Spirit Amplifiers Harp Pro

I purchased my Spirit Harp Pro earlier this year, 2003. I was actually looking for an amp in the medium wattage range but read the harmony central reviews of the Pro and was suitably convinced to buy one. I was swayed by the enthusiastic reports of tone by people that had played amps like ones I already own and use, i.e., a Fender Harvard and '59 RI Bassman. That and the point to point wiring, harp-mic specific impedence matching and tone circuitry and in a class A amp features convinced me to write a check, sight unseen. I am very glad I did. I use the Spirit primarily for practice at home, rehearsals, recording, and have used it for some gigs. As the group I play harp in the most is a very loud band, I have gone back to hauling my Bassman, but when there is a good P.A., monitor system and sound man, I will frequently bring the Spirit.

The amp sounds great. The big round three dimensional sound I am always looking for jumped right out of the amp after about five minutes of fiddling with the knobs to get the right tone combo and "mystery knob" and volume setting. I fell in love with my '56 Fender Harvard when I first played it in a great vintage amp/guitar shop in Tacoma, WA on tour and bought it, but I have to admit that the Spirit sounds better. I can also get a lot more volume out of the Spirit than the Harvard (although the Harvard has more Watts - 12, I believe, as opposed to the Spirits 7.5), and the Spirit offers a much larger variety of tone and controlability. I was a little concerned about the knob in the back, because I've never played through a "master volume" system of overdrive that I've liked - they seem to squash the tone in to a one dimensional "fuzztone" type sound. But the mystery knob in back seems to just push the pre-amp tube just enough to broaden and fatten the tone and push it just enough. The amp makes usually makes no unwanted sound I can discern, but in certain venues has picked up very slight buzz from lighting systems. Ok, I have to say that for visceral bottom and and attack, the Bassman (with tube swaps) is a little better - but I believe that that's physics. If I could get the overall sound of the Spirit with the thump of the Bassman, no that'd be something. I won't take any points off the Spirit though, because...it does sound awesome.

I have taken the Spirit to many rehearsals, gigs and recordings in the 9 months or so I've owned it, and it has shown no sign of a problem or any wear and tear yet, for that matter. It seems to be an exceptionally sturdy, solid little amp. It looks great, and the Spirit-bird light is really cool. From the handle to the cab to the speaker to the chassis, it seems to be a little tank.

I haven't had that much contact. The transaction was friendly and expedient enough. I did e-mail for some sort of instructions vis a vis the mystery knob and switch and whatnot but found enough info on the web to figure it out - that which I didn't figure out in 5 minutes of trail and error. I didn't get anything like that, but I don't need it now anyway. I forget the length of the warranty, but I seem to remember that it was shorter than I would have liked. I believe I've exceeded it now, but, like I said, the Spirit is still cooking like brand new - except that the speaker is more broken in and sounds that much sweeter and responsive.

I have been playing harp (among other things) for 25 years, but have only played harp professionally for six years (I've played other instruments professionally for longer than that). I have played harp through an RI '59 Bassman (with some tube swaps), a Fender Deluxe and a Fender Harvard. As I mentioned, I still use the Bassman for loud-ass gigs, but I use the Spirit whenever I can, which is often enough. What do I love about it? The sound, the versatility, the low weight and easy portability, the looks, the durability. What do I hate about it? Nothing. I do wish that I had a Spirit Harp Pro in the 20-35 Watt range, though...that would be ridiculous. I'll say this: From the moment I bought it until now I have loved every time I plug into the Spirit to play it. I love looking at it. It is one of the best pieces of gear I've purchased, and that's for sure. The first time I played it at a rehearsal, the bass player (and producer/engineer with huge ears) remarked very favorably about it. The band leader said, "That thing is only 7 watts?". A good buddy of mine that is a well known (and excellent) chromatic player that plays through a Sonny Jr., and several great vintage Fenders loves it. I don't see how anyone would regret buying one.

