Get Ready for the Huntersounds Fender Mustang Patch Set
Inspired by David Barrett’s review of the Fender Mustang I modeling amp, I downloaded Fender’s FUSE software for the Mustang v.2 amps today. Very impressive. Unlike Digitech’s Xedit, you can run FUSE without a device connected for purposes of editing and saving patches, and I…
Prices for used (and some new) Digitech RPs are still dropping
I visited eBay and guitarcenter.com today to take a look at the prices for used Digitech RPs. The only harp-friendly RPs still in production include the RP500, 1000, and 360/360XP. But plenty of used RP150/155/250/255/350/355s are out there in good-to-great condition, sounding every bit as…
The Phil Wiggins/George Kirby/Andy Calder show in Jackson was a blast
I had the opportunity Wednesday night (10/25/2017) to hear Phil Wiggins, the great country blues harmonica player/ singer/composer, with George Kirby Jr. on guitar and Jackson local Andy Calder on standup bass at the Pink Garter in Jackson, WY. It was a great show, with…
Digitech’s iStomp does a lot of cool stuff for short money (UPDATED)
For the last year or so, I’ve been using an effects pedal from Digitech, the iStomp, in front of my Digitech RP500 running my patch set. I just added another iStomp to my rig, and I reckon it’s time to talk about it.
Brendan Power Harmonicas Lucky 13 is a Great Blues Harp UPDATED
Brendan Power is a virtuoso harmonica player and a tireless innovator in building new tools for harmonica players, including new instruments and add-ons that increase the usefulness of traditional harmonicas. One of his latest innovations is the Lucky 13, a harmonica that adds a full…
How I recorded “Put The Lever Down” (2017 version)
Where “Put the Lever Down” came from I wrote the lick and harmony on which “Put the Lever Down” is based while I was hanging out in my car at one of my daughter’s skating meets around 1981, playing with a Dorian Minor tuned diatonic…
Announcing the SPAH Award Nominations 2017!
Every year, the Society for the Preservation and Advancement of the Harmonica (SPAH) accepts nominations for a few awards that represent great contributions to the harmonica, the music it makes, and the people who support it. Those awards include: The Bernie Bray Harmonica Player of…
How I recorded the big harmonicas that light up “Make the Noiseâ€
Sometimes it takes years to write a song. I wrote the first draft of some of the lyrics to “Make the Noise,†the leadoff song on my record “The Lucky One,†15 or so years ago for a piece called “In the Time of Your…
How I Recorded the Effected Chromatic Harps for My Instrumental Love Song “Deeper”
I released my first recorded version of “Deeper” in 2002-3, when I had just started a series of monthly releases of free original pieces for harmonica. The recording of this song that I made for my record “The Lucky One” represents the first time that…
How I recorded the alien harmonica on my cover of Morphine’s “Early to Bed”
I love Morphine–the band, not the dope. I also loved Treat Her Right, Mark Sandman’s band prior to Morphine, with harmonica and vocal ace Jimmy Fitting (now performing with Session Americana in Boston) among others filling out the roster. Both bands featured unconventional instrumentation, Treat…
