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From: jfraz~cusd.edu (Harmonica John)
Date: Sat, 7 Feb 1998 12:02:10 -0800
Subject: Namm 98 article for AHN (lonnng)

With a few changes, this is the article I just sent to Phil Lloyd at
American Harmonica Newsmagazine. He will have some pictures available as
well, so watch for the issue with this article.

I am not as quick to report as Winslow (who scooped me), nor is my writing
style as eloquent, but here is my 2 bits, love it or delete it.

BTW, I have more info on most of the products listed, if interested, just
ask and I will respond off list as I get time.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
NAMM 98

Intl. Music Products Assn.

NAMM LA it was billed as, and it was a slightly different animal than the
traditional Anaheim show. The main difference being that the hotels were
spread all over town making it more difficult to pinpoint the after show
parties. There were plenty of parties available, of course, but you
couldn't as easily just hop from one to another as has been my policy in
Anaheim. Of course the show was the real attraction. For those unfamiliar
with the show, this is a trade show designed to attract music store to
carry the products on display. There are also musicians and music industry
attendees. The products on display range from strings, picks, pickups,
drums, HARMONICAS, amps,and mics- to computer software, midi controllers,
music related jewelry, pianos, guitars, Stage lighting, DJ equipment,
didjeri doos, etc. In short, if it has a musical connection, it will be
found in some form at NAMM (IMPA). I will focus on harmonicas , amps and
mics since that is what the readers of this publication care about most.

Harmonicas:

Hohner is answering the call for stainless steel cover plates. Partly
because people like me have been bugging them to for years, but also
because , as I understand the explanation of Rick Epping, European health
laws require them to not use nickel any more due to allergy problems
experienced by a small percentage of the population. At the Hohner booth,
They had famous harmonica players each day playing for appreciative crowds.
The featured artists were Rod Piazza with Miss Honey on Thursday, Jimmy
Wood with his HoB guitarist on Friday, and Tom Ball with Kenny Sultan on
Saturday. At the Hohner booth at various times I ran into Danny Wilson,
Winslow Yerxa, Bobby Giordano and Douglas Tate, and Craig Chaquico
(Jefferson Starship), to name a few. One note of interest, NAMM gave out a
Hohner gold harmonica (made in China) necklace inside every press kit.
Lee Oskar was playing at his booth and demonstrating his Power Harps. No
new products this year, but lots of players stopping by to talk to Lee and
pick up a few harps or a T-shirt, tuning kit, bumper sticker, etc.
Huang was represented by Cham Ber Huang. He and his wife are always
gracious and selling lots of harmonicas.
Hering was attending the show for the first time ever. Charlie Musselwhite
was his featured performer. He was there to help promote the new Charlie
Musselwhite signature model 12 hole chromatic. I got one of these to review
and like it a lot. It is airtight, and the reeds are very responsive. I am
no Doug Tate on chromo, but I let DT try mine and he thought it played real
well for a harp under $3000. I will mention that it had a strange taste
when I first started to play it. Probably this was some king of polish they
used, but I tasted it less and less as the weekend went on until I hardly
notice it now. This chromatic makes me want to pick it up and play. I also
picked up a 10 hole Black Blues diatonic which I put through the paces all
weekend. This is a really nice harp. It has a glossy black finish, a
plastic comb and is airtight. It played like a cross between a LO and a
S20. The only problem I can see with these is that for some reason, they
are apparently only available in A.B.C.D.E.F.& G. I added a Hering key
chain to my multi-harmonica necklace and also picked up a 12 hole "Rhythm
and Blues" harp. It is a "C" harp tuned an octave low which is designed for
accompanying blues. The chording is excellent for 2nd position, and the top
end note arrangement is interesting for 1st position experimentation.
Hering is a welcome addition to the show.
If you thought there were already too many harmonica brands, you will be
sad to hear that a couple more have thrown their hats in the ring. I was,
OTOH thrilled.
Frank Huang has his own company and had a harmonica this year called the
"Victory". It is a 10 hole model and plays alright. Not my first choice,
but certainly playable. A little leaky, but not bad in a pinch.
Blue Danube is another new harp brand. They are very lightweight and are
remarkably in tune. They also leak like a sieve, although the owner assures
me he knows about this problem and is going to find a solution for it.
Still, I was able to play the sample alright. The Blue Danube 10 holes are
going to retail for $10 and the owner's dream is to sell one to every
school kid in the world. They have it available packaged with an
instruction tape which I plan on reviewing at a later date.

