We’ve kept all the features that made the classic great, but updated it for the 21st century.
We’ve replaced the Strnad’s permanently attached cable with a high-quality, assured connection PureTone multi-contact 1/4″ jack, so you can choose whatever cable length that you think works best with your tone (the longer a cable is, the more capcitance it has, which filters out high frequencies – part of Jimi Hendrix’s tone was that long coiled cable he used).
We’ve designed the Frank with adapters that will allow you to mount it on a microphone stand or on a magnetic rack in addition to the Rank’s compatibility with most conventional spring loaded or clamping racks.
The original Strnad was assembled with exposed hardware. The Frank is held together with recessed and embedded fasteners for a smooth look and feel.
The original Strnad mics that came equipped with a volume control have it mounted at the back of the housing. We’ve moved it to the top of the housing, where it’s at your fingertips, so you don’t have to use two hands to adjust the volume.
Perhaps most important, we’ve made the Frank mic compatible with a much wider range of harmonica brands and models than the Strnad could accommodate. The original was pretty much designed around vintage Hohner harmonicas, likely Marine Bands. The rolled front lips of the harmonica’s coverplates slide sidwways into grooves in the front of the microphone. While that works well enough for Marine Band, not all brands and models of harmonicas have the same dimensions, not even Hohners. With some brands, it’s too loose of a fit to work well and with other brands it either won’t fit or is so large that it puts a strain on the housing. The hard plastic of the housing can also scratch your harmonicas.
Instead of hard plastic grooves, the Frank mics use closed-cell foam retainers. The harmonica mounts the same way as in the original, you slide the harmonica sideways into the Frank, but the foam will accommodate a much wider variety of brands and models of harmonicas, from a 19mm (~3/4″) tall Hohner Marine Band to the 21mm (~7/8″) tall Pro Harp, including most popular diatonic harmonicas from Lee Oskar, Suzuki, Seydel, and other brands. It also makes a more airtight seal on the harmonica, for improved tone and further reduced feedback.
We’re also giving you your choice of microphone elements, a dynamic capsule for that classic overdriven blues harp sound, or a wide and flat frequency response electret condenser microphone that allows to shape your sound the way you want. The electret version is powered by a common CR2032 coin battery that should last for over 400 hours of playing, and is easily changed.
Both versions come with a volume control and both versions are high impedence so they will work with conventional guitar and harmonica amplifiers.
