Why harp players should use

the PA.
Text Box: Harmonica players have trouble getting heard because harp sound is very difficult to distribute acoustically within a room, especially if you have competition from the guitar player! In most cases, the PA system allows players to get heard because the PA speakers are typically -in front of you -above your head -to your side Harmonica tones can get easily masked by guitars and keyboard. It can be difficult for harp players to use a single loud amp sitting on the floor. It invites feedback and doesn’t let the player get heard in the room. Distributed sound often works better! I suggest players use: both a line feed to the PA and a small amp fed by the instrument out at the same time. Now everyone in the room can hear you and you can hear yourself! You can shape the tones the way you want! You can get just the right intonation and pitch. Or you could use ONLY the PA system. Then there are no worries about carrying around a heavy amp or finding a place to plug it in. WHAT TO TELL THE SOUND GUY Tell the Sound Guy that you are a simple-processed line-level, low impedance signal and NOT A VOCAL MIC. During sound check, you want it flat. NO PA EQ! That’s all s/he needs to give you. You are now in total control using any Commander (which runs on batteries or on an optional wall supply.) Any Commander makes traveling and touring easy. You can use ANY PA system, anywhere in the world. All you need is any Commander and an interface cable. All Commanders are designed to give you a sweet, warm, amp sound through any solid state PA. The winning combination is frequently using the PA and your favorite amp!

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DIAGRAMS

 

           Note:  Any Holmes Harp Commander™  (“HC”) is a matching preamp, tone circuit and dual direct box designed to do the matching for you. It was designed specifically to solve the matching problems that arose when players put together pieces of equipment. In stock condition, a 1953 tube PA might not work ideally with a later model crystal mic. Nor would a late model solid state amp work directly with a vintage dynamic low impedance balanced mic.
Text Box: Any Harp Commander can be used with a modified effects pedal with any kind of mic and still use most of the HC functions. Text Box: PA or Recorder

Harp Commander II and III Functions:

 
Text Box: Mic Matching Text Box: Buffer and Tone Controls Text Box: Preamp and Level Control Text Box: Phase and Compression Text Box: Output drivers. One for instrument. One for PA/ Recorder. Text Box: Harp Commander II and III™ Text Box: Any Holmes Harp Commander™ is designed to match any mic and feed both an amp and a PA at the right signal levels at the same time. Text Box: Any Amp Text Box: PA or Recorder Text Box: Any Mic Text Box: Modified Effects Pedal Text Box: Any Amp Text Box: Any Holmes Harp CommanderText Box: Any Mic Text Box: Any Holmes Harp Commander™ Text Box: Note: You can use any of the pro low-impendance balanced mics with all Commanders if you use an in-line matching transformer adapter. The HC III has its own internal mic preamp and transformer.