The earlier reviews cover this well. All I can add is that on my HP the knobs do not have numbers around them, only 15 lines marking between minimum and maximum. This is not too bad for me as I tend to dial in a setting that I like and don't make significant adjustments during a gig. For players who want to change settings in order to achieve different sounds for different songs, numbers would probably make it easier to do so between songs than trying to find the correct line.

The lack of reverb does not concern me - I play through a vintage '63 Fender Reverb unit.

I have played through (or heard) a few amps that have a sound that I like better (if you find vintage tube amps with microphone/accordion inputs, I suggest that you give them a tryout!), but not by much. These few amps also only have a sound that I like better, not the variety of good tones that the HP has. I purchased my HP when my previous small amp (a '64 Fender VibroChamp) was being repaired and I was having to lug my reissue '59 Fender Baseman even to small venues. I bought it after reading the first two reviews here without ever hearing it. Even though it is rather expensive, the tone (or more accurately the variety of good tones) and volume possible with a reasonably sized amp made it worth it for me (the VibroChamp is now my backup, although it has not yet been needed).

Although the tone of this amp makes it hard to argue against the "voiced for harp" claim, I should point out that users seem to tend to turn the bass way up and keep the treble way down. While much of the EQ is dependent on the speaker qualities (and, of course, personal preferences and volume vs. feedback), wouldn't an amp truly voiced for the harp end up with the "sweet spot" somewhere near the middle of the knob's range for most users?

For those who are curious, the settings for my preferred sound are: Gain at about 2/3; Volume dependent on the band's volume but typically around 2/3; Gain Boost on; Sparkle usually switched off (especially when playing a backing role) but occasionally switched on for solos; Bass about ?; Mid about 1/3; Treble about ?. I currently use a vintage Green Bullet mike with an added volume pot that is typically at around ? for backing and ? for soloing with a diatonic harp (Lee Oskar) or ? (backing) and ? (soloes) using a chromatic (the remaining volume range I reserve for those rare occasions when the band decides to crank it up for a climatic blast). This way I can fine tune my volume with my fingers rather than having to go to the amp and remove a hand from my harp/mike (but it also lessens the signal to the amp so that the amp needs to be turned up higher than for other players using a similar mike at full signal strength). I do not have problems with feedback at the above settings, but I also use a parametric equalizer (TC Electronics) to notch out the frequencies that feedback the quickest with an increase in volume. As stated earlier, I also first go through the Fender Reverb unit. I have also used a vintage and a "Crystal Balls" JT30 through the HP and they also sound great.

At present, there is a free MP3 download of the title track of our CD available at http://www.justlisten.com/ for anyone who wants to hear how this amp sounds with my playing style and this band (Bus Stop Eddy) - I'm pretty certain that I was using the HP on this track and at the above stated setup (Note: there is some additional signal processing from when the track was mixed and mastered).

At least so far for mine. I purchased my HP two years ago (6/01) and use it on average probably at most about once per week. No excessive humming or crackling. After reading the previous posts, I'm wondering if the quality of the parts that Spirit uses in their amps has decreased over the years. The first two reviews and mine showed no problems; the next three had excessive hum (replacement amp was good), capacitor crackling (replacement part corrected problem), and slight crackle (went away after "break in"), and finally, the last review by Wesley had an amp that was not satisfactorily repaired or replaced (crackling, worse after repair, excessive hum on replacement). In any case, it seems like Spirit should be able to catch these problems by testing the amps prior to sending them out. I'm not certain how to date these amps, but if the serial number is based on manufacture date then mine was made in 2000 (serial # 2000-0023), and at this early date the amps seem fine. Perhaps the earlier amps used more reliable or higher quality parts.

I simply ordered and received my HP without other dealings with Spirit.

So far I have only played amplified harp in situations where a PA was only used for vocals (small and medium venues) so I have not miked this amp to how it sounds, instead I've switched to my Bassman when I thought that I may need higher volumes. The HP works great for me for most gigs.

