Ask Harp Mic Expert Greg Heumann

Hi Fritz,

I'm intersted to hear if you have any thoughts / experiences on Aiwa crystals, the type pictured here: http://www.harmonicamasterclass.com/W30-Aiwa-element.jpg

I've seen a couple of claims that they rival the Shure R7 crystals.

Opinions on consistency between elements and the durability of them would be appreciated!

Thanks,

Jon

Hi Fritz and anyone else out there:

I'm brand new to this site ,just subscribed. I'm also self taught on the harp and play as an acompaniest to a guy I write songs with, he plays guitar and I play harp usually through a Shure vocal mic. The style is mostly "singer songwriter " with a few semi-blues or rock tunes, we have a bass player but no drummer.
The songs are good though and we have been developing a growing following, but in that setting I mostly play ornamentation and occasional leads
My question is : continue reading...

You mentioned in the shure 540 topic, the bandwidth that the mic has which really work for the harp. I looked that and 50 - 13,000 hz are the numbers posted for that mic. I have an electrovoice re 10 that claims 90 - 13,000hz. I understand what the numbers mean (sort of) but don't know the frequencies of harps and am assuming each of the different keys will have different bandwidth of frequencies. Is there some sort of chart or table or generality available? continue reading...

I have two Shure 540-S mics. They seem to be a decent harp mic, I'd like your opinion on that however! They weigh a ton and have the adjustable stem with an on/off switch built in. Is this a mic worth spending the cash on to have a volume control put on it and getting rid of that directional stem to lighten it up a bit? Thanks for the feed back, love the site!

Hello Fritz,

I would like your opinion on the Recession Microphone!

If I bought a Astatic by Hohner JT30 Microphone from Musiciansfriend for $69.99 removed the crystal element (if it sounds awful) and purchased a CM or CR element from Ebay, will it fit and which model element would you recommend?

Penny Pincher

Thanks for sharing the secret of getting that Little Walter tone. Priceless!

Dave

Hello Fritz! I know that blues guys just use the same mic for their chromatic as they do for their diatonic, but what mics do non-blues chromatic harmonica players like?

Hi Fritz,
I expect a question about wireless is considered in poor taste for a mic expert but i respect your opinion.
I have a Sonny Jr1 and a Kendrick 5W practice amp. Sonny sent me a Turner +2 bullet with a controlled magnetic element. I think that will probably work for my blues work..with a tight cup.

It would be nice to have another easier to use mic...and i have a Hohner Hoodoo wirelss mic too.
What do you think about the Hoodoo with these amps?
Is there something that is much better? The Hoodoo is basically a lavalier tuned for harp i think. continue reading...

From the "PERSONAL EXPERIENCE" file: ALOHA... I've just returned from a gig in Honolulu, Hawaii (Valentine's Day) where I played thru a HOLLAND harp amp that was furnished for the date by audio engineer extraordinaire Milan Bertosa. About the size and scale of a tweed Deluxe, it was tricked-out with a Jensen 12", had a single channel with a volume and active tone control. At rehearsal I plugged-in one of my JT-30's with a NOS MC-151 crystal. To my amazement I found I could NOT run the amp as high as 2 and at that, couldn't completely open-up the volume pot on the mic. Insanely HOT... continue reading...

Hi Fritz,

I am interested to know more about ceramic elements (mainly astatic).

What's the general difference between the MC-151 and MC-127 elements, in terms of tone and output? Obviously individual elements of the same type will vary, but are there any common trends?

Is there any practical difference between the MC-126 and MC-127 ceramics?

How tough are the elements? I'm imagining somewhere between crystals and CM/CRs as far as dropping them goes. How about damange from heat and humidity?

Thanks

Jon