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From: Joe Terrasi
Date: Thu, 10 Oct 1996 13:47:45 -0400 (EDT)
Subject: Re: Do you know the harp mike SHURE 520D ?

Philippe LAVALLEE wrote:

>> Hello,
>>
>> I just came back from the SHURE store in Paris to look for any specialized
>>harp mikes. It seems that harmonicists can use 3 models the SM58, the Beta58
>>and the 520D.



In response, James Rossen wrote:
>This info has been covered repeatedly. Please refer to mic section of harp-l
>FAQ at:
>
>http://www.island.net/~blues/faq/faq7.htm#mic

I get this way, too, so I'll probably shatter my own glass house here... But
could we cut new members some slack? It's also worth noting that the sum
total of info on the GB in the FAQ consists of two very short entries, one
of which starts: "Never tried one, but...."

Now to my thoughts on the GB...

The Shure Green Bullet is probably the best-known mic for amplified blues
playing. Having said that, it should be noted that a LOT of serious
amplified blues players DON'T use this mic.

I used to use one, but I found that my hands are really too small to use it
the way I would like. That is, I like to contour my sound by varying the
openness of the cup formed by my hands holding the harp and mic. With the
GB, I can't comfortably make a very tight seal. I've had similar experiences
with other "bullet" style mics, but it seems MOST uncomfortable with the GB.
I also feel that the GB offered less tonal differentiation than I wanted,
but that could also be a result of my inabilty to cup it very tightly.

While most amplified players don't want the full tonal response of a modern
dynamic vocal mic (like the SM58 or SM 57), the GB has SO little high-end
response that I found it hard to use. (Granted, I was using a "new" GB, I
understand that old ones sound different.)

This is all to suggest to Philippe that I would try as many mics as I could
to see which ones have qualities you like. A number of blues players *do*
use SM58's and other dynamic mics to great effect. A personal suggestion:
see if you can locate any *older* vocal mics. My standard mic these days is
an old Shure vocal mic that has, for me, darn-near perfect characteristics.