RE: [Harp-L] endorsements

"Anthony Smith" <anthony@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> · Fri, 19 Jun 2009 10:35:10 -0400

This is a fun thread!  :O)

I saw Kim Wilson on tour with Doug Deming late in 2008.  He was driving so
he had brought the amps with him.  One was a 50's Tweed Tremolux I believe
and the other was a vintage beat up, painted black old Bassman...no customs
in sight.  Does that mean he doesn't like the two Meteors he owns?  Does
that mean he wouldn't like playing thru a SJ 410 or Cruncher?  In my
opinion, HELL NO!  Kim has a basement full of gear as do many of the pro's
and given the mood, he is going to pull what he wants.  We all search and
will keep searching as it's part of the fun.  I've had many talks with many
amp builders and all seem to be good guys that truly believe in their
product's performance and quality.  To date, I agree with them as well.  

This is truly about personal preference and what works in each room or
event. As an example, there is a you tube video of a Hummel blow out where
Kim is playing thru a Early 60's Brown concert and another post of the same
show where Hummel is playing thru his Meteor.  The meteor has a great
Chicago distorted sound but the tone is consistent no matter what he does
with it.  That might be what YOU want but not what I want.  It's preference.
You hear Kim play on a Meteor and it still sounds like Kim, but a bit muted
in my opinion and some of his tonal dynamics are lost due to the
compression. You hear him thru the Concert and some might argue it's too
clean, to me it wasn't.  Also in the Video, Charlie Plays a bit thru Kim's
concert and it wasn't that much difference in tone than when Kim was playing
thru it.  Sure you could tell it was Charlie, but the note separation and
tonal qualities were superior to what I've heard from Charlie on other
video's (not using the cruncher as I haven't heard him play thru it).
Again, personal preference In that I didn't hear of or see anything
mentioning Charlie's favorite is now the concert and I've never seen him
play thru one since!  So, just because I thought he sounded his best using
Kim's concert doesn't mean he or anyone else feels that way too! 

I am not a tech, I don't know the in and outs of amp building but I have
played on MANY!  What all of my independent research has shown me is that
everything is a compromise and you have to find the amp that gets you
closest to the sound you want and then modify your own approach to playing
to "dial-in" the sound you are trying to achieve!  If you build a bit of
"Dirty" into the circuit then it's very hard if not impossible to take the
"Dirty" out by modifying your approach with your technique..think Small
champ or Masco, etc.  

This is all said without even addressing the HUGE difference microphone
choice makes in the total picture and the different effects each room throws
at you! My hope is that all the customizers will keep on customizing and
offering choices to us harmonica players. Thanks to all of you guys for
doing what you do!

T.      

-----Original Message-----
From: harp-l-bounces@xxxxxxxxxx [mailto:harp-l-bounces@xxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf
Of 10hole
Sent: Friday, June 19, 2009 8:22 AM
To: SONNYTONE@xxxxxxx; harp-l@xxxxxxxxxx
Subject: Re: [Harp-L] endorsements

Kim does play his Meteors Gary. Not on the road when flying but on occasion
like most others are going to do.
Mark Hummel also uses his 2 Meteors all the time and plans to continue to
use them. He made a deal with you for the Cruncher which he say's he'll use
on small gig's. Let's just be clear on these things.

As far as most players traveling with an amp, it aint gonna happen. Everyone
I know who has to fly into a gig contracts in advance what they want for the
gig. A boutique amp isn't typically an option. Last Friday night Kim played
here locally.
We hung out for the day and had a ball. That night he used the Meteor
because it was available and sounded amazing.
HOWEVER......  Kim, Charlie, Mark, etc.....  will sound amazing playing
through a shoe box.

Scooter

> For anyone who has an amp business, having someone that you claim 
> endorses your product means to most of us builders who understand 
> life, that the person  endorsing your amp will play it whenever it is
humanly POSSIBLE.
> Kim
> does not  play the Meteor anywhere, yet Charlie did not want to spend 
> over $200 to bring  his Cruncher to one gig and I am catching flak for
that.
> Charlie
> asked me many  times if I had one near there as he will tell you 
> himself he loves the amp and  feels it is the best amp he has played. 
> His words, ask him whenever you catch  him. For him to not use my amp 
> for one venue he had to fly to, money is tight  everywhere, he is not 
> getting rich from these gigs, is not reason to open a can  of worms 
> some guys just won't close, no matter how many times I apologized for  
> ONE statement years ago. LET IT GO. When I worked out the agreement 
> with Mark  Hummel concerning using my amp, it is clear he can only use 
> my amp as a  custom amp, but if he wants to use one of his vintage 
> amps every now and then,  that's fine. Charlie wants to play mine all 
> the time, Pierre Lacoque owns THREE  Crunchers, two full and one head. 
> He is willing to pay to bring it on board a  plane. Please guys, for 
> God's sake, two months ago I was told I have a certain  amount of time 
> to live as the only medication did not work, get on with your  lives, 
> I won't be here much longer.
> **************Dell Days of Deals! June 15-24 - A New Deal Everyday!
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