Hey Luke, how come over $300 for the "J-45" (really a JT-30)? Some kind of rare version? I would only pay that if it had a $250 element inside, but then I'd probably pay only $150 for the $250 element.
Hey Luke. I just bought the Harp Blaster but i cant get a signal. I have a 1/4" short cord to XLR and then XLR to mic. I get nothing. But when i plug in my Shure vocal mic with same set up it works just fine. Also direnct XLR mic jack to XLR to the mic and it works with my acoustic amp. I was told that i need a 1/4" to XLR stereo adapter
Hey Nate - you turned the volume knob up right??? 🤣 As you can see I'm using an impedance transformer (XLR to 1/4") into a headphone extender (1/4" female to 1/4" male) but I've been told by a viewer that I'd get a better result with just an XLR to 1/4" cable.
Poor comparison, from a technical standpoint... Need an amp with combo XLR/TRS connectors and do a direct wired A/B test. The trio of adapters used with the HB52 most assuredly affected the end result
I own half a dozen amps, but none of them have XLR in. How would you recommend plugging the HB-52 into a quarter inch jack? Just with an XLR female to 1/4" male plug?
@@Harmonicacom yessir. Better that way than with an adapter. The more connections the more chance for signal degradation. They sell cables like that pretty cheap
@@Harmonicacom They make the xlr to 1/4 transformer adapters. Try one of those. It will totally fix the issue. :-) Ahh I gotta go look at mine and I will post what it is.
There's no shortage of videos for harmonica mics taylored for blues tones... and thats cool when Im in a blues mood. Some days, I really feel it. But what about us country crossharpers who want really warm/clean tones? As of now, when playing live, I just use an sm58. The round ball is comfortable to cup. Problem is, that cupping the mic means Im getting close proximity effects.... but because its also my main vocal mic, it also means that my soundman has to stay alert when I swap back and forth. But hes ok with that, because he says cupping the mic gives me a better tone. Why not use 2 mics? Because I only have 1 channel available to me from the house. My only resolve is using a 3 channel (passive) mixer with xlr/line level combo jacks. Now I can have my sm58 vocal mic on the left, my harmonica mic in the middle, and line outs from my guitar pedalboard on the right. As for studio, I bought an mxlr80 ribbon mic for it. I haven't tried it yet on harp, but its insufficient as a center mounted drum overhead because the polar pattern is too narrow for capturing wide spectrum audio. So I really hope its good for SOMETHING.
@@faethe000 Hi. I've been asking our local music stores to get one in to demo. They keep pushing the Astatic to me because "All the locals use the Astatic". It gets so old trying to make them understand that I'm a country player. I guess I'm gonna have to just take a chance, and buy the fireball online. Thanks for helping me decide to just go for it. So much for buying local I guess.
I'm curious how much the cable and converter played a role. Would there be a difference with the HB with a good unbalanced XLR Female to 1/4" to the HB with the converter and headphone cable?
Nah. I'd bet it's 6 in one hand half a dozen in the other. A "hotter" mic is not necessarily a better mic tho in my opinion. Maybe it can overdrive the amp a bit more, but on the flip side may be more prone to unwanted feedback. Just turn up the amp to compensate. And the volume knob is awesome.
I got my sE HB52 when it was at an introductory price of $139 US. The Astatic must be ridiculously hot, cause I keep my HB at 2 or 3 on the volume knob. It’s hotter than the Bulletini. Hohner got smart this time - they did not design or build this harp. They contracted with sE Electronics to do it. sE made its mark with the V7 mic, which has become the go-to mic for so many tours and live perfs, over the sm58.
Hey Nicola - yeah that's a fan-fricken-tastic mic for studio and stage. It's made by a company called Ear Trumpet Labs. The model I have is called the Edwina.
Nice, Luke! I have the Harp Blaster. Love it!
Nice!
Great, what amp are you using?
Glad you liked. This is a 5W Blackheart Amp, and it's going into a Crate cab that has four 4" speakers.
Hey Luke, how come over $300 for the "J-45" (really a JT-30)? Some kind of rare version? I would only pay that if it had a $250 element inside, but then I'd probably pay only $150 for the $250 element.
Hey yeah it's a JT-30, lol. Yes I bought it with a vintage crystal element inside. Exactly. Sorry for the wrong model number, lol.
