Matching the Mic with the Right Amp
Before you start looking for a system to buy, think of the tone you would like the create.  Think of the players you model yourself after, and find out what they were/are using.  If you're a blues fanatic, read on, you'll find all of this information very helpful.

Start with Purchasing the Amp. How loud do you need to be?  If this is just for practice, a Smaller Amp like the Dan Electro Nifty 50 is great (~$60 used on eBay).  The small old tube amps of the 1950's and 60's made by Gibson, Supro, Valco, Sears Silvertone, Fender and many no-name brands are great.  These were low wattage tube amps with commonly 8" or 10" speakers (10" is generally preferred for better bass response).  For a new amp, the Fender Blues Jr. is a decent amp (the amp doesn't distort as much as the older amps, but you can play louder).

Most of these amps distort at a very low volume, so you don't want a microphone that's known for being more distorted like a Shure 520 or 520D with a controlled magnetic (CM) or controlled reluctance (CR) cartridge.  The Astatic crystal (or ceramic) series of microphones, especially the Hohner Blues Blaster with a volume control (this is also made by Astatic) are great matches for these amps to help tame their natural tendency to distort.  You can also gig with these amps, but the house PA system and sound person must be good enough to give you good monitors (so you can hear yourself over the other instruments) and combat feedback problems.  

The Larger Amps are more suited for gigging with a band.  The most common of the larger amps used for harmonica is the 1959 Fender Bassman (original, reissue or custom).  The big amps are generally less distorted than their smaller counterparts and need the strongest signal to the amp as possible.  For big amps I prefer the Shure microphones with CM or CR cartridges.  I think these are the safest bet, though many players also use the Astatic crystal mics because they don't wish too have as much of distorted sound.  The Shure mics have a very strong output with great mid range body. The newer Shure 520DX (currently on the market today) uses a dynamic cartridge and sounds pretty good as well, though doesn't have as much output, possibly hurting your tone on the larger amp. The amp I am use is a Sonny Jr. 4x10 custom, based on the Fender '59 Bassman supped up for harp.  You can read more about the amp at http://www.sonnyjr.com/.

Changing the Tubes can also help tremendously in achieving good tone.  This is done by changing the rectifier tube and pre-amp tubes to lower gain tubes.  This makes the amp work harder (less efficient) to make the same volume, thus giving you more desirable breakup (natural distortion) at lower volumes.  For those using newer amps with an overdrive second channel, don't use it. You want to create the distortion naturally with good technique and cupping (cupping is very important.  This is taught in Building Harmonica Technique Video #4). A good example is on the '59 reissue Fender Bassman.  These amps out of the box are too clean sounding.  By changing the solid state rectifier to a tube rectifier (5U4GB is common) and changing the higher gain 12AX7 pre-amp tubes to lower gain (12AY7 is common) will help.  Something to keep in mind about the larger amps is that they usually sound best loud.  Most people own two to three different size amps to meet the needs of the venue.


Feel of the Mic
It really doesn't matter what's originally inside the mic that feels great to you.  Most of the mics mentioned on this site can use each others cartridges interchangeably.  Find the mic that feels best to you, and the mic that sounds best to you, and combine them.  I would recommend all blues players to have at least one microphone with a Shure CM or CR Cartridge and one microphone with an Astatic Crystal Cartridge.  There are many other cool cartridges, but these are the most available and used cartridges out there by pro players.  

Cupping  (Feeding the Amp)
For playing blues harmonica, cupping is VERY important!  Try to make the most air-tight cup as possible.  The more open your cup is, the less bass response you get, the less volume you get, and the more prone you are to feedback. What you PLAY through the mic is more important than your cup and the equipment you use.  You're not going to get a fat gnarly tone from a single 3 draw, but you will get it with a 3 draw in combination with a little 4 draw.  Building Harmonica Technique Video #4 shows and explains this idea well.
 

New! Detailed booklet of harmonica microphones and how to use them by David Barrett & Fritz Hasenpusch - More Info

New! Detailed booklet of how to use amplifiers for harmonica by David Barrett - More Info

Referrals
For custom built wood mics, repairs and modifications contact Fritz Hasenpusch
For vintage mics and repairs contact Tom's Mics
For vintage mics contact Dennis Gruenling
For vintage elements and rebuilding of vintage elements contact Chuck Gurney
All of the above persons I recommend are the best in the industry.


Back to: Harmonica Masterclass Vintage Microphone Collection


| Home | Search | Mailing List | Harmonica Information & Links | Vintage Collection |

Harmonica Masterclass® Company Info or E-mail