Mark's Harmonica Tune-Up

As many harmonica players know, the instrument starts to wear out the first time that it is placed in your mouth.  If you stick with the instrument, eventually they wear out and one or more reeds will go flat.  Back in the day, when a harmonica cost five or six dollars, a player could afford to toss them out.  Turn the clock ahead twenty five years.  The same harmonica which used to cost five bucks, now costs thirty five dollars or more. They are far too expensive to throw away when one reed goes flat.  Which means that they go into a box and gather dust until you figure out how to fix them or get someone else to do the job.  

Recently, I learned of Mark's Harmonica Tune-Up.  For the low price of $10 per reed, Mark will replace a bad reed in a variety of Hohner models including:

• Golden Melody,
• Special 20, 
• Marine Band 1896, 
• Marine Band Deluxe and 
• Marine Band Crossover. 

He will open the back covers on request for no additional charge on Special 20 and Marine Band models.

Mark's Harmonica Tune-Up is also one of the rare businesses that will work on the
Modular Systems Hohner harmonicas including: 

• Big River,
• Blue Midnight,
• Blues Harp,
• Cross Harp,
• Pro Harp and, 
• Meisterklasse.

I had a box of about twenty harmonicas with broken reeds.  I went through the pile and eliminated harmonicas that seemed unrepairable.  I stopped by the post office and picked up a small flat rate Priority Mail box.  Seven MS harps fit very nicely in the box.  Shipping the box cost less than $6.  I shipped a postal money order covering the repairs and return postage along with the harmonicas to Mark.  

Mark sent me e-mail keeping me informed of the progress of the repairs.  A couple of weeks later, I received a similar box with seven repaired harmonicas.  Not only did he replace the defective reeds, he tuned up the harmonicas.  They all played great.  I was a very happy customer.  For less than $80, I got seven harmonicas that are better than the harmonicas that were shipped out of the Hohner factory.  With the recent price increase in MS reed plates to $47, this makes a great deal of economic sense. 

You can reach Mark's Harmonica Tune-Up by e-mail at markprados@aol.com.  You can also reach him via Facebook @ Mark Prados.

Big Road Blues:12 Bars on I-80 Review

Mark Hummel's music career began in the mid 1970's when he was played with local Oakland bluesmen such as Cool Papa, Boogie Jake, Mississippi Johnny Waters and Sonny Lane. In 1980, he formed the Blues Survivors Band.  Around 1991, he started the critically acclaimed Blues Harmonica Blowouts which have played international festivals and have featured some of the legendary giants of the instrument such as: Carey Bell, Billy Branch, James Cotton, Sam Myers, Rod Piazza, Snooky Pryor and Kim Wilson.

In spite of this tremendous success, very little has been written about Mark Hummel throughout his musical career.  The release of "Big Road Blues:12 Bars on I-80" should correct that.  In this self penned book, Mark writes about his formative years as a blues musician around the Oakland scene and his decades of time on the road with some true legends.  Some of the stories are funny, while others are sad enough to break one's heart.  

Mark's writing style is almost conversational.  If you've met Mark, quite often it feels like he is in the same room telling his story.  I found it quite difficult to put down and found myself learning quite a bit about Mark Hummel, the artist, business man and person.  Overall, if you are a Blues fan or a harmonica player, you are highly likely to find it a great read and very worthwhile addition to your Blues library.

RJ Mischo - Make It Good CD Review

Last month, I was asked to write a CD review for the Golden Gate Blues Society newsletter.  At first, I was resistant.  I am not a writer.  Eventually, I was coaxed into it.  Here is the review...

“Make It Good” is former Bay Area resident, RJ Mischo’s tenth release and his first for Delta Groove Music.  It’s a “high-octane fueled album” consisting of thirteen original tunes that demonstrate Mischo’s fine songwriting skills.  One thing that remains in common with his previous releases, this CD is a fine collection of old school Blues numbers mixed with some 1950’s-era rock and roll tunes. 

On most tracks, he is backed by some of the finest talent out of Austin, Texas including: guitarists Nick Curran and Johnny Moeller, bassist Ronnie James Weber, drummer Wes Starr and pianist Nick Connolly.  On two of the tunes, he is more than adequately backed by drummer Richard Medek, and guitarist Jeremy Johnson from Minneapolis.

The first track, “Trouble Belt”, starts the set with an uptempo number reminiscent of 50’s rock and roll.  It’s a song about a woman in a leopard skin top with that a smile that'll make your heart stop.  “The Frozen Pickle” is a wicked instrumental jam that showcases the fine instrumentalists on this recording.  It starts off as a showcase for RJ’s fabulous harmonica tone followed by a very lush organ solo and a guitar solo that transports the listener back to 1955 before RJ wraps it all up. 

The title track, “Make It Good”, provides the listener with some great advice about treating a woman right, not spending all your money and acting like a fool.  It features some very nice guitar work by Jeremy Johnson.  “Papa's St Special” is a crowd pleasing and delightful country blues romp that RJ has been performing during his past couple tours through the Bay Area.  The studio version is no exception.