To set the record straight I am not a terribly experienced harp player. I have only been taking this part of my career seriously the last couple of years. Primarily I am a singer, piano player, and at times guitar player. Recently I have been picking up the harp with a little more heart. The one thing that I do know is music equipment; I only like to play the best. That is how I ended up with the Harp Pro. After many months of searching I found this great amp with 7.5 watts, a custom weber 10" speaker, 2 chanels, and all of the standard treble, bass, and gain switch.
I have to say that the additional gain switch is what feature that really cranks this amp up. I feel that I can control the sound that I want rather than having to waste my practice time finding that sound. As a "beginner", compared to some of the players listed, I found this the feature that made up my mind on the amp.
I wasn't as concerned about the power issue when I first bought the amp because I thought I would buy an upgraded amp when I was ready to play out. After having the amp for a while now I realize that this is not going to be an issue when that time comes. The 7.5 watts kick out sound that is impressive both at low levels and when gritty and down town blues sound is necessary.
Lastly the look of the amp takes the cake for the combination of simple and vintage. This amp has a sharp look with a lot of character.

When I think of my blues preference I consider my mood. At times I am really into a sliky sound that is warm and full while other times you've got to crank up the power and put the sound in the dirt. I truly see the all tube sound shine through and I am impressed with the assurance of the point to point sottering. With the gain controls (especially the additional gain knob) this amp goes runs the gambit. I play for hours just testing out the many levels of sound that the amp plugs out.
I had noticed some of the buzzing that was mentioned in other reviews and as a consumer I was a little nervous. I was expecting a little buzz with the class A amp, and actually welcomed it with a class A amp, but it really hasn't been a problem. The more and more that this amp gets broken in this seems to bot be an issue. When I talked to the owner himself he put any doubts I had aside.
I want you to know that I have a very dedicated friend who is a master harp player. He has many vintage amps and refuses to play anything else. I often tinker with his equipment and think that my Harp Pro stands up and many times surpasses the sound. Many beers have been drunk arguing about the subject, but I know what I like.

I am looking forward to the time when I am confident enough to gig out with this amp. I don't anticipate doing this until I am ready but I think that the Harp Pro is already there even if I'm not. I have cranked out the amp in my basement and am figuring out my prefered settings for playing out. This amp is not only a show stopper for sound but the look will really stand out as something special.
I have had the amp long enough to tell you that it has never broken down or shown signs of being a short order puerchase. I expect to grow with this amp and hope that it will become a classic. From what I hear there might only be a limited amount available.

I was especially impressed when I heard that this was a small independant company. When I was talking with my local music shop they told me that Nick sold the amp directly to them and seemed to be pretty approachable. I e-mailed Nick and told him that I was picky when it came to buying my equipment. He told me that he was the same way and offered to talk to me over the phone. He told me about how the company started and his philosophy. I appreciated the change from huge music company's to the return to handbuilt "family" like business. I truly felt that if I ever had a problem even if it was beyond the 6 month warranty that they would take care of me. They care about music and it shows in their product.

I have played many amps on the market both new and vintage. I have been singing and playing for close to 15 years and it took me close to 3 months before I decided on the right harp amp for me. The Harp Pro was the right size, the right sound, the right look, and the right company to hook up with for what I hope to be a better blues career. I have been looking into their Studio Pro for an amp as part of my guitar and keys equipment. I am impressed with this "little giant" and am comfortable endorsing it.

I think the other reviews clearly explain the features. This amp is set up to do a lot, although it doesn't have reverb. That really is not an issue.

Super tone! It's true that the tone on this amp is great, and even better is the range of tones you can get. I found that I could switch tone styles quickly during a gig because of the gain volume knob on the back of the amp. I could go from cruchy to fat to clean.

