bullet

And now for the fourth point of the 4-Point hold...

The webbing of skin between your thumb and forefinger creates a nice backstop for the left side of the harmonica. The location of where you place the corner of the harmonica depends on the size and shape of your left hand, but the general ideas is simple... allow a little bit of the rear, left-hand corner of the harmonica settle into that area at some point so that it prevents the harmonica from sliding away from your mouth as you play. continue reading...

It was a good day when Shure came out with this Discontinued Microphones PDF listing years ago http://www.shure.com/americas/support/user-guides/discontinued-products/.... This made it easy to find which microphones had good elements, but were cheap due to their awkward size or lack of cool art deco styling.

Yesterday I shared some reasons of why I don't like volume controls. Here are some reasons why a volume control can be good...

1) Set your volume control to 10, and the amp as loud as it can go just before feedback. Now drop your volume on the mic to 8. This 8 will be your normal volume, even for solos (remember to play softly as your normal playing volume... you want to have dynamic range so that you can play louder for your solo). If the band gets too excited and plays too loudly, then you know you have two more notches on your volume to get louder. continue reading...

Why I don't like about volume controls...

1) The harmonica is a wind instrument... you control your volume with how much you breath through the instrument. Why do you need a volume control to control something that's part of the nature of the instrument? continue reading...

Once you've dialed in your amp to sound great for performance, turn the treble and mid up half a number. The tone we prefer is often too bassy and lacks the cut needed to be heard in performance. By bringing your treble and mid up half a number it provides a boost in the frequencies that make our sound more intelligible without sacrificing too much of the bassy tone we dig.

I often get asked where to purchase replacement tubes for an amp. Here you go: https://tubedepot.com
Thanks to Mark Overman for sharing this website with me many years ago.

The next time you're at your local hardware store take a stole down the fence supplies isle and grab a chain link fence cap. The most common size is 2-3/8", which is the same size as our bullet microphones. This is the inside diameter measurement, so it will feel a tad large, but it's pretty darn close. This is a great bullet mic analog for those wishing to get used to holding a bullet microphone before they make the investment for a real one. You can also play into it like a cup, creating cool, cavernous Wa Wa and Hand Tremolo effects. Not a bad tool, and under $1! continue reading...

We work very hard as blues harmonica players to develop an air-tight cup to achieve a dark and bassy tone. A common issue though with an overly tight cup is a sound, that when placed into context with a band, is often too dark and muted. The next time you perform live or record in the studio, try relaxing your hands a tad to allow just a little bit of your cup to leak. You'll still achieve good volume, tone and bass, but some of the muted nature of your cup will decrease and the higher frequencies responsible for making your playing cut through and be heard better are increased.

Most bullet mics are between 2-1/4" and 2-1/2" in diameter (the round holes in harp cases are 2-1/2"). Many of the cups and glasses in your house are this diameter, including standard 16oz water bottles. If you're new to playing a bullet mic, time spent with it in your hands is needed to gain a comfort level. You can of course play with the mic plugged into your amp, or unplugged (with cable disconnected if it's detachable) or even a household cup to create a mic analog. Either way, you're getting used to having that bullet shape be part of your harmonica hold.

Fellow student SmokeJS has the following tip for you. The special mic he refers to is the bullet mic I had made for teaching mic cupping technique that has a halogen bulb in place of a mic cartridge.

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