"Bottle 'O Blues Harmonica Mic Review"

The "Bottle 'O Blues" Harmonica Microphone is handbuilt with American pride and ingenuity!
Steve"Big Daddy BluzHarp"Harvell

( 1-14-08 ) THIS IS AN UPDATE TO THE REVIEW BELOW THAT I DID ALMOST A YEAR AGO ! The "Bottle 'O Blues" harmonica mic has slowly, over the last few months,taken the spot of being my main gigging mic as well as what I practice through.I do not use the "Bottle 'O Blues" mic for just the clean side of harp playing.My main love for it is in the way it does that very Smooth-Fat-just ever so slightly Greasy-Velvety-Edgy harp sound!

When cupping the mic very tightly for instance on a hole #2 inhale bend and still keeping your right thumb tight on the harp,start moving your fingers and palm away like you are trying to wave(but still keeping your thumb on the harp) and then bring your palm back in for an extra super tight cup.Well,this will make the harp talk,and the women melt!This mic will amplify in a most excellent way,every little nuance you do in your playing.

With the "Bottle 'O Blues" microphone I turn my amp up 2 to 3 notches higher than usual and turn the volume knob on the mic back just a tad.Leave it like this for regular playing and then reach over with your pinky finger and turn wide open for a SOLO!Just as you are finishing your solo use your pinky to turn down a bit to prevent feedback and you are good to play rythm again without feedback.

I use the "Bottle 'O Blues" microphone with mainly 5 watt tube amps ( Epiphone "Valve Jr." and the new "Blackheart Engineering" 5 watt tube head) almost turned up to the max (around 3/4 wide open).In this way I can play in a full band setting in a small to medium venue.This is in my opinion the most touch responsive mic I have ever played through.Any variation in how tight of a cupping you maintain or how much force you play your harp with is so in tune because of the "Bottle 'O Blues" microphone.

This mic is based in the mid to slightly bass range.But if you loosen your cup it will brighten up just fine!As of now this is my favorite mic because of it's veratility/durability and because it handles like a 500 horse power/firebreathing monster.Give it just a little extra breath and tighter cupping and it will turn into King Kong!

( THIS IS ORIGINAL REVIEW FROM EARLY 2007 )I would to turn all of my readers onto a most excellent harmonica microphone that I have fell in love with.And that is the "Bottle 'O Blues" dynamic element harmonica microphone.This happens to be one of the VERY best harmonica mics that I have ever played through.This a HOT mic that is very resistant to feedback,thus giving you more volume plus better tone from pure power tube overdrive.The "Bottle 'O Blues" has a dynamic element that gives you smooth distortion, and in my mind's eye is pronounced in the mid to bass range.That is why I like it over the bullet type mics that are pronounced in the upper to mid sound range and are more prone to feedback before the desired level of gain is reached.The Bottle 'O Blues mic has an extremely smooth volume control that when turned all the way down will click into the off position.

The "Bottle 'O Blues" microphone appears to be made from a see thru, heavy duty mid sized ,never used, spice bottle!It is so frigging cool to see all the wiring and components thru the bottle and coupled with the tone it puts out, is one hell of an attention getter.I started making my own plexiglass extention cabinets a couple of years ago for doing speaker reviews,what a farout combination to be using a see through harmonica mic and see through extention cab with perfect twisted wiring of various colors.That is one good benefit from getting older,being able to afford the right gear and having the experience to know what gear will enhance your signature tone.

The "Bottle 'O Blues" harmonica mic is only $49.95,most other mics will cost you $80.00 to $115.00 and the tone from a "Bottle 'O Blues" mic can stand toe to toe with any off the self mic on the market.Jim McBride told me that he is testing out each mic into an oscilloscope so he can see the actual audio waveform and detect the the elements that have a weak output in order to insure that everyone is getting a HOT mic.

Jim McBride builds each microphone by hand himself and they come with a (7) day "no questions asked" warranty.If you don't like it, just return it and he will refund your money.The "Bottle 'O Blues" harp mic comes with a 6 month warranty against any workmanship problems.Jim's email is bottle_o_blues@yahoo.com and he welcomes any and all emails pertaining to his mics.

The "Bottle 'O Blues" harp mic sounds so awesome with my Ben Fargen Bastage ,5 watt,EL-34 tube head that it is hard to describe in words.Even with my little Hognose 20 it absolutely screams,folks cannot beleive what a nasty little animal it turns a Pignose into.Seriously,I highly recommend the "Bottle 'O Blues" harmonica mic,and for the price,it is just a plain good karma mojo kind of thang!

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