My first amp started crackling after one week. So, I sent it back to Chuck Dean. When he returned it, the amp crackled even more!? I found that it would crackle continuosly after the amp had warmed up for 40 minutes. I sent the amp back again after Chuck agreed to send me a new. Eventually I received the new amp, and this one buzzed excessively. I know that class-a amps buzzes, but this sounded like someone was playing a kazoo through the amp. The buzz got worse when I turned up the gain volume in the back of the amp, and I could even change the frequency with the high, mid, and low knobs. I have contacted many other Harp Pro owners and some complained about crackling, some about the excessive hum, or corrosion, or burnt out tubes after a few gigs. Of all the people I contacted only ONE person had no problems with their brand new Harp Pro.

I am very disappointed in the customer service, especially after reading the reviews below. Chuck was quick to try to fix the amp the first time, but really he didn't- it crackled worse. That made me very suspicous of the craftsman ship of the amp if the maker couldn't even fix the problem. Worse he expected me to pay for shipping both ways. Why should I pay for his mistake? Then he agreed to replace the amp. Ok, fine. But, now he refuses to deal with the fact that the amp has excessive hum. After all this I prefer to get my money back, but "No Refunds" right? Worse, when I contacted the other Harp Pro owners many of them had their amp techs fix all the problems. Why should a customer pay to have stuff fixed on a brand new amp that's under warranty?!?

The amp does have great tone, but it is a huge risk. I have already put an extra 80$ in the amp just in shipping it back and forth, and for that I don't have a working amp at the moment. Chuck Dean even refuses to deal with me. So much for that 6 month warranty or taking responcibility for your work.

This is a 7.5 watt, 1x10, all tube, point to point wired little harp amplifier. Good looking little thing and built like a tank, tolex and grill cloth look sharp, cool leather handle. Panel controls include treble, mid, bass, A-B input, gain and a "sparkle" switch. No effects but none are really needed with this amp, maybe a dash of reverb from time to time. Nothing fancy here, this thing is built to look and sound like a vintage tube amp, period. Bought mine new in mid 2002.

First let me say that I'm not affiliated with Spirit Amps in any way. I payed $700 like most of you other guys. The typical harp player starts out with a solid state amp...can't get "THAT" sound. Buys a couple hundred bucks worth of stomp boxes and mics...still can't get it. Then he hears through the grapevine that the only way to get true bluesharp tone is with a tube amp... only to spend years and potentially thousands of dollars on his quest for tone... with no feedback (from the amp OR the wife!). Man, I've done all that. The HARP PRO appears to be the answer. The secret is in the preamp circuitry. Unlike guitar amps, this thing is set up for a microphone level input and it's voiced for the harmonica. The end result is that you can crank this thing up very loud with minimal feedback. That means that this 7.5 watt amp can hang with most any 20 to 30 watt tube amp on the market. You may have a 30 watt amp but if you can't turn it past "2" then you really don't have anything but a feedback machine. I've played several small venues, even a 300 seat room, and didn't have to mic it through the P.A. system, as I said before this is a very loud little booger. 2 weeks ago we played a large outdoor concert venue and it miked very well through the P.A. using an SM57. The stage volume was very good even though the band was cranked. I like the fact that this amp can cover SO many tonal ranges and can do so with any amount of distortion you care to dial in. Great lows, clean highs and creamy distortion, it's a harp player's dream come true. My favorite combo is a JT30 played through a Boss RV-3 with the reverb and delay just BARELY cracked open. I normally run the bass almost all the way up, the mid and treble at 2 and the sparkle switch on...gain is set somewhere in the middle. I've found that the HP sounds good with a variety of other harp mics including the Shure 520DX and the Beta 58.

Can't tell after only a couple of months. At first, I had a slight crackle at high volumes but the problem went away after break in. I brought this up to Nick and he sez he'll cover me should it pop up again. I've driven this thing pretty hard and it's done very well so far.

Customer support has been great. It took a lot for me to spend $700 on an amp (sight unseen) but Nick answered all of my questions promply (via email). He has also been just as prompt with his answers AFTER the sale and that tells me a lot about the company.

