The Sonny Boy Amp

Suitcase amps for guitar and blues harp are not new. Back in the golden age of Chicago Blues there were a few examples of cool amps like this. The new Sonny Boy amp made by Chris Null here in Denver is not a toy, nor is it a nostalgic trinket. The Sonny Boy amp is the real deal with some mojo goin’ on.

Inside, the Sonny Boy amp is hand wired, point-to-point, with good quality components. The tubes are JJ Tesla, the speaker is an 8-inch Jensen. The circuit is a clone of a tweed Champ, creating about 5 watts of barky tone into a 4 ohm load.

The exterior is excellent quality. In these pictures I’ve placed my Fender Mississippi Saxophone case next to the Sonny Boy for reference. They appear to be exactly the same, perhaps built by the same manufacturer. The amp case is sturdy and very cool. The tweed on the case is not lacquered, a look I actually prefer.

How does it sound? In a word, Great! It’s a Champ clone, baby… If you like the sound of blues harp through a Champ (as I do) you’re gonna love the Sonny Boy. Click here for a brief sound clip.

In the sound clip I’m playing the amp in Chris’ store, Gravity Music Gear, just as you see it in these pictures. I recorded it with a Zoom H4, playing a stock Hohner Special 20 harp through my bullet mic with a Shure CM element.

The speaker in the amp I played was a Jensen Mod, which sounded surprisingly good but just a tad bright. I suggested to Chris that harp players might prefer the smooth-coned Weber Signature ceramic 8, and he agreed to offer that option. The amp had a JJ Tesla ECC81 preamp tube, a 12AT7 variant, and it sounded good. I don’t generally care for the AT7 as a preamp tube, but it was a good match in the Sonny Boy. It was not peaky or shrill or overly prone to feedback.

While playing I did not hear any noise or buzzing from the hardware on the amp, such as the handle or clasps.

This amp is cool. In looks and tone it is pure vintage. You can wow ‘em with the look and style of this amp without sacrificing tone. And get this… The price point for the Sonny Boy amp is less than $600.00.

Here is the website for Blues Luggage, the maker of the Sonny Boy Amp.

Pedal Board Redux

At our gig last night at the Little Bear Saloon up in Evergreen, CO, I tried out my latest minimal pedal board. Yep, I've gone 'round and 'round on the whole pedal thing and now I'm back in the effects camp.

As you can see from the picture, I'm using only the Boss GE7 EQ pedal and the cool little Delta Lab digital delay pedal. (BTW, it's made by Texas Instruments.) I use the settings as you see them: A slight bump to the mids and a very slight cut to the extreme lows and highs on the EQ pedal, and a small slap-back on the delay. I thought it sounded great. So did my bandmates and the sound tech at the venue.

The pedals are in the inexpensive Boss BCB-30 pedal board; very convenient. The top snaps on and it folds up like a briefcase.


Pedal Board Update: I added a Line 6 X2 wireless rig:

The guitar player in Roadhouse Joe (Scott Mishoe) and I have been thinking about going wireless so we went to Guitar Center and tried out the little Line 6 X2. I was interested in it for a couple of reasons:

-Moderate cost ($199 but we cut a deal for buying two)
-Small size receiver fits in my bedal board
-It operates above 900mhz, so the new FCC bandwidth won't interfere.

So far it is performing as advertised: No drop-outs or static at all. When I A-B'ed it against a cable I could not hear any difference. It gets all the grit and overtones from my bullet mic. I can play from any room in my house. (It's raining outside so I didn't try that.) I'll thrash it out at band practice tomorrow and see how it does.

At the gig at Little Bear last week I stepped on my cable twice and unplugged my mic, so I'm really looking forward to being unleashed!

A Fun Gig Last Night - Dueling Harps!

The Roadhouse Joe band played a club in Golden CO last night, and we had a guest singer for the first set. Our regular singer had to arrive late, so we invited A.C. -- a guy who fronts another local blues band -- to sit in.

