BY ROSS GARREN
In this article, I’ll provide insights gleaned from my work as a studio harmonica player in Los Angeles, the recording capital of the world. For this first installment, I’ll share a few of my professional ideals and goals while also painting a picture of the recording work I had while writing this article.
Versatility
“Do you have a bass harmonica?” Yes!
“Can you improvise over chord changes?” Definitely!
“Can you read music?” Absolutely!
“Can you make that sound more “cowboy’”? You got it, pardner!
The quintessential studio musician is versatile. When I first began pursuing studio work, I was lucky enough to be able to spend some time with the great Tommy Morgan. His most memorable piece of advice was that when a client asks, the answer is always “yes”.
In other words, if you want full-time work, you must provide different musical services to stay busy. I’ve prioritized and cultivated versatility to the point where I contribute not just as a harmonicist, but also as keyboardist, programmer, composer, or arranger as the opportunities arise.
Artistry
I want my clients to feel that in addition to handling their harmonica needs, they can count on me to bring something special to their projects, even if they don’t yet know what that will be. In other words, I’m working towards inimitability -- I want them to call me because no one else can do exactly what I do. Not satisfied merely to be competent in a variety of settings, I’ve spent years seeking “the magic”; that amazing sound, emotion-drenched performance, insightful note choice, etc. that makes the music impactful and memorable. We each have our own tastes and experiences that lead us to a singular skill set and artistry if we follow the path for long enough. My versatility makes me effective in many musical situations, and my artistry brings uniqueness and personality into my musicianship.
Remote Recording
“I’m out of town, but can you record something for me?” Yes!
“I need something tracked by the end of the day. Can you do that?” Yes!
“I don’t have the budget for a studio, but I can pay you to record.” Yes!
My home studio has increased my versatility, and it’s an investment that quickly paid for itself. My goal is to have my recording quality be comparable to that of a top studio. In the same way I practice to improve my playing, I’m always building my studio setup and researching amps, mics, effects, recording gear, and harmonicas. Additionally, I’m constantly honing my engineering skills to achieve higher levels of quality, character, and artistry.
Professionalism
Reputations take years to build, but can be unmade in a matter of minutes. The people I’m working with must see that I’m dependable and creative, a team player, that I contribute to positive working environments, and that I understand my roles in each project. Making music is a pleasure, and in the rare instances when it’s not, there’s always a silver lining or a chance for personal growth. If a client is frustrating to work with, there isn’t adequate time, my gear fails me, the music isn’t to my taste, or I’m asked to play in a way I dislike or is outside of my comfort zone, within that struggle there’s an opportunity to be a true professional. No matter what, I always strive to do the best I can with a positive attitude.
An Excerpt from the Studio Diary
During the same weekend I began writing this article, I got four calls to record for three different artists. And as luck would have it, I was out of town. The first was for noted Italian film composer Andrea Morricone (Cinema Paradiso). He needed chromatic harmonica recorded that weekend. We agreed that the moment I got off the plane Sunday, I’d head home and send him a track or two from my home studio. There was no written part and the only instruction I was given was for it to be “beautiful chromatic harmonica”. Using this basic instruction, I left the rest to my instincts. Session one: done.
The second call was from music editor, composer, and well-known smooth jazz artist Nils Jiptner (television’s Weeds). Given our schedules, we decided it would be best for me to track from home the following Saturday. Nils knew of me through my work with film composer Kathryn Bostic. For this session, he was looking for a similar approach to that I had taken on Kathryn’s recording. Kathryn’s piece had been entirely acoustic and Nils’ was totally electric, so I gave him a few different tracks to choose from using bass harp and various diatonics. Because his song was so different from Kathryn’s, I wanted to make sure that he had enough material to choose from and I even included one amplified track in case it better fit the musical context. Session two: done.
The same day I recorded for Nils, Andrea Morricone’s producer, Adam Gust, invited me to Gigantor Studios to track diatonic, chromatic, and some keyboards on a number of pieces he was working on for Andrea. Adam didn’t have many preconceived harmonica parts in mind, so being in the same room was just the environment we needed in order to experiment and dialogue until we got what he needed. Session three: done.
The final call I received was to revise some sparse Americana-flavored diatonic and bass harp tracks I had recently recorded for professional baseball coach and singer-songwriter, Nate Trosky. Subsequently, Nate decided he wanted a more active and dramatic diatonic part. We agreed that I would track shortly after arriving in Montana (with my mobile recording setup in tow), where I would be playing harmonica in productions of the musicals Big River (Roger Miller) and Tommy (Pete Townshend). The revision was simple, as we already had the sound and style dialed in, and all we needed to do was adjust the shape and activity of the part. Session four: done.
