[Harp-L] Rules To Live By: Don't Leave Home Without'em! A Story about Expert Mic Builder and Element Technician Chuck Gurney



 

Rules To Live By:  Don?t Leave Home Without?em

 

 

This is the story of having a misfortunate situation turned to gold! I was
preparing for a vacation/gigging holiday a month in the Caribbean and the
States. I had stayed up all night packing clothes, snorkel and fins, and the
equipment I would travel with in order to play.  Normally, when I gig I play
a Sonny Jr. ?Avenger? with a loaded pedal board, guitar modeler, and 8 to 10
mics. Not to mention the arsenal of harps that I tote. To travel I cut it
down to a Harp Commander, T-REX ?Roommate? reverb pedal, and two mics, and
of course the complete arsenal of harps, cables and obligatory harp gadgets.
(Plus a mini practice amp) My neighbor comes to pick us up to go to the
airport. I check to make sure I have my tickets, passport, and credit card
(the most important item for international travel these days).

I get to the airport check-in my luggage and have to go through security
something I love to do to see the faces of the folks working security. But,
at Findel Airport in Luxembourg they know me and have seen my gear often and
they just had all the harp players traveling in and out of Luxembourg for
the annual Luxembourg Blues?N Jazz Rallye (And, Rallye is really how they
spell it!) so no one is put off by all my gear, but they check anyway like
all good security folks should. And, suddenly I discover that the two mics
that I have selected to make the journey are not in my case. Panic!
Invectives fill the air! My wife trying to calm me down and the really nice
security guy says the painful phrase ?I hope you don?t have any concerts
when you arrive?? and now I?m weak kneed and almost ill.  No time to go back
home? I go into overdrive and think through the madness. I need a mic, but
not just any mic. I had whittled it down to a stick mic a SM545 and a hot
Turner Bullet which I knew I would not be able to find in any airport shop.
But, I?m flying into Charlotte, North Carolina and suddenly an idea flashes
through my head. Chuck Gurney, Fat Bottom Mics is in North Carolina! The
Turner I was going to bring with me had an element which Sonny Jr. got from
Chuck a ?Black Label? so now it all starts to make sense. I don?t have
Chuck?s info, so I?ll call Gary Onifrio, Sonny Jr. and get the phone number.
But, its 9:00 a.m. our time which was 3:00 a.m. EST in the U.S. which makes
me hesitate for a moment. ?He who hesitates is lost? is factual, now we must
board the plane for our first destination, Munich. When we arrived another
level of panic hits me and I realize we only have a short time before we
board the final plane to the U.S. and were walking to get in line for that
flight. My wife has a Blackberry so I call Sonny but, now it?s almost 11:00
a.m. and 5:00 a.m. on the East Coast. I call and talk to his answering
machine and give all the info. But, not satisfied I push on and the panic
stricken conversation I had with the answering machine sparks another
passenger in line to help and he and my wife search diligently for Fat
Bottom Mics, we see the site I even identify my mics that Chuck had made or
customized for me to the man helping, but I need a phone number. So, they
continue the Blackberry/I-phone search and come up with Chuck?s telephone
number. I call and wake him up, explain my situation which he calmly
handles. He asks all the right questions and says that he normally does not
have any stock mics around because he builds or customizes mics to
specifics. 

He pauses and says what time will I arrive? 3:30 p.m. your time I said. And,
he says he?ll make me a mic. Wow! The ingredients were a SM520 shell, the
hottest Black Label he had, ¼? adaptor because I use guitar cables and I say
no to a volume control because naturally I have an inline volume control in
my case and I don?t want to be a choosey beggar and cause any additional
time drain. And, as I am talking and walking we are boarding the plane and
we get in the tunnel headed to the plane and the connection is broken. But,
I?ve basically done it all. Now, the long flight and I think man I should
have gotten the volume control because Chuck?s volume controls are
calibrated and click in your fingers as you turn the mic up or down. You
don?t have to look you can feel or count the clicks. So, when we arrive I
call him immediately, and sheepishly ask for the volume control which he
says he can do but the timing is now going to be off for me to rent a car
and go pick up my savior mic. But, once again Chuck sensing the urgency and
my confusion says he will install the volume control and deliver the mic to
me at our hotel. 

Well, needles to say, it was a meeting of much anticipation for us both. It
was a wonderful time and the mic was gorgeous! He had added a screen under
the grill of the mic which was the first time I had seen one. We ate dinner
and discussed the meaning of life and he returned back the hour and a half
ride home to Ellenboro, North Carolina. My wife summed it up beautifully
?You paid for the mic, the volume control, dinner, and a bit of gas money,
but it was impossible to pay for the savior service, the quality, or the
meeting which had us laughing like crazy, telling stories, taking pictures,
talking about personal stuff and enjoying the amazing time with the ultimate
element expert-technician, mic builder, and now good friend.?

Don?t practice this at home and don?t leave home without?em. Obviously, he
sensed the urgency and knew that a mic like the one he made could never be
purchased in a local music shop and that I was playing immediately and
leaving the next day for the Caribbean. The mic ends up being a tremendous
addition to my collection of mics. Being a past customer certainly helped,
but Chuck Gurney is a very intelligent, professional, and caring person. His
work is exceptional and he is the guy that can fix elements when they are
damaged and need to be repaired.

This mic is now the 4th mic that he has built or customized for me and they
are all excellent mics. But, this mic is special because it saved my butt,
gave me a chance to actually meet the man, and the mic turns out to be
explosive! Chuck?s service is quick, cost effective, and beyond
expectations. I use only top flight equipment from the top flight experts. I
hope this helps or gives anybody looking for quality work on their mics or
getting one built that they get a quality man when you enlist in the
services of Fat Bottom Mics and Chuck Gurney. Check out the website
www.fatbottom-mics.com <http://www.fatbottom-mics.com/>   look at ?Past Mic
Builds?. Number 60 and 66 are two of the bombs he refitted for me. The Blues
Blaster has one of the hottest CR elements on earth loaded in it! And, the
element in the SM520 is pretty nasty, as well. But, my new mic ?The Savior?
SM520 with the screen under the grill is another tone monster and it had
lots of folks asking about it in my last months travels. Thanks Chuck! You
the Man! And, I?m safely home in Luxembourg again!

 

Ron ?Rockin? Ronny? Tuffel

 




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