He's also a fine harp player. He builds and plays what he calls a Diminished harp. Here's how he described it to me in an email:

The Diminished harp I use now is made from the Marine Band 12 Hole Soloist (the 364). The Diminished tuning I use starts with C (same C as the first hole of a regular C harp). The layout is below (first column are blow notes, second are draw notes): I'm not sure if you can call the positions the same on it as on a regular diatonic. The idea behind the tuning is that the draw notes are two half notes above the blow notes so you can bend each draw note a half, and each blow note is a half a step above the previous draw note = you get a chromatic scale using regular bends. All patterns repeat each other so learning the three patterns (blow pattern, bend pattern and draw pattern) allows you to play all twelve keys with a single harp. Intonation is a bitch - I struggle with that but forcing myself to do it :)

1 C, D
2 Eb,F
3 F#,G#
4 A, B
5 C, D
6 Eb,F
7 F#,G#
8 A, B
9 C, D
10 Eb,F
11 F#,G#
12 A, B

I think Dan Treanor uses a similar harp. A.C. sounded great and the contrast between his cool chromatic-ish playing and my second position honking is kind of cool. Here's a clip recorded with a Zoom H4 laying on one of the tables.

http://www.roadhousejoe.com/files/07-tore-down.mp3

AC is playing through an EV RE-10 mic with the Greg Heumann inline volume control into a stock Fender Bassman reissue wth 4 alnico Blue speakers. His RI Bassman is an early model, I think from 1989; pretty beat up and cool looking. It has that fat Bassman tone.

I'm playing my bullet mic with Shure CM (also from Greg Heumann!) into the 5F2H harp amp, my usual gig rig. Both amps are mic'ed into the PA system.

It was a very fun show. A.C. plays with the band Mojambus. Catch one of his shows if you can... The dude is a blues hound.

Roadhouse Joe shows coming up

Mar 26 2009 -- 9:00P Hiccups 2 Sports Bar & Grill Thornton, Colorado
Apr 2 2009 -- 9:00P Buffalo Rose Golden, Colorado
Apr 14 2009 -- 8:00P Little Bear Saloon Evergreen, Colorado
May 9 2009 -- 9:00P Zephyr Bar & Grill Aurora, Colorado
May 20 2009 -- 7:30P Herman’s Hideaway Denver, Colorado
Jun 20 2009 -- 9:00P Zephyr Bar & Grill Aurora, Colorado
Jun 27 2009 -- 4:00P MS 150 Bike Ride Fort Collins, Colorado

More info at Roadhouse Joe's Myspace site.

DeltaLab DD1 Delay Pedal

I’ve gone back and forth on delay pedals, having decided to go without any effects at all for the last year or so. But now that I’ve hooked up with a gigging band again and I’ve been playing a lot more harp, I’ve started wanting a little delay on some songs. I needed a new delay pedal.

I’ve owned and used lots of different delay pedals, and let me be real honest: A good-sounding digital delay sounds just as good to me as a good-sounding analog delay. It may well be the fault of my ears, but I can’t hear the difference, and neither can anyone in my audience. So for me the decision comes down to price and features.

I was in Guitar Center picking up a mixer I had ordered and was looking at delay pedals. They had just that day gotten in the new DeltaLab DD1 digital delay pedal. The price is $59.99. That right… Sixty bucks for a delay pedal with true bypass and rugged metal construction. I bought one immediately since GC has a 30-day return policy.

The pedal feels solid, and the knobs have a nice smooth, firm feel. I threw away the el cheapo 9-volt battery than came with the pedal (it looked like it was leaking) and installed a new one. I plugged it into my Champ and let ‘er rip with an A harp through a bullet mic.
This pedal sounds very good. I was able to find a really nice short slapback sound right away. (You can see the black dots I marked on the pedal for reference.) The delay tails are not icy or brittle, but have an organic decay that sounds warm. The pedal sounds full and quite lush.

This is a very good delay pedal for not much money. If you believe the hype that only expensive analog pedals are good for blues harp then you better pass on it. But if you trust your own ears, give it a shot.

My Band Pic

Roadhouse Joe is playing at Buffalo Rose in Golden, CO on February 19th.

Champ and 5F2H Amps

Last night I went over to RoadHouse Joe’s bass player’s house to jam and work on some material. He plays killer slide guitar. Anyway, I took along my trusty old 1970 Fender Champ since I hadn’t played it much in the last few months because of the acquisition of the snakeskin 5F2H amp.

Holy Shit! I’d forgotten how really outstanding that amp sounds. After the tubes were nicely warmed up I cranked it up to 8 (which still ain’t very loud) and jammed on a long, greasy vamp with Rob playing slide. Mercy, but that little Champ was singin’!

I was playing a Low F harp into a bullet mic with a Shure CM element. The Champ, as you may recall, has been modified a bit: Weber 10-inch 10A125-O speaker, NOS RCA 6V6 power tube, 5751 preamp tube, Weber Copper Cap 5Y3 rectifier, and the negative feedback loop defeated.

