Taming a Fender Amp for Harmonica (Rob Paparozzi Demo)

[@PorkChop1956]

Thanks Rob. Always great demos my man!

[@Jonathan-L]

A good bang for buck pedal is the Joyo (or Ammoon) "American Sound" ... it has a great 3-knob EQ, volume, distortion and overdrive (I leave the drive set at 0), and does not eat batteries. Only costs about $30, great for playing into a guitar amp or the PA, or FR/FR powered speakers. Yes, it's cheap and it's perhaps not as nice sounding as the LW Harp Tone, but it does allow you to get some control that nothing at all. Having said that, I am impressed with Mr Paparozzi's tone via the Hohner Harp Blaster & LW Harp Tone pedal.

[@cletuswhite1751]

Rob has the best vibrato around man.

[@BarryMiller2956]

Smooth as Butter! 😁

[@Jim-ro5sl]

If you put a 12AT7or 12AY7 in place of the first 12AX7 in fender amps it makes them MUCH better for harmonica.

[@brobinson8614]

I've struggled to get a vibrato that actually shifts the pitch slightly like him. sigh, Don't know what I'm doing wrong

[@nigelneill4035]

A very informative video rob thanks

[@cameronmckinnon4716]

Great demo Rob ! I wonder what it would sound like with a Fender Pro Junior iv ? Cheers !

[@nodemever3291]

Maybe this will help newer players 12AU7-17to20 % gain 12AY7-40-44% 12AT7-60-70% 12AX7-100% These and others like 5751 and 12AD7 and the English versions should be cross referenced before you start swapping out your preamp tubes Generally I would say the first two positions have the most effect in your tone Some amps will also run different output tubes and even swap rectifiers but read up and talk with a good amp technician about what you want to try to be on the safe side

[@jasonmills2638]

I have the tweed Blues jnr and hb52 & green bullet. I've watched this vid in the past but makes more sense now, I think I will invest in the harp break and tone pedals. I'm in New Zealand so a little pricey but hey, live once 😎👍

[@javierf55]

I tried using a Shure A85F transformer to connect a Shure SM58 into a Hotrod Deluxe but the feedback is enormous.

[@patrikduller8449]

Thanks for uploading, man! :)

[@janpeters-jansongsproducti1010]

This is interesting and helpful!

[@leleckeberg]

Hello Rob like your videos .What Amp do you use on Chromatic Harmonica. Regards lennart Sweden 😊🙏

[@chromboyx]

Thanks Sir! These days I use a Fender Blues Deluxe 1x12 for both Diatonic & Chromatic with a Shure 58 or Audix Fireball V. I like the Cvive U3 Wireless System

[@robertleto6692]

I have a Fender Blues De Ville reissue 4/10’s 60 watt feedback monster do you have any setting suggestions

[@torbenlaurberg1257]

Topnotch. Curious as to what '52' in HB52 stands for..

[@scatlizard]

I would swap tubes to lower gain 12AX7 type. Less expensive than pedals. Maybe try an EQ pedal too. Blues Junior with those pedals and of corse your playing sound awesome. I’m cheap😂

[@faethe000]

Then he'd need a second amp for his guitar.

[@markwalmsley5892]

Hi I enjoy your videos I have a fender champ 600 amp replacement speaker with a Weber 6-in I am using a honer blues blaster microphone what pedal do you suggest for a more fat crunchy Chicago sound suggestion appreciated

[@norfolknwhey4787]

The fat crunchy sound comes from more hand technique than equipment, especially with the equipment you listed. Proper mic/harp/face seal is critical to get the fat raunchy tone.

[@steverehrman6611]

Are you using a transformer or straight into the amp?

[@chromboyx]

I’m using a Transformer only on the Blue Jason Ricci mic as it’s low impedance. The Hohner Blaster and Bulletini are High impedance so just plug right into amp with no transformer

[@IMBrute-ir7gz]

I'd like to see a video on the exact equipment Little Walter used on his gigs back in the day. None of these effects were around in his day. I wonder if his nightclub gig sound was different than what was produced on his Chess studio recordings. His life and career are so far back in the past that I doubt that any of his contemporaries who worked with him are alive anymore to answer the equipment question.

[@markprentice7785]

I think back in his day there were a few factors that affected his sound. Firstly everything was lo fi and certainly not as crisp and clean as today. At a club he may have played directly into the P.A, and remember that these were tube driven and a hot harmonica signal would have overdriven the preamp creating some distortion. The amps he would have had access to were also much lower gain than modern guitar amps. The pedals into modern amps help to counter the high gain nature of modern amps. If you look at some of the Lone Wolf amp designs and mods, i.e epi valve jr, Randy lowers the preamp gain by lowering the plate voltage on the preamp. Looking at old amp schematics you will see much lower preamp voltages than today. This is certainly my take on it comparing vintage to modern equipment.

[@norfolknwhey4787]

LW used whatever equipment the club had. His epic tone came from perfect hand technique and embouchure. He didn’t need pedals because the equipment he used was cheap and easily overdriven.

[@formansbasement2311]

Little Walter didn't care about what he used. It was just whatever there was when he showed up. Little Walter sounds different from session to session. Theres alot of times were he uses a regular mic thay he sings into and it sounds like acoustic harp. He showed up with his harmonicas and a pistol. Everything else was an after thought