Been playing professionally for 25 years and own a dwindling number of amps. Currently I own a modded Fender Hot Rod Deluxe, A Crate VC508H (another great little amp for harp) and a tube Princeton. The HP has far greater tone than any amp I've ever played through. If my HARP PRO was lost or stolen I'd go over to some of my harp playing buddy's houses and get it back :-) Seriously, I'd by another one if something happenned to it. The only thing I would change about this amp actually has nothing to do with the hardware at all. I'd like to see the 6 month warranty stretched out to a year. After all, were talking about an expensive piece here. I also understand that it doesn't come with an instuction book. Not a big deal, it's not rocket science to operate this thing but many people like the warm-fuzzy feeling you get when you hold a document that links you to the manufacturer, an explanation of the warranty and maybe a parts list. Overall I'm very happy with my purchase and I recommend the amplifier to anyone. I'd REALLY like to see these guys come out with a 2x10 or 2x12 version at about 30 watts.

Features: 9
First of all I have to agree with just about everything that was said in the other 3 reviews on Harmony Central -- all positive. This is simply one of the best harp amps I've ever played thru. The tone controls treble, mid, bass,are wonderfully responsive. The extra preamp gain volume that has been added on the back of the amp allows you to dial in the amount of distortion to taste. There is a boost switch which gives a bit of a boost to the power amp stage. This fattens the lows and highs somewhat. This is certainly the most versatile amp I've ever played thru.

Sound Quality: 10
I affectionately like to think of this amp as a "mini Bassman". Never did I think that such a small amp (at only 7.5 watts) would come close to having the punch and tone of a larger amp. When you play thru an amp like a Bassman has 4 x 10" speaker configuration, you certainly get a loud stage volume. However, I still rely on monitors to get a relaxed "surround sound" playing volume on stage. Often, what the audience hears is another story. Ninety-five per-cent percent of the time when playing in clubs, I still mic my Bassman. Sometimes you deal with a sound person who perceives your stage volume to be too loud, and the audience isn't hearing what you - the player are hearing on stage?.The point I'm trying to make here is that the Spirit Harp Pro when cranked thru the PA can sound just about as big as a Bassman. You only ever have one speaker miked on a Bassman, so the amount of perceived whomp and punch is still there for the audience with the Harp Pro -- since you are still only miking one 10" speaker?Obviously, these two amps are different animals and sound quite different - but remember we are talking about 7.5 watts here compared to 40 watts in a Bassman.
Using an Electro-voice Re 10 mic into an Maxon Analog Delay and a Little Lanie spring reverb pedal, I can make this little tone monster sound much bigger that it really is. My favourite settings with this mic combo (the EV RE 10 mic has a very aggressive output for a dynamic super cardiod mic) are with the boost switch on, the main volume on full, with the preamp volume turned up just enough to allow the the amp to begin to honk without it being really distorted or feeding back -I suppose, except for the boost switch, this would be the cleanest setting on the amp. However, the fact that the amp is turned up to the max gives you this beautifully warm rich natural distortion. This gives me a varied and textured response so that when I'm laying back and just munching on a few notes there is just a hint of break up, and then when I play really aggressively the
amp really opens up with a very warm sounding compressed distortion. Obviously amp settings are a very subjective thing and will be very different for everybody.

Reliability: ?
I can't say for sure as I've only had the amp for a few weeks?.I did have one problem with the amp, one of the capacitors in the amp started crackling. This apparently is a real fluke according to Chuck Dean just like getting a bad tube in a batch of 100?

Customer Support: ?
Chuck Dean has been very helpful in giving me hints as to what makes the amp tick?.it did take a few weeks to get the new original stock capacitor from Nick Capogreco, but fortunately I had my amp tech replace it with one of comparable value and sound?

