Amplified Harp At The Right Price
Lo-Fi and Lo-$$
The sound of blues harmonica is the sound of amplified harmonica. Save your arguments about Sonny Terry or other blues legends who played without being snuggled up against a microphone. Come on, let's agree that a killer blues harp sound requires an amp.
If you have swollen up checking account, you can take care of the microphone + amplifier challenge any way you want. But if you live in the Common Man Blues Harp World, don't get discouraged by the chunky price tags that accompany the pro audio gear. Even modest tools like a Pignose amp and Hohner harp microphone will lighten your burden by a couple hundred dollars.
What about the deep discounts? I urge your to experiment with unconventional amp ideas. For example, I have been fooling around with an old Radio Shack amplified speaker (catalog no. 32-2040). Don't know what the original purpose of this cheap little speaker was, but this guy makes a fun alternative to pro gear. I partnered it with a cheap lavalier microphone, and I have a fat, overdriven, rough sound.
Other bargain ideas: microphones that come with a child's electronic keyboard or other audio toy, microphones from thrift shops that accompany old tape recorders, etc.