“Minnesota Woman” is a classic Rice Miller-influenced number bragging about going back home to the woman from Minnesota that he followed from California to Arkansas.  “Up To The Brim” is an instrumental that pays tribute to the legendary John Brim.  It sounds like it came straight out of the Chess Studios in Chicago back in 1953. 

“The Biscuit is Back” is an uptempo Rice Miller-influenced trip to down to Helena Arkansas where RJ proclaims his thanks for the return of the King Biscuit Blues Festival in 2011. “Elevator Juice” is another fine instrumental showcasing his fine amplified harmonica tone that is second to none and some fine guitar work by Johnny Moeller.  “All Over Again” paints an interesting tale about the repetitive nature of the partying lifestyle.

Closing the CD is “Arumbula - Part II”.  (“Arumbula - Part I” occurs earlier in the set.)  This is a crazy instrumental that’s like a tapestry featuring some great chromatic harmonica mixed with some fine organ work by Nick Connolly that floats on top of a great jungle beat groove. 

RJ’s debut release on Delta Groove is a wonderful collection of songs exhibiting solid musicianship and songwriting.  “Make It Good” would be a welcome addition to any collection of fine Blues music.

Lone Wolf Harp Octave Pedal Demo

A couple of months ago, I decided to pick up a Lone Wolf Harp Octave pedal after reading a great deal about it on the Internet.  I purchased this pedal and an AC adapter directly from Lone Wolf.

The pedal was shipped the folllowing day after payment.  I received a couple of e-mails from Lone Wolf letting me know the payment was received and that the pedal was shipped.  The transaction couldn't have gone any more smoothly.

The pedal is advertised to deliver a "raspy/crunchy distortion that can be mild or intense, according to the settings chosen. This pedal is best when using the pucker, lip block and tongue block techniques. If you've ever wanted your big amp to sound like a nasty little vintage Champ or Princeton, this is the pedal that'll do it."

Let's give it a try with a tweed Champ...

  

It sounds like a Champ, but the volume is boosted a bit and a little more distorted.  This may have been a poor amp choice.  Let's try it with an amp that's a bit cleaner.  A Harpgear Double Trouble... 

  

The volume boost is there again.  This time the distortion is a bit more noticeable.  

I've had the opportunity to play a couple of gigs with the Double Trouble and the pedal.  I also found that the advertising claim of cutting feedback is true.  Overall, I've been very happy with this pedal. 

Tweed Champ Clone

About seven years ago, I had the desire to build something.  I settled on a guitar amplifier.  I ended up buying a tweed Champ kit from Marsh Amplification.

When I purchased the amp, I opted for a smooth cone Signature series 8" Weber speaker as an option over the ceramic speaker.  I was also sent a lacquered cabinet.

The quality of the kit was great.  I had some problems that could be chalked up to it being my first build.  Once I got it straightened out, it has worked flawlessly.

After playing with the amp for a couple of years and loaning it out for a few recording 

sessions, the original speaker died.  

I really liked the sound of the smooth cone Weber in the amp.  After reading an evaluation of 8" speakers in harp amps written by Brian Purdy of Harpgear amps, I decided that I was going to pick up a smooth cone Vintage series Weber speaker.  I settled on the 8A125-O speaker with a H dust cap.

Compare the two speakers, the original Signature series on the left, the Vintage series on the right. 

How does it sound?  

Pre-WW2 Valco-made Amp

It's been a while, since I've had the chance to write here.  I thought I would write up an entry about an old Valco amp with a Tower label.  I was given this amp in exchange for some web development about a fifteen years ago.  Here are a couple of photos of the amp.

Since, it appeared original, I decided that it should probably be looked at.  I took it to Skip Simmons Amp Repair in Dixon, CA.  He checked it out and touched up some solder joints and pronounced it good to go.  When I asked Skip about it, he said that it was likely made by Valco, but he had never seen one before.


A few years later, I was curious about the amp.  After doing some research on the Internet, I couldn't find any information about the amp.  I posted some questions on the Valco Amp site.  I received no response.  At this point, I was content knowing that it was a Valco-made mystery amp.


A while ago, I was considering trading it when I received an e-mail from Terry Dobbs (a.k.a. Mr Valco):

"This amp is the same circuit as the first Valco made Supreme amps, however, it was made before WW2 by the same company that made the National Dobro amps, in other words, before Valco was Valco. It has a 10" 4 ohm field coil speaker, 5y3, 2-6V6's, 6sc7 and a 6J7. Single volume and no tone control and two inputs. It is a nice little amp and they sound great when serviced and working right."

Okay, enough talk...  How does it sound?  Let's take a listen...

What do you think?

Astatic JT-30 Demo

In the spirit of my last couple of entries, I thought I would break out some microphones.  This time, I grabbed a brand new Astatic JT30 Roadhouse, a Hohner Blues Blaster with a MC-151 element and a Hohner Blues Blaster with a Shure Controlled Magnetic Element.  I plugged them into a Super Sonny amplifier.  I set up a Zoom H2 recorder about ten feet away from the amp and played a bit. 

1. Microphone 1
2. Microphone 2
3. Microphone 3

Which mic is which?