Which effect pedal to push my amp?
Hi!
Im new to playing harmonica and have never played amplified before. I got myself a good deal on a Hohner Hoodoo box 5W tube amp and got it home the other day. It sounds pretty good to me, but to make it sound good with a nice distorted sound I need to crank it up quite loudly. The problem is that I live in a flat and can't play it too loudly for obvious reasons.
I got a suggestion to buy a distortion pedal so that my amp will break out in a nice distorted sound even on low volume settings. Do you think this may do the trick? I got the tip to buy either the Lone wolf Harp break pedal or the Lone wolf harp attack pedal. If you think a dist-pedal might do the trick, which one should I get??
-First day beeing a member, this site looks more than promising :)
-Alexander
Thanks for your input.... Life got in the way so I haven´t been active for awhile.
Well anyway I contacted Randy from the Lone Wolf Blues company and he suggested that I should check out his pedal Harp Break. I got one on the way now, so I'll stop back here when I get it and see if it will sort my "problem" out. So people can have this post as a reference, incase someone else wonders about the same thing in the future.
-Alex
Hello Alexander- Thanks for writing and welcome to BH.com! As a vintage-amp guy, your question is a little outside my expertise, but as usual I have plenty of opinions!
First, do some some serious reading right here at "Ask Skip." There are loads of Q&A on topics of interest to beginners including some specific discussion of your amp.
Your amp is one of the very lowest-powered amps available, but no amp is going to get a good distorted tone at super-low volume. I bet if you think about it, even acoustic harp playing could annoy some neighbors in an apartment.
I don't know much about pedals, but I'd say no for now. I've heard Rick Estrin get a great distorted tone standing beside his car in my driveway, so you know that technique is going to play a big part. Remember to have fun and crank that amp up every chance you get. Those neighbors have to leave once in a while!