Microphone Choices:

SOUND & WORKABILITY-AT HAND & UNDERFOOT...At The Harmonica Microphone Bench

So, you're looking for MORE? You want THE BIG SOUND? This isn't some sleazy Internet spam/ad. Just the desire for simple harmonica wish-fulfillment. I should also ask: You want that TO GO? In a SMALL BOX? After cruising through the lands where reverb and slap-back echo were born, the HARPMOBILE has pulled up to the drive-thru window of the Big Sound Diner, situated at the corners of Here and Now BLVD. in Stompbox City. Since we've been looking at the pioneering effects utilized by and with microphones and the gear we've been plugging our mics into ever since, I figured it was time to look at the small-scale take-out menu... WOW! There have never been so many shiny trinkets vying for our attention (and our pocketbooks), offering sonic potions with which to thrill our senses and mesmerize the audience. BUT… Which show beneficial promise and which may prove toxic if taken microphonically?

There are several branches on the STOMPBOX FAMILY TREE. Some branches contain pedals that truly do generate audio "effects." That is, they are modifiers of the introduced signal: Phasers, Flandgers, Wah-Wahs, Ring Modulators, Octave & Harmonic Dividers, and Envelope Followers all change the sonic character of the signal that's run through them by adding audible components that weren't in the initial signal. There are those who would call these units "gimmicks," or their use "doctoring your sound." I won't be so hasty. We'll assess their prime candidates later… Another branch of the STOMPBOX FAMILY TREE has pedals that alter sound by expansion. That is, they increase the initial signal quite literally by amplifying, or increasing its level (or gain) prior to its entering the amplifier. Op-amps and other "Line Amps" would be found on this branch. Examples would include the MXR Micro-Amp. It has a single knob for level and an on-off button. A similar DOD unit has an overall tone knob added. There's also a vintage BOSS unit that has controls for level, bass, and treble; and a bass roll-off switch. Their typical application would be to raise the output level of a guitar with comparatively weak pick-ups (Fender, Danelectro, etc.) to match that of a guitar with significantly stronger pick-ups (Gibson Humbuckers, PRS, etc.). "The Edge" of U2 has used the vintage BOSS unit to tweak his guitar's signal. While these units are capable of "boosting" the signal that's passed through them, they shouldn't be confused with Distortion Boxes or Fuzztones (yet another branch of the tree we'll examine) since their job is to magnify the signal, not mutate the sound.

What's this mean for our venerated Tin Sandwich and Lord Microphone? It comes down to workability: In the case of these "Line Amps," they can help achieve an expanded, more saturated signal from a microphone with lighter output that would otherwise rank as a 98 pound weakling out on Audio Beach. Especially when running your mic into tube gear, the initial impact that the mic's signal makes at the amp's input can have a vast effect on the perceived density, tone, and dynamics that you hear coming out of the speakers. Like improving the amp's diet by feeding it a stronger signal, it can mean adding sonic muscle that the amp's volume knobs can't make up for.

THE FUZZY BRANCH OF THE TREE -Next time we visit… THE MICBENCH

YOUR QUESTIONS ANSWERED (Email them to me at HARPMICMAN@earthlink.net)
Next time, on THE MIC BENCH.

For pictures and descriptions of most of the microphones listed visit http://www.harmonicamasterclass.com/vintage_collection.htm