Going Out to Jam with the Zoom G3
I’m traveling to London tonight, and tomorrow (Sunday March 15) I plan to sit in at the Sunday afternoon jam at Ain’t Nothin’ But the Blues. I’m taking a kit that includes 18 diatonic harmonicas–most of the standard Richter tunings in keys from low F…
“Keepers of the Streak” Is Totally Cool, Whether or Not You’re All About Football
As readers of my blog know, just before the end of 2014, I did a couple of recording sessions for an ESPN documentary called “Keepers of the Streak.†To my surprise, the show, which I watched last night from start to finish, turned out to…
Video of the Day 10 January 2015: Marcos Coll and Reyharp Naufal
RP355 or RP360XP?
With the new possibility that Digitech will retire the RP355, it’s important to ask again whether it’s better to get an RP355 or an RP360XP. Here’s my current thinking on the topic.
Is Digitech Phasing Out the RP355?
I noticed something interesting in the last few days. First, the price of new Digitech RP255s has dropped to about $100. That’s a pretty good deal on a pretty capable device. Second, RP355s are listed as discontinued at Sweetwater, Musicians Friend, etc. etc. Put it…
Why We Make Big Cool Sounds for Harp Players: History is On Our Side
There was a recent discussion on Harp-L of FX, which I found revealing of all sorts of things. It’s chronicled here, and be warned: gotta lotta words. (The boldface emphases I put on certain lines in that discussion were added by me, and were not…
Digitech RP360XP or RP500? Here’s how I make up my mind
I published most of this post in a response to a question posted in the comments here. I figured that it was worth publishing as a post in its own right. So here are a half dozen things I think about when I’m choosing between…
Comparing the Zoom G3 to the Digitech RP
As I work on patches for the Zoom G3 (now in version 2; see our Zoom G3 page), I’m constantly comparing what I hear to the sounds I get from my Digitech RP355. In fact, I have the two boxes side by side on the…
Gear Review: Tech 21 Blonde v2 Fender Amp Modeling Pedal
The Tech 21 Blonde (v2 in this case) is a stompbox amp modeling pedal designed to emulate a range of Fender amps, a role that it fills very well. It’s one of a series of “Character” pedals from Tech 21, whose experience building analog amp…
Gear Review: Three mics to do it all
Different mics produce very different sounds, as the samples here show, and no mic by itself can do the best possible job on everything that a harmonica player might want to play. But a harmonica player can cover an amazing range of material and performance…