Hey Luke. I just bought the Harp Blaster but i cant get a signal. I have a 1/4" short cord to XLR and then XLR to mic. I get nothing. But when i plug in my Shure vocal mic with same set up it works just fine. Also direnct XLR mic jack to XLR to the mic and it works with my acoustic amp. I was told that i need a 1/4" to XLR stereo adapter
Hey Nate - you turned the volume knob up right??? 🤣 As you can see I'm using an impedance transformer (XLR to 1/4") into a headphone extender (1/4" female to 1/4" male) but I've been told by a viewer that I'd get a better result with just an XLR to 1/4" cable.
@Harmonicacom yes. I've tried alot of.things.
@Harmonicacom so I figured out what to do. I used a 1/4 in impedance Transformer. Now it works great.
Poor comparison, from a technical standpoint... Need an amp with combo XLR/TRS connectors and do a direct wired A/B test. The trio of adapters used with the HB52 most assuredly affected the end result
I own half a dozen amps, but none of them have XLR in. How would you recommend plugging the HB-52 into a quarter inch jack? Just with an XLR female to 1/4" male plug?
@@Harmonicacom yessir. Better that way than with an adapter. The more connections the more chance for signal degradation. They sell cables like that pretty cheap
@@Harmonicacom They make the xlr to 1/4 transformer adapters. Try one of those. It will totally fix the issue. :-) Ahh I gotta go look at mine and I will post what it is.
There's no shortage of videos for harmonica mics taylored for blues tones... and thats cool when Im in a blues mood. Some days, I really feel it.
But what about us country crossharpers who want really warm/clean tones?
As of now, when playing live, I just use an sm58. The round ball is comfortable to cup.
Problem is, that cupping the mic means Im getting close proximity effects.... but because its also my main vocal mic, it also means that my soundman has to stay alert when I swap back and forth.
But hes ok with that, because he says cupping the mic gives me a better tone.
Why not use 2 mics? Because I only have 1 channel available to me from the house.
My only resolve is using a 3 channel (passive) mixer with xlr/line level combo jacks.
Now I can have my sm58 vocal mic on the left, my harmonica mic in the middle, and line outs from my guitar pedalboard on the right.
As for studio, I bought an mxlr80 ribbon mic for it. I haven't tried it yet on harp, but its insufficient as a center mounted drum overhead because the polar pattern is too narrow for capturing wide spectrum audio. So I really hope its good for SOMETHING.
Check out the Audix Fireball. It's a really great clean mic for folk and country.
@@faethe000 Hi. I've been asking our local music stores to get one in to demo.
They keep pushing the Astatic to me because "All the locals use the Astatic". It gets so old trying to make them understand that I'm a country player.
I guess I'm gonna have to just take a chance, and buy the fireball online.
Thanks for helping me decide to just go for it. So much for buying local I guess.
Cool. Yeah 58 is great for country and your solution makes sense. I think a ribbon mic is a great choice for a harmonica in the studio!
Yeah, I'd like to check one of those out!
Well they can't say you didn't try! Hope you love the fireball!
I'm curious how much the cable and converter played a role. Would there be a difference with the HB with a good unbalanced XLR Female to 1/4" to the HB with the converter and headphone cable?
Nah. I'd bet it's 6 in one hand half a dozen in the other. A "hotter" mic is not necessarily a better mic tho in my opinion. Maybe it can overdrive the amp a bit more, but on the flip side may be more prone to unwanted feedback. Just turn up the amp to compensate. And the volume knob is awesome.
Wow! Thank you Luke 🌠💫🖖🏾
You are so welcome
With the Hohner you don´t need a transformer because it has a 47kilo- ohm output! please try again with the right cable XLR to 6,3 jack. Greetings.
I got my sE HB52 when it was at an introductory price of $139 US. The Astatic must be ridiculously hot, cause I keep my HB at 2 or 3 on the volume knob. It’s hotter than the Bulletini.
Hohner got smart this time - they did not design or build this harp. They contracted with sE Electronics to do it.
sE made its mark with the V7 mic, which has become the go-to mic for so many tours and live perfs, over the sm58.
Oh wow I did not know that. Yeah I just used a couple V7's on snare drum in the studio this week. Very fat sound. That was smart of Hohner!
hi man, what about your microphone you use in studio?
Hey Nicola - yeah that's a fan-fricken-tastic mic for studio and stage. It's made by a company called Ear Trumpet Labs. The model I have is called the Edwina.
Would be great to compare Shure 520DX Green Bullet against these two!
Yeah, that'd be cool. I haven't owned one in years. I was never a big fan of them.
You don't compare them right, they are clearly different gain microphones so you should match it 😉
I did try to gain match them.
You are great sir.
Thanks Santosh!
great !