As you can see, my work is quite varied and each job is unique. I rely on my ability to play in different styles, to record and engineer my own tracks, all while putting as much soul and style as I can muster into every take. It’s my hope that the positivity, love of music, and professional attitude I bring keeps the calls coming and the pursuit of a deeper artistry alive.
In my next article, I’ll share my experiences inside these sessions and the approaches I’ve found most effective to ensure a good result. I’d love to hear your thoughts on this article. Please visit www.RossGarren.com to hear examples of my work and while you’re there, I hope you take the time to send me an email.
Ross Garren is a freelance harmonica player in Los Angeles, California and a Seydel and Lone Wolf Blues Company Artist. More information at www.RossGarren.com.
]]>Well we are not talking about what some of us seasoned veterans see when we look in the mirror or what the ladies detest, we are talking about the sound of an expanding or blooming note on a tube amplifier, on high volume, when attacked hard. This effect is most prevalent in vintage tube amplifiers with rectifier tube power supplies. Often sag is felt more than heard, a guitarist digs into an amp, but it doesn’t really respond crisply; the volume lags and comes up slower than it should. This results in some compression (clean) at the beginning of the note and then the subsequent rise in volume and the loaded power supply catches up.
WHAT CAUSES SAG?
Sag occurs when there is a sudden drop in power supply voltage due to the sudden increase in current draw resulting from a hard attack on a note. The voltage does quickly recover and in doing so results in a swelling or blooming note. In order for the load on the power supply to be sufficient to produce sag, the amplifier’s volume will need to be set very high.
Before the invention of the solid state diode, amplifiers had vacuum tube rectifiers to convert AC to DC voltage. Vacuum tube rectifiers are not very efficient and do not respond well to a sudden increase in current draw. The effect can be minimized by utilizing a more robust tube rectifier, but the amps of the day were designed as economically as possible, and in addition to this, they were not really designed for the style of playing that resulted in sag, i.e. cranked volume and hard attacks; can you say Rock and Roll?
WHAT ABOUT MY AMP?
Is your amp a single ended amp? If the answer is yes, then sag is not a factor. A single ended amp is a class A amp; this type of amp is drawing maximum current while at idle. Initially, when you strike a note, the voltage and current both drop and the load on the power supply is reduced. In a single ended amplifier there can be no sag; it is not possible. It makes no difference if you have a tube or a solid state rectifier; it is impossible to produce sag. A single ended amp will typically have one power tube—a 6V6, 6L6, or maybe an EL84—and produces 5 to 12 watts.
Is your amp a push-pull amp? If it is over 15 watts and has two of the aforementioned tubes, then it probably is push-pull. Next question is what type of rectifier does it have, solid state? If so, then there should be no sag. If it has a tube rectifier, then yes it probably does produce sag. Examples of vacuum tube rectifiers are 5Y3 and 5U4 types. At idle a push-pull amp is drawing about 70% of maximum current; this is a class AB amplifier, and by far the overwhelming majority of push-pull amps are class AB. With a hard attack and at high volume the power supply voltage will drop slightly (sag) and then catch up producing the swell or blooming note that we discussed earlier.
WHAT ABOUT REPLACING THE TUBE RECTIFIER WITH A SOLID STATE RECTIFIER?
This is interesting, and there are solid state rectifiers on the market that will plug directly into a tube socket. The thing to remember is the solid state rectifier will have a much higher output voltage than the tube rectifier, and this will change the operating parameters of your amplifier. The result being: higher plate voltages and bias voltages throughout the amp as well as an increase in power dissipation in the power section. This will shorten the life of your power tubes, unless you re-bias the power tubes and lower the current draw to result in the correct power dissipation. Your mileage may vary on this option.
IS SAG GOOD FOR A HARP AMP?
Disclaimer: this is my opinion and others may disagree. With that in mind, I do not believe sag is a desirable aspect of an amplifier for the harp player, and here is why. Harp players strive for a sharp articulate attack on their notes. Our instrument is inherently soft, producing more rounded notes, and to counter this we articulate our notes with syllables like “ta”, “ka”, “tukka” and so on. An amplifier with sag is counter-intuitive to this desire. A good harp amp needs to be punchy, to have drive to cut though a mix, and to be heard by the audience, and an amp with a solid state rectifier is conducive to this goal.
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Impedance is also very important; all effect pedals that I know of are designed with a ¼” high impedance input. Microphones vary in impedance, some are high and some are low. Usually a high impedance microphone will use a ¼” cable while a low impedance microphone will use an XLR cable. THIS IS NOT ALWAYS THE CASE, some low impedance microphones are wired to a ¼” cable causing a mismatch in impedance and a large drop in signal level. These microphones will not work properly with an effect pedal. One of the biggest issues that I see is with Shaker mics where a low impedance element is wired to a 1/4" high impedance cable and there is no matching transformer. This mic produces a very low level which works into a guitar amp but the signal is too low to drive effect pedals. A low impedance mic can be used properly with effect pedals as long as there is an impedance matching transformer between the mic and the pedal.
