From: Michael Will Date: Mon, 23 Sep 1996 14:59:44 -0700 Subject: Random Thoughts from the MasterClass
Hopefully I'll organize an informative writeup on David Barrett's 2nd Annual Harmonica MasterClass. But before I do....
I handed out 30-40 flyers telling folks how to subscribe to Harp-L, so we may get an infusion of need blood. Hugh for president!
A couple of "contrary to popular belief" things.
o Paul DeLay thinks people cup their mics too tight. He messes a LOT with his mic, moving it in and out, cupping and not, and fiddles constantly with the volume control. He claims to like the thinner, higher pitch harp sounds, and thinks people have too much bass emphasis.
o Rod Piazza talked about getting vibrato from the diaphram rather than the throat. He also mentioned getting "pulled muscle" type feelings down there that he eventually figured were due to harpin'.
Counterpoint: everyone else besides Rod emphasized throat vibrato.
Rod announced that he'll be selling an amp called the "Harp King" in about February. Designed for harp, not guitar, it has the famous "Rod Mod" incorporated, feedback reduction circuitry, six (6!) 10" speakers, and 100 watts. He plans to use 2 at a time... Rod says he likes to hear himself through his amp, and not the monitor since the monitor sounds different. No sense adjusting your play to the wrong sound.. He says it'll sell for around $1000 to $1200. He's dragging a prototype/test version around with him that allows him to mess with various settings. The tech's are keeping track of where he puts his settings, and they'll analyze things and then "hardcode" the amp based on Rod's most used settings. It'll have one channel, volume, and tone controls only.
He sells his mic too, which is like an Astatic but modified. Hohner wanted his mods to use for their Blues Blaster mic. Rod tells the story.. Anyway, he asked if they were going to put his name on it. They said No. And the Blues Blaster doesn't have his mod.. He sells his mic's for about $150. One cool idea in his mics is the placement of the volume control. It is situated so that you can adjust it with your palm without losing your cup. You don't have to take your hand away from the mic.
It's alot of fun having guys like Rod Piazza, Paul DeLay, and Mark Hummel just hanging around, mixing and talking with folks. Rod brought Ms Honey (his wife and band's piano player), and she just hung around and socialized. Quite charming.
One more thing about mic's. There was a guy there who makes and sells custom mics made out of beautiful hardwoods. He had examples in various sizes, basically bullet shaped. There were indentations in the mic body to make them easier to hold. The volume control is a ring around the base of the mic. Looked like you might be able to adjust it with your finger while still cupping the mic. No, I had a brain ceisure and forget to grab a card, so I don't have any contact info. Maybe someone else who was there does.
