Shure Green Bullet Demo - Round Two - Answers

Here are the answer from the blind audio test of the Shure Green Bullet microphones.

1. 520D
2. 520DX
3. CM in Blues Blaster
4. CM in JT30

Did you get them right?  Could you live with any of them?

Shure Green Bullet Demo - Round Two

Some of the feedback that I received on the previous installment was quite interesting including: 

"It would be better if you didn't announce what mic you were playing and obscured them so bias couldn't enter in.

"If you hadn't said which was which I don't think many players could tell the difference."

"Joe is playing through a Tweed Champ clone. Like other small amps it adds a lot of its own breakup and color, which tends to make mics sound more alike...  Played through a bigger amp you will hear the differences more." 

"However to create a test to get people to choose which mic they think sounds best, or indeed to identify a particular element. The only real way to do that is to perform a blind test."

I decided to heed the advice that I was given.  

1. The second round is audio only.  That way, no one could see the microphones.  (You'll have to trust my honesty and integrity.)  
2. In this round, I used a Super Sonny.  It's a bigger amp.  There were no changes to the volume or tone settings when I changed microphones.
3. I set up a Zoom H2 about 15 feet away from the amp.
4. I tried to play the same thing each time and the same thing from the first test.

On with the fun.  The microphones being tested are a:

• Shure Controlled Magnetic (99A86) in a vintage JT-30 shell.
• Shure Controlled Magnetic (99A86) in a Hohner Blues Blaster shell.
• Shure 520D with a Mexican made element.
• Shure 520DX with the modern dynamic element.

Clip of Microphone #1

Clip of Microphone #2

Clip of Microphone #3

Clip of Microphone #4

What do you think?  Which microphone is which? 

Shure Green Bullet Demo

A while back, I was reading an Internet forum about the merits of a variety of microphones commonly used by harmonica players.  The microphone in question was the Shure Green Bullet.  Since, I had several of these microphones, I decided to pull out a few of them do some back to back testing.  I decided to run the various micrphones through my tweed Champ clone to eliminate tweaking of an amplifier's tone controls.

For this test, I plugged the microphone directly into the amplifier.  I set the volume control on the amp at six.  I ran the following microphones through the test:

1. A Shure controlled magnetic element (99A86) in a JT30 shell.
2. A Mexican-made Shure controlled magnetic element in a 520D shell
3. A modern dynamic Shure element in a 520DX shell.

Tweed Champ Clone Demo

Back in 2006, I was going through a period in my life where I felt the need to create something.  Normally, I would have build a computer.  I really didn't need another computer.  I decided to build an amplifier.  After a bit of researching amplifier kits to death, I decided to build a clone of a tweed Fender Champ from Marsh Amplification.  It was a fun process.  After playing it quite a bit, I ended up blowing the speaker.  I replaced it with a Vintage Series Weber speaker, 8A-125-O.

A while ago, I ran across a video that I shot in 2006.  It didn't really represent the amp well, so I decided to set up a video camera and play a bit.  Here is the result with a vintage JT-30 microphone and a plaid flannel shirt.  I'm not sure that it's any better than the original video, but here it is:



Here is another video with a modern Shure 520DX with the original modern dynamic element.  This microphone is generally regarded as a complete turd among harmonica players.  It didn't seem so bad in this video.  More importantly, I was wearing a black T-shirt:

2011: The Bay Area Blues In Review

2011 has come and gone. It was a difficult year in the Blues community. We lost a number of great performers this past year. I was fortunate enough to see and photograph a multitude of fabulous great performers.

I captured well over 100 images this past year that seemed to capture the artist and their spirit. A subset of the performers are listed below:

Alabama Mike, Andy Santana, Arbess Williams, Big Cat Tolefree, Billy Branch, Bobby Radcliff, Bobby Rush, Deitra Farr, Demetria Taylor, Fillmore Slim, Joe Louis Walker, John Nemeth, Johnny Rawls, Little Junior Crudup, Magic Slim, Mark Hummel, RJ Mischo, Rod Piazza, Ronnie Stewart, Sugar Blue, Taildragger, Tip Of The Top, Wayne Baker Brooks and many more.

Please feel free to drop in and take a look at the photos.

While you're at it, please feel free to check out the photos from previous years.

Lone Wolf Harp Tone+ Review

Awhile back, maybe a couple of years ago, Andy Santana hipped me to a pedal that he was endorsing, the Lone Wolf Harp Tone+. I ran across a used one at good price on the Internet, so I bought it.

I decided to try it at the Mojo Lounge jam with a Harpgear Double Trouble and a Shure 520DX with the standard dynamic element with the following results.



I found that the pedal added quite a bit to the bottom end. It projected well for an 18 watt amp with a pair of 8" speakers. The addition to the bottom end was much more obvious when playing higher pitched harmonicas.

A few weeks later at the same place, I tried the Shure 520DX, Harp Tone+ and a Meteor Mini Meat joining Steve Freund performing the title track from his CD release entitled "Lonesome Flight".



I had some additional time with that combo to record this solo piece. (A Shure 520DX was plugged into the Harp Tone+ and into the Meat channel of the Meteor Mini Meat (2x8, 1x10 w/ 5881's). The volume was cranked to 6, tone and presence knobs set at about 7 on the amp. The Harp Tone+ was set as follows: Bass at 5 o'clock (full), Treble at noon, Volume at about 9 o'clock which was set at the brink of feedback. I stuck a Zoom H2 behind the amp.)

I also tried the Shure 520DX, Harp Tone+ with a solid state Peavey Bandit 65. I was very surprised with the results. It was quite loud and toneful. I didn't get much of an opportunity to dial it in, but it sounded very usable. It was usable enough that I wanted to mess with the combination some more.

If you don't want to spend a bunch of money on a vintage microphone, the Lone Wolf Harp Tone+ will nicely complement any of the contemporary harp mics like the Shure 520DX, Superlux D112 or the Astatic JT30-RH.

BlowsMeAway Bulletizer Product Review

A year or so ago, I had a really good sounding Shure 544. I dropped it and dented the connector beyond repair. I really liked the microphone, so I shipped it off to Greg Heumann at BlowsMeAway Productions. I asked him to Ultimat-ize it. A few days later, he returned it to me with a new screw on connector and a volume control. It ended up looking similar to the red microphone in the picture below.

After the transformation, it's now a fantastic sounding microphone and a good looking microphone.

I've been using it quite a bit lately. A few weeks ago, I was trolling the Internet and found a used Bulletizer. The Bulletizer gives the player a larger surface to grasp and cup, and provides an acoustic chamber inside your cup to bring out the best of the mic's tone. I was curious how the product would effect the microphone's tone.

I decided to capture a quick recording of the microphone with the microphone before and after the installation of the Bulletizer. Here's the video.

My initial thoughts were:

• It was super easy to install. It took about five minutes and the instructions and tools were provided.
• It's a bit easier to hold hold the microphone.
• The microphone became a slightly more prone to feedback.
• The change to the tone wasn't dramatic. Where I noticed the difference was in playing chords. Chords ended up sounding a bit more like a bullet mic.

Overall, it's a cool product. If you like the way a stick microphone sounds and have a challenge holding one, this might be the product for you.