Stage Right 15 watt with a Bulletini (Harley Benton rebadge the Stage Right, as there own).
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Well, I’m new to harmonica but I have used an Epiphone Valve jr as my guitar amp for 15 years and apparently it would be a good harp amp (according to the internet) - they’re not made as Epiphone anymore but I think the cheap 5 watt tube amps are all more or less that circuit.
With the budget you’ve got, I’d go for tubes - I don’t know quite how the harp signal interacts with the amp compared to a guitar but I love the way tubes give that touch and expression in response. I usually play at “hard clean” kind of gain, just before the break up but with the tubes working.
and it may be worth moving some of the budget to pedals (get a pre-amp and EQ perhaps a drive pedal)
(Sorry gone a bit guitar player rambling on about tubes there, forgive me)
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Here’s my own home-made gigging amp.
HARPSOLO
6J5-6SN7-6V6
Jensen P10R and C10R speakers
Shure controlled magnetic microphone
I have lots of extra parts if anyone wants one.
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Thanks! It took a long time, but I finally figured out where that sound comes from.
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If you do busking may I suggest a good a battery powered one?
Rob - Welcome! Great sound from your amp. It helps that a player with pretty nice tone and chops is behind the mic. How many watts?
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Thanks!
It’s about 5 watts, more or less. I’ve never measured it electronically. My band maintains a pretty reasonable volume level, so it’s plenty for playing at bars. If I ever need more volume I put a microphone in front of it and run it through the PA.
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I just finished building a harp amp for the guitar player in our band. We were recording on the day I brought it along to give it to him, so I went ahead and tried it out on the recording. This amp is about 3 watts, with a circuit very similar to the one in the clip I posted above. It’s in a 1x12 cabinet, with a Shure controlled magnetic microphone.
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Smooth vocals too.
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Is there a mic that is specifically designed for free reed instruments like accordion, concertina, or in our case harmonica?
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You talking clean? This one’s pricey but nice:
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That is going to be quite an investment. But I’m sure you get what you pay for.
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Depends on your ear and your budget. It’s a subtle difference. But that subtle difference means a lot to your truly.
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Hundred percent agree with you Mr. Luke, the difference in quality will be barely noticeable, especially if the amps came from good brands, however people with long back ground in sound systems can tell it instantly. I think the audience should also be considered.
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How did your amp choices went?
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Went with the harp gear double trouble. Actually made by Valve Train Amplification,
Sanford, Florida. Was disappointed to hear about Jason Ricci’s harp gear amp shittin the bed while on tour. So it goes -
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That’s sad to hear, there’s little to rival the disappointment when your gear breaks down in the middle of a tour. Specially when shops are exceedingly hard to find in the area.
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WOW @Haskoni thank you so much for coming back and posting this. The amp looks amazing!!!
The specs and the artists who are using it are compelling enough that it has just been added to my wish list.
Seems like a harp player’s dream!
Hey tours wreak havoc on amps and will require them to need servicing. I’ve been using a 1972 20W Marshall PA head for 14 years - wouldn’t sell it for the world - and I have to get new tubes for it twice, and re-solder speaker wire on the cab once (and the cab is desperately in need of new grill.) Never fun to have an amp crap out on a gig. But it happens, and it doesn’t mean there’s anything wrong with quality of the amp.
So do you have it? Have you been using it? Keep us posted…
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It’s understandable that gear might need some TLC after years of hard use, but that doesn’t necessarily reflect on the quality of the amp itself.
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