Harmony H-410 Amp Review

[<vince@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Special thanks to Bluesdawg for this amp. He's a hell of a friend and I got
one hell of a deal! This amp is so much more than he stated (I'm kicking his
ass for holding back, lol).

The amp is the 410 series of Harmony (Made In Chicago).

Tubes in the below order (seam to be original)
6AU6
5Y3
6BQ5
12AX7 (replaced with a 12AY7)


The amp is really nice but this one is a little strange. I though the 410
Harmony had a 10" speaker in it.. This one has a 8". The original speaker
was weak so Bluesdawg tried out several speakers till he found one that
sounded great with a mic similar to mine. He stuck with a very old no-name
speaker. The speaker does GREAT work. Check out a pic of the Harmony H410
at:
http://www.harpamps.com/silvertone/ampgallery.html
it shows something that is far deeper (no telling what was inside). Well
here is what I have found...

VOLUME
Regardless of what I have heard, the 4 watts is very LOUD! She is loud
enough to gig with at nearly any club or small theater. I actually can get a
lot of volume before feedback as long as I dial in the "TONE" knob properly.
I can reach a volume as loud as I could with my past Blues Jr. before
feedback so she's hot!

My favorite thing about the amp....
The "Tone" knob actually makes a difference and she is as BIG sounding with
the volume on 4 as she is on 10. The tone knob gets sensitive as you turn
her up.

Tone
She is as big sounding as I need. Actually it's as big sounding as my 160
watt 2-12" Dean Markley.

OVERALL
I sure am glad I didn't get the Fender Champ! This little devil rocks! It is
sturdier than the nicest Silvertone I have ever seen and is in great shape.
You could never guess her age, she looks more like 5 years old. I ordered
this demon for the controlled reluctance mic I got from Dave Kott (the green
bullet dude). The amp has a natural Chicago sound (go figure) and overdrives
easily with any mic at nearly any volume but I am determined that the amp
was made for the mic! It is smoother than I expected but it's still hard to
hold that rough sound back at times. Keeps me in check with my dynamics.
Anyway I love the amp and I'm going to record some stuff with it soon! I'll
let you all hear it asap! I am working at getting it a little smoother now.
I don't know what Kim did to make the tone knob so sensitive but it you just
bump it you will know! It don't need reverb, it don't need nothing.

I will certainly carry her to most of my gigs and to any/all studio
sessions! Can you tell that I am excited?

Final Note:
Now that I got some nice toys... can someone show me how to play all these
harps?



Vince Cheney
The Blues Site - http://thebluessite.com