Low Ghost Tone
Hi
I'm looking at a 59 Bassman reissue and have demo'd it. It creates that unpleasant low Ghost note when hitting two note combinations on the harp. Dave talks about this in the Bassman Chronicles. In Dave's interview with Kim Wilson, Kim mentions that he takes it out with the Midbass Cut pedal by Kinder Musical Instruments. However, I'm not sure if those are still made and if so, I'm wondering if there's a solution cheaper than $300. I tried an MXR guitar EQ pedal, taking out the 100 and 200 frequencies but this did nothing Anyone else have this issue and/or solution? Thanks!
Hello Paul. I don't normally chime in on forum posts for other people, but I spoke to Skip Simmons today and he asked that I chime in. Reminder, the ghost tone that you're speaking of (which is called a Difference Tone) is a desirable thing for the harmonica. We purposely choose amps that emphasize it... it's the bass rumble that makes an amp have a huge bottom for harmonica. If it's booming more than you would like it to, simply relax your cup on your two-note combinations and that will lower the volume of that bassy difference tone.
Hello Paul- Thanks for writing. I bet y'all know what I am going to say! I don't really know the best way to address this problem, but I've got to remind everyone that the RI Bassman is a modern harp classic that has been used succesfully by many, many players. In other words, the ghost-note issue may not be a problem for everyone. If I had my way, the first thing I would try would be to temporarily connect the amp up to a different Bassman's speakers. It sure seems to me that speakers would affect the problem.