Microphones:

I will keep this part short, as I didn't play a lot of mics this year. The
Shaker Madcat is in production and I was able to test it out. This mic's
strong points are, a mostly clean sound- you can overdrive it a little if
you cup it real tight- , a conveniently located(for right handed playing)
volume control, and the ability do use hand wah effects effectively. You
can do the "talking harp" trick where you make it say mama. The mic comes
with a 1/4" plug on a short hard-wired cable from the mic and a 1/4" female
to female coupler with a velcro strap for attaching to your belt and
plugging in a guitar cable to your amp.
I still like the Shaker dynamic the best of the line, but the Madcat is
more comfortable to hold and has a good clean sound

I tried out a Crown headset mic like the one Garth Brooks uses for possible
use with rack playing. I believe it will work for me, and I will probably
end up with one plugged into a Nady link transmitter for wireless use.

Big news!! Shure is apparently abandoning the Controlled Magnetic element
from the 520 DX (green bullet) They did not have a working model of the new
mic which will still be called a 520 DX, but are sending me one to try out.
I will review it in depth after I have some time to work with it.

Amps:

If you like an over driven sound, but it doesn't have to be real loud, try
a MTN AMP. They are about 9" square and run on a 9V battery. The tone runs
from clean to very over driven, depending on where you turn the volume
control. It has both a line output and an external speaker output. The
finish on them is beautiful. They come in about ten different finishes
rivaling some of the prettiest guitar finishes. Prices range from $189 to
$399 depending on the finish you want. I picked up a blue sparkle one that
matches my Yamaha electric guitar ($249). I don't know if the sell direct,
but you can reach them at (510)-757-9399

If you want to go really small, watch for the amp that comes packaged in a
cigarette box. It uses a 9V battery and a 2" speaker. If you put one in
your shirt pocket, and plug in your mic, you can have distortion without
bothering the neighbors. I didn't catch the name of it, but it has a
speaker output and will just barely influence a 12" cab..

Pignose has been busy expanding and improving their line. Most notable is the
G-60VR, a 60W amp tube with a preamp stage, spring reverb tank, and a
master volume. I was able to get a really fat sound from this amp (even at
low volume).The designer informed me that it was designed with me in mind.
I can recommend it highly. Of course they just had the prototypes at the
show, but these will be out in the stores soon. MSRP-$599. Also available
as a head (G-60VRH~$499. I hear they may put my picture on their web
site posing with the designer and the amp. They also have a mini electric
guitar with a Pignose amp built right in ($474.95).

Bluesland Amps are another relatively new player. They are mid priced and
have a vintage look and sound to them. They and Shaker Mics cosponsored a
jam at Jack's Sugar Shack on Vine at Hollywood next to the Palace. All the
guitar players and the couple of harmonica players that got to play sounded
great through them.

Some of you may know that I enjoy playing with tube overdrive, just to the
edge of feedback. This is one reason I like to have a mic volume control
for fine tuning the edge. In this light, imagine my sheer joy at playing
through a Soldano stack. The man in the booth was playing some really tasty
slide guitar, and I asked if I could try the amp using the same settings he
had for the guitar. You should have seen his face when I produced a fat
singing over driven sound where the notes slammed into each other almost
like they were guitar strings being picked hard. He had never heard harp
through a Soldano before. (I had.) I make it a point each year to try out
something unusual to see how it works for me.

One of the highlights of the show for me was getting to play a couple of
songs with the Nashville Cat himself, John Sebastion. My photographer
spotted him at a guitar booth and we hung out and played for a few minutes.
His is the only autograph I got as I don't usually collect them. I collect
memories instead and this is one I will cherish for years to come. Another
fun thing that happened has the Remo drum circle, where 300 or so people
gathered in a circle and played hand percussion instruments together while
one drummer stands in the middle and directs the playing. I took my MTN Amp
and Shaker dynamic mic and played harmonica along with the percussion jam.
It was great fun, and perked up a few ears.
There is a NAMM show in Nashville in summer and in LA or Anaheim in winter.
If you are able to get a pass (it's not that hard if you try) I believe you
will have the time of your life. This year I got to chat with Lee Oskar,
Rock Epping, Danny Wilson, Cham Ber Huang, Craig Chaquico, Jimmy Woods, Tom
Ball and Kenny Sultan, Charlie Musselwhite, Marcos, and many other friends
- -new and old- over the course of the 4 day run of the show. I hope I get
to see some of you there next time. Till then, keep on making those death
sounds!

hj

- -- "He has some kind of a fantastic instrument that lets out a death
sound!!"

Harmonica John ph(619)263-6826 Ship to: PO box 740613 San Diego, CA 92174