It has a little less dirt than the 5F2H, with a beautiful tearing on the edges of the notes. With the alnico speaker it compresses a bit more than the 5F2H. The snakeskin amp sounds big, mean and edgy (kinda like me) while the Champ is more sedate. The snakeskin amp has more colors in its tone, but the Champ has a gorgeous unity of sound.

I understand why people pay big bucks for boutique amps, but these two little guys are the best-sounding small harp amps I’ve ever heard. They’re not exactly cheap, as I’ve probably spent about $600 getting the Champ right, and a little more on the 5F2H. But they are way cheaper than most boutique amps.

I’m looking into producing and marketing the 5F2H harp amp, with a selling price around $700, assembled and tweaked by the guy who originally designed it. More on that later…

Roadhouse Joe

My new band, Roadhouse Joe, has a couple of new websites up and we've recorded a Demo CD. Check it out:

www.RoadhouseJoe.com

MySpace site

From the initial press release:

Roadhouse Joe is made up of some of Denver’s finest veteran blues players who have joined together to produce a powerful and compelling sound; a burst of roadhouse energy from Chicago to the Mississippi Delta.

Scott Mishoe – guitar. Scott is known for his technical brilliance on guitar, with slashing leads and soulful chops straight out of a juke joint.

Scott “Hunt” Huntington – singer. Hunt is a unique and extremely talented singer, steeped in jazz and blues. His voice is perfect for our music; powerful and nuanced.

Stuart Aron – drums. Stuart is a monster drummer who brings complex rhythms and musical ideas to our band. He thickens our sound with his intricate, in-the-pocket patterns.

Rob Leavitt – bass. Rob is fresh from his stint with an Acid Blues band. He lays down a solid bottom end with outstanding touch and dynamics. He gives our band its punch.

Rick Davis – harp. Rick is a veteran of more than three decades of blues harp work. His style is old-school Chicago, with a soulful howl you will not soon forget.

The result is a smoky, rowdy blues vibe; an honest blues sound that pays homage to the greats like Albert King, BB King, Muddy Waters, and Paul Butterfield.

Al Chesis' Custom Harp Amp

Last week I played at a blues jam hosted by blues harp heavyweight Al Chesis and the Delta Sonics. Al is a monster harp guy, the best in Denver by far, and his harp rig is very cool.

He plays what looks to be an old tweed Bassman clone, but it sounds way better than any Bassman I’ve ever heard. It is actually a custom amp tweaked mostly by my buddy Bruce Collins of Mission Amps.

It’s a Mojo bassman cab with a custom 3x10 baffle. Speakers are two old Weber VST P10Rs on the bottom and a Jensen reissue P10R on top. This amp has some BIG tranny iron: A low-voltage 50-watt PT and 45-watt Super Reverb-sized OT. We are talking HONK, Baby!

Here’s the cool part: Al can run the amp with two 6V6, 6L6, or KT66 power tubes. The night I played it Al was using two 6V6s and a 5Y3 rectifier, making about 14 watts. The tone was warm and dark and fat, like the biggest fucking blackface Fender Princeton you’ve ever hear. It was not gritty, but SMOOOOTH…..

Al plays an old JT-30 crystal mic. He gets incredible tone with this rig, and I liked the way I sounded too. It had plenty of punch to carry the small rowdy club. Feedback was never an issue. But bar fights were. It was a very fun night.

Sorry I don’t have any sound clips; I’ll record the amp later and add links here.

Epiphone Valve Junior Combo Amp

Hi Rick,

My name is Louis, a harp player from Singapore. I've recently made a few sound clips of my valve junior combo on my soundclick site to share with you.

http://www.soundclick.com/bands/default.cfm?bandID=815743

My valve junior is my everyday practice amp. I've changed the preamp tube to a 12DW7 and the power tube to a lower grade EL84. Both tubes were ordered from eurotubes. The 12DW7's lower gain factor faces the mic side while the 100 factor faces the el84. This effectively reduces the mic input gain while maintaining full power at the output. The result was much better clean headroom but still manages to distort nicely when stressed. The recordings were made with a Zoom H2 on low mic gain placed 2 ft away from the amp. On some samples I used an artec parametric eq. I find this quite useful since the valve junior has no built in volume control. I like to use it like a tone control, chopping off the offensive feedback causing high freq then boosting it. I think it sounds pretty good for the chromatic harp.

Please tell me what you think.

Happy New Year,
Louis

Great playing, Louis! The Epi Valve Jr Combo sounds great with that 545 mic. Good playing too; nice tone. I particularly like these two:

Seydel 1847 with Shure 545SD

Hohner Marine Band with Shure 545SD