i'll supply other fotos when i can, but i should say a few things about this gizmo. then i won't write any more about it on this thread.
the idea is to enable the player to amplify his/her acoustic sound by avoiding proximity effects and cupping. the device holds the mic in free air at a constant working distant from the chrome, or a diatonic played in first position. it is not for the blues player, unless one is playing modern blues on the chrome in first position, as though the chrome were a trumpet or a sax. the mic is held 1" from the harmonica, the minimum working distance, according to audix. they are being conservative; you can get a lot closer with the fireball before you detect any proximity effects, but i'm not going to push it. a spacer moves the mic to the right, and it is pointing slightly upward and aimed at hole 5. a shorter spacer would move it to the left.
the device wraps around the middle, ring, and pinky fingers of the left hand. the index finger is free. the fingers of the left hand should be extended over the mic (age has them in a fist to better show the gizmo. playing this way might diminish the sound from the lowest reeds.) and the tip of the middle finger can be put on top of the chrome to help support the weight of the mic. i work the slide with my thumb, so i can put my left hand on top of my right for even more support.
the fireball is a small light mic and because its barrel is so short its weight is way forward, where it has little leverage against the player.
neither the standard sm57 or sm58 can be used with this device because their barrels extend so far out from their clips, but the ultimate 57 by greg heumann (with the appropriate clip) can be used with it. in fact because the outside diameters of heumann's barrel and of what is left of the 57 barrel are constant, no taper, the 57 can be slid closer to the harmonica and farther away from it over a distance of more than an inch and a half. because differences between the 57 and 58 can be dealt with using EQ, and because the 57 is lighter than the 58, and because the position of the 57 can be adjusted, i think, at this point, that the 57 would work better with this device. but the jury is out.
Brendan - if i sent you one to try out would you have to pay customs duty on it? you already have my address if you want to email me.
Scotty - the left end of the chrome butts up against the spot where my palm meets my index finger, so i don't need to squeeze the chrome between my index finger and thumb to counter the force of pushing the slide in. the chrom is supported by my right hand and simply rests on my left thumb. my left thumb plays no part in supporting the chrom or the mic.
