Check this out: The G-Rig

New from Front & Center Microphones.

Sitting in with Bad Brad & The Fat Cats

I'm playing my Mission Chicago 32-20 amp. This was a very fun set.

Delta Sonics at Clark Family Benefit

Nic Clark shows us how it's done

Fantastic tone, phrasing, and discipline.

Nic Clark playing his Fender Bantam amp

A Few Good Harp Amps

This was the harp amp lineup at the Little Walter Tribute show in Denver last Saturday. L to R:

-My Fender '59 Bassman Reissue

-Dan Solem's Sonny Jr 410

-Dan Treanor's Fender Super Reverb Reissue

-Kirk Vriesman's 1960 Gibson GA-40

Which one sounded the best, you ask? The Gibson.

BTW, that's my harp kit in the foreground...

Dan Solem playing a Sonny Jr 410 amp

Southside Dan Solem at the Little Walter Tribute Show in Denver CO, Jan 7 2012.

New Pedal Lineup

With my ’59 Bassman RI amp I’ve gone back to using a few pedals. Here’s what I have now:

Boss EQ7 – I use this only when I have a feedback issue. I prefer the tone without it.

MXR Carbon Copy Delay -- My guitar player bought a new TC Electronics Flashback delay (that thing seriously rocks) so I bought his MXR pedal. So far I’m just using it for single echo slap back, with the settings you see in the photo. It sounds good, really warm.

Line6 Relay G30 wireless receiver – I gave my old Line6 wireless to my girlfriend’s son. (He plays in a very good band in Phoenix.) Having been so happy with it I replaced it with a new Line6 digital wireless. Fantastic sound and performance. It is noiseless and simple. It has no companders like the analog wireless units (Samson, etc), so the sound is uncompressed and natural. It sounds exactly like a cable.

About the TC Electronics delay pedal… I haven’ tried it, but I am greatly impressed with the tone my guitar player gets with it. It is greasy wet without being splashy. Way different than he sounded with the MXR.

New from Mission Amps

Bruce Collins at Mission Amps is now shipping some notable new harp amps. They follow the same design philosophy used in my Mission Chicago 32-20 amp (pictured above), but with a few mods.

First of all, the chassis is bigger which allows for beefier 50-watt transformers. The new amps run with slightly higher plate voltages and produce an honest 50 watts of power at clipping.

The amp shipping now is a 3x10 configuration with a Weber 10A125-O speaker on top, an Eminence Lil’ Buddy hemp cone ceramic on the bottom along with a Quam ceramic speaker. I’m told the tone is stunning.

I have not had the chance to play this amp, but I have heard from new owners after they take delivery and gig it. They use superlatives to describe its tone and performance. Here’s a quote:

“The amp is the best and coolest sounding amp I have ever played and I currently have and have had sonny jr's, Harpgear, Clark, Magnatone, Premier's, Hurricane, and some others. They're just not in the same category as this amp!!”

Bruce is shipping the 3x10 and is taking orders on 1x15, 4x10, and 10+12. One well-known pro harp player has ordered a 4x8.

I’ll road-test the amp as soon as I can and review it here. You can contact Bruce at Mission Amps.

Little Walter Tribute Show