The Bulletini is a great beefy sounding mic in a small package. I personally find the HB-52 a bit more comfy. I’ve tried using both on gigs with a 5W amp and I ended up liking the HB-52 better because it cut through the mix more and was more comfy in my hands and I like the feel of the volume knob better.
Neither of them are quite as good as my vintage Astatic JT-30 with Japanese crystal element, but for the money they’re both awesome mics. Bulletini is one of the most venerable mics out there. And Greg Heumann is an awesome guy.
I only have the Hog 20. The Hog 30 is not only louder but it has separate bass, midrange and treble knobs while the Hog 20 has only a “tone” knob which means just treble (both have a “Squeal” or distortion knob). This is an important consideration if you have a wide range of mikes. That JT-30 you have with the Japanese crystal element is a good example. The element probably has “Aiwa” stamped into the metal and possible a small sticker that says “Calrad” over that. I have this element and while it has lots of fuzz, it’s very bright with few lows. The Hog 30 is much more capable of adjusting the tone of that element than the Hog 20. I was going to get the Hog 30, then I saw the Stage Right 15 watt tube but ended up getting the Stage Right 50 watt tube. PS: I’m still not sure why you spent $300 on the JT-30, unless it’s some super rare shell that I don’t know about that seems like way too much.
@AstridHandbikebee63 if you are thinking of using an amp with XLR cables you will need to get a transformer to plug into the amp. It changes the mic signal from low impedance to high.
@KeefDeBluesHarpRobot I picked up a HOG 20 sounds great! Though not really much louder than my 5W Blackheart. I have a Strymon reverb pedal with stereo outputs so my last harp gig I sent one output to the Blackheart and one to the Hog 20. I was also using the Jason Ricci mic and Harp Attack pedal I just picked up. Sound was an order of magnitude above anything I’ve acheived in the past. Still need more power though.
WOW! The StageRight 50 only $384! Do you love it? Is it heavy? I picked up the Monoprice 15W 1x12 it sounds pretty OK. Looks gorgeous. Need to spend more time with it.
PS went back and checked and Dennis Gruenling charged me $270 for 1960’s Astatic JT-30 with Japanese crystal element. Shipping to Hawaii was $43.
@robertchartrand2104 Yes I’m searching for amps in the $300 price range so that I can do a shootout.
Glad you like the Hog 20. I have never used the 15 watt Stage Right but the reviews were excellent. Could be like when I first got the 50 watt Stage Right, was not impressed initially but after tweaking the dials quite a bit I got it sounding great for harp (see photo for settings, not how most people would dial 'em), Didn’t like the “Stage Right” name so I changed it slightly, weighs about 45 pounds. Have never seen them priced that low. That’s not a bad price for the JT-30, Dennis is one of the top builders (and players).
Question, have you considered an Orange solid state combo amp? Crush 12, Crush 20, Crush 35? 6, 8, and 10 inch speaker. Three band eq, clean and dirty two channel amp.
Maybe you know this, but it has lead-acid batteries like a car, not lithium like a phone. So don’t ever let the batteries run all the way down as it will probably not work well afterwards. A good policy is to just keep topping it off, whenever you use it just plug it in for awhile and it’ll shut off when done. If it’s sitting unused for several weeks top it off again. This is why you probably shouldn’t buy a used one.
The only thing I consistently see in the same price range that might be able to compete with the 15w monoprice are used Fender Super Champ XD’s and X2’s. They’re a hybrid amp. Seems like I remember the guitar guys being kinda wishy washy about them when they were new.