]]>When a harp player chooses to play amplified he will typically cup a microphone and plug the microphone into a guitar amplifier. As soon as the musician begins to turn the volume up on the amplifier, the monster that is feedback is awoken and begins its hideous howl. Everyone turns to give the harmonica player the “evil eye.” So, why is this happening? Well, that guitar amp is not designed for the relative high output of a microphone; it is designed for the much lower output signal of a guitar pickup. As a result, the amplifier has an abundance of preamp gain (exactly how much varies from amp to amp). This problem can be dealt with in a few different ways such as replacing the preamp tubes in the amplifier with lower gain tubes, lowering the volume on the microphone, or placing a pad in line with the microphone cable. The first solution requires the purchase of the tubes and the knowledge of which tubes to replace; this is a good solution if the performer will always have his amp available. The second solution works but it is a little harder to manage with any accuracy. The third solution results in a very small device that is easily placed in line with the microphone cable and can be used with any amplifier where excessive preamp gain is causing an early onset of feedback.
So, now that we have established how a pad may benefit us, there are still two important factors to address. One is the value of the pad, or how much signal is attenuated across it, and the other is frequency response, or tone.
The optimal pad value will allow you to place the amplifier’s volume control in the upper quadrant of its range before feedback becomes a problem, say from 8 to 10. How much padding is needed to achieve this? Well, it depends on two things: the output level of your microphone and the amount of preamp gain in the amplifier; both can, and do, vary wildly. On average, a 20 db pad will be appropriate; however, for a particular amplifier and microphone combination, 10db may be better. It depends on the particular pairing of microphone and amplifier.
Next is tone. Because tone means different things to different people, I will define tone as a musical sound with reference to its pitch, quality, and strength. When you use resistive padding for an audio signal, there will be a slight roll-off of the high frequencies resulting in a “darker” tone, and this is often desirable to harmonica players. There is, however, a negative to high frequency roll-off. With a darker tone, it will be harder to cut through the mix and be heard by your audience. The solution is a bypass capacitor that will allow some highs to bypass the pad. The result is a balanced and natural harmonica tone where the highs are now reduced by the same margin as the lows.
So, if a pad is for you, here are some considerations. A pad should be passive device (not requiring power), it should have at least 1 megohm of resistance in each direction, and it should be small and convenient to use. Before you buy, be sure that the pad is bi-directional and ask what the impedance value is; also consider a pad with a high bypass cap.
My name is Randy Landry, I am an electronic technician by trade. I own and operate Lone Wolf Blues Company, where we make effect pedals and amplifiers for harp players.
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Nothing new here, same ol’, same ol’. Unfortunately there is no magic box that truly eliminates feedback without effecting tone. But maybe we can put some tools together and really put the squeeze on feedback and maybe some tonal loss is acceptable in exchange for more volume. Let’s check it out.
I feel the best and most effective is to use as many of the following as possible. And, remember that even with all of the tools there will still be limits, limits as to how much you are willing to have your tone affected and how much volume you can achieve
before feedback once again rears it’s ugly head.
The choice of which product(s) to use is yours and yours alone, money is tight these days so plan out a good strategy and work it to perfection.
My name is Randy Landry, I am an electronic technician by trade. I own and operate Lone Wolf Blues Company, where we make effect pedals and amplifiers for harp players.
]]>The following is a general rule of thumb to go by.
1. MICROPHONE (Low impedance mics require an impedance matching transformer)
2. ANTI-FEEDBACK DEVICES - Such as the Harp Shield and the Kinder anti-feedback pedal
3. TONE SHAPING PEDALS - Harp Tone+, an EQ pedal
4. BODY ADDING PEDALS - Harp Chorus, Harp Octave, LoLoHi, POG
5. BOOST PEDALS - Typically a clean boost like the Clean Cat
6. DRIVE PEDALS - Harp Break, Harp Attack, Blues Driver
7. ROOM EFFECT - Harp Delay, Harp Reverb
8. STUDIO EFFECT - Clean compressors like the Flat Cat
9. INTERFACE, for one of the following amplifiers
For Guitar Amp - Mojo Pad
For PA - Little Red DI, or another DI Box
For Harp Amp - None
My name is Randy Landry, I am an electronic technician by trade. I own and operate Lone Wolf Blues Company, where we make effect pedals and amplifiers for harp players.
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