Johnnie MacCracken's - Feb 2017 with FX (Patreon)

Last month, I played at Johnnie MacCracken's Celtic Pub in Marietta, Georgia. It was an exhiliarting experience for me because something was different.

It all started last year. I was playing at MacCracken's at the end of the year, when my PA (portable amplier), that I've had for a good 10 years, died on me.

I hate losing gear. Not because of the financial loss, but because I HATE research. Andrew picked this PA years ago after doing a bunch of research. I suck at research. And I didn't know what to do. 

Fortunately, I didn't need the amplifier until February. But by then, it was too late. Admittedly, I have a back up. It's battery powered. So it would work.

The only problem with the back up is that I have just two channels on the amp. That means I can play autoharp and vocals. If I want to swap autoharps, every other song, then, I have to unplug, reset the levels, and blah blah blah. It's a hassle!

A few days before, I realized I had an alternative from my days playing rock n'roll. I have a Crate amplifier that I haven't truly played since 1998 I think. Sure I occasionally plugged in the autoharp, but I never cranked it up. What would it sound like in such a situation.

Being impulsive like I am, I decided to find out... at MacCracken's. Yeah, I did a little testing before I headed there, but this was my first true experience playing the autoharp through a Crate Guitar amp...and the result... was FUN!

I plugged it in and swapped between distortion and heavy reverb, and of course just straight autoharping.. It was a BLAST all around. And I don't think I was the only one who had fun.

I recorded the entire show. This is one of the sets... maybe the second or third. I need to work out WHEN to use effects and when not to, but some of the songs, IMHO, sound even better with distortion. I'm just saying...

Enjoy!

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