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questions about it,
please drop me an email.
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The "Frank" Harmonica Microphone
Frank Strnad was an engineer and a member of a harmonica trio with his
brothers and he invented what is likely the first microphone
specifically designed to work with a harmonica, which he named after
himself, the Strnad. American Designs Inc., Frank's company, produced
the Strnad mic in Flint, Michigan. Over the years, the Strnad
microphone gained a loyal following. The design is a harmonica classic,
and with good reason, it's practical and sounds good. Frank Strnad
passed away on New Year's Day 2012 and ADI went out of business. These
days, if you want a Strnad, you're likely going to have to buy one used
on eBay or Reverb.
The Electric Harmonica Company is happy to announce that we've updated
and improved Frank Strnad's classic design while preserving those
features that harmonica players have valued for decades. The sound is
funneled to the microphone element inside the housing. That reduces
acoustic feedback and balances the sound of the reeds. The Strnad
design also allows you to play without having to cup a microphone in
your hand with the harmonica since the harp is secured in the
microphone. A port in the top allows you to do wah effects with your
finger. The Strnad has also been very popular with harmonica players
who use a rack and want to play amplified.
We've kept all of that with the new "Frank" harmonica microphones, but made some updates 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).
The original Strnad was assembled with exposed hardware. The Frank is held together recessed and embedded fasteners.
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
wider range of harmonica brands and models than the Strnad. 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.
Additionally, we've given Frank some visual pop. Being located in
Flint, a car-making town, I'm sure that Mr. Strnad heard a quote
attributed to Henry Ford, "You can have any color you want, as long as
it's black." I've never seen a Strnad that wasn't black. Since we're 3D
printing the Frank, you can have it in a wide variety of colors.
The Frank harmonica microphones are compatible with a variety of racks
and adapters are available to work with magnetic racks like the Seydel
Gecko.
The Frank harmonica microphones are proudly "Made in the Motor City",
asssembled from domestic and imported components in suburban Detroit.
Why call it Frank? Obviously to honor Frank Strnad and his classic design .
Finally, we're pricing both models at a very reasonable $75, plus
shipping and handling. To be honest, the components are not very
expensive and we're selling direct so there's no need to charge a lot
more. They are also being made-to-order, so we don't have a lot of
money tied up in inventory.