greene, Codger-in-training
Last Edited by on Nov 04, 2010 6:34 AM
|
shbamac
14 posts
Nov 04, 2010
7:06 AM
|
I haven't used it live yet. I want to get to know the amp a little better and which of my mics/amp setting will work best for me. All of the reviews I have read are just about spot on with what I have experienced with it so far.
|
toddlgreene
2039 posts
Nov 04, 2010
7:15 AM
|
How long from the time you ordered it to the time you received it? Did you have it shipped(sorry, I don't know your location), and if so, 1.was it well-packed and 2.how much was the charge?
In the above review, he talks about a 'crowd friendly' mod via a toggle switch-is that something you got on yours as well?
----------
Todd L. Greene, Codger-in-training
|
shbamac
15 posts
Nov 04, 2010
8:27 AM
|
I put a deposit of $250 and he didn't give me a time frame. It was about three months before I received the amp. He didn't contact me and I didn't contact him for updates untill about seven weeks after I put the deposit down. It took a few days for him to get back to and said he would have it done it about two weeks (which it was). He is very busy and none of that bothered me. I had it shipped, it was well packed and arrived safe. He used a double walled box. Shipping/insurance was $64. Yes is has the "crowd friendly" switch. This is what Bruce said about it "the mini-toggle is ON-off-ON, a center off switch, it also is a boost of a kind but I prefer to think of it as a way to control the overly hot mics I've run into. There is a 6dB boost from about 150Hz on up with it ON. With respect to the actual ON-off-ON, I didn't find the circuitry of the other position any real use so I just wired it to do one one thing. You'll be able to tell easily which way is on".
Last Edited by on Nov 04, 2010 8:39 AM
|
toddlgreene
2040 posts
Nov 04, 2010
8:39 AM
|
Great info! I've never enquired about wait times for any other 'boutique' amps:HarpGear, FatDog, Sonny Jr., and I've only ever owned one custom-made amp(I had it within a month of ordering, and it was local). 2-3 months pales in comparison to what the BRadical folks have to wait, so that's not necessarily a deal-killer to me. Any idea how many of these amps he has sold?
----------
Todd L. Greene, Codger-in-training
|
shbamac
16 posts
Nov 04, 2010
9:00 AM
|
No idea how many he has sold... I think my order just happen to fall in a extra busy time for him. Hence the wait time.
I emailed Brian from harpgear about an amp and never heard a word from him. I don't think he builds these amps himself but has some other group put them togther. Same with the Sonny Jr. I have heard from other builders (not Bruce) that the Sonny Jr amps uses cheaper components. But they could just be talking smack...
|
paul45
44 posts
Nov 04, 2010
9:50 AM
|
I also would agree with Mojo Reds review. I was looking for an amp with more power yet reasonable in size and the Mission fit the bill. I love the versatility of being able to run 6v6's in cathode bias for a more vintage tone or 6L6's in fixed for a punchier louder amp. There is alot of different tube line ups you can use in the Mission and I have only scratched the surface. Bruce answered all my questions in good detail and seems to really care about his amps. I was originally looking at another popular harp amp but never got an answer on shipped price and turn around time and took my $$ else where. Price, features and light weight played heavily into my decision.
|
ZackPomerleau
1253 posts
Nov 04, 2010
1:33 PM
|
Todd, the wait on HarpGear's depend on his current stock and how many he needs to send out. I recall my HG50 taking two weeks? Not totally sure, but it wasn't long at ALL.
|
Post a Message
|