Overall Rating: 9.5
This is simply one of the best amps I've ever played thru. I presently own a modified rewired point to point '59 reissue Bassman, and a modified rewired point to point '65 Vibrolux amp. I've also owned a '66 Blackface Fender Princeton, a 66' Fender Pro Reverb, a mid seventies Fender Super Reverb. I very breifly owned a 70 watt 4 x 10" HarpKing, and I personally believe that the Harp Pro has way more "personality" than the HarpKing amp -- again, of course this is a very subjective thing. The Harp Pro works perfectly for just about any playing situation and is wonderfully easy to transport. I've been looking for a small amp for years that would come close to having the whomp of a larger amp without the annoying and often ugly crunchy highs that small amps often have. Of course in theory, any amp can be modified to tonally suit harp players, but this amp sounds fantastic straight out of the box. Before the mods were made to the "Harp Pro" version of the Spirit (guitar) amp, the foundation for a great harp amp was obviously already there

My Spirit Amps "Harp Pro" model was built in June of 2001 by Chuck Dean and Nick Capogreco. The Harp Pro impressed me right out of the box, as I had little time to "test" it out or do a lot of experimentation with the controls before I used it at a live performance last week.
This amp was developed specifically for harp playing using harmonica-type microphones, and my hat's off to Nick and Chuck for succeeding in creating such an awesome sounding amp in such a small package. This amp works perfectly for any playing situation and is easy to transport. For me it was a dream come true; something I had been looking for for years.

The Harp Pro passed my "tests" with flying colors. My band played a large hall in St. Simon's Island (GA) for a corporate client, and with little time to play with the amp to find it's sweet spot it sounded fantastic. I, of course, had it miked with a Shure SM57 and the Class-A AC hum was barely noticeable. Had the "gain" control up about 3/4 and the channel volume almost half way up, with gain & sparkle (presence) switches "on". Treble was at 4, mids were half way, and lows were set at about 3 notches shy of maxed-out.

I played through one of Scooter Berberian's wonderful creations, a "Slap-O-Matic" custom chrome harp mic (with ceramic element), plus a Danelectro "Corned Beef" mini reverb pedal with the mix control up about 1/3 to fatten up the sound. We ran the mic on my amp through the FOH mixer dry, with no additional reverb. It cut and blended wonderfully with the rest of the band.

The thing that impresses me most about this amp and mic combination is that not only do I get fantastic tone and punch out of this small an amp, but the highs are extremely clear. They are neither muddy or piercing (which is typically the case with most guitar amps I've played through), but just right. It's wonderful to get that deep "whomp" out of the lower notes and still have clear highs that don't assault your eardrums.

The most enjoyable part of playing through the Harp Pro, given that I didn't have any time before the show to play with the adjustments, was that it sounded GREAT right out of the box. I didn't have to spend hours with the settings to find that ONE great combination that would make the amp sound good for harp. Even for such a large room, I had plenty of stage volume. There was still room on both the volume and gain controls for more if I had needed it. Speaking of the gain control, it gave me just the right amount of overdrive I needed without a lot of tweaking. I am highly impressed with the EASE in getting a great sound out of this amp.

The amp is essentially new, so I have no reference for reliability. I do not travel with a spare amp though, and have every reason to believe this one will hold up just fine. The amp is obviously built solidly and has features that let me know it should stand up under reasonable wear & tear of touring. The white tolex covering is heavy and durable. The texture is such that I believe it would take a lot to cut or scrape it. I love the metal corner protectors. I baby my gear, but it's nice to know I don't have to worry if the amp happens to get bumped lightly on occasion. (I am also traveling with the Harp Pro in an extremely well-made TUKI COVERS case -- basically a ballistic nylon soft case with heavy padding.) The grill covering seems equally well-made and durable. All controls, speaker, and handle are mounted solidly.

I had a touch of bad luck and the original amp I rec'd had a problem with excessive Class A ground hum. Nick was on the case and immediately replaced my amp with a new one. He didn't make me wait while the Spirit crew tried to figure out what the problem was, he just shipped me out a brand new amp immediately. Now, that is what I call top-notch customer service.

I have been playing harp approx. 11 years, 7 years full-time. Although I have played through and endorsed other terrific amplifier products, the Spirit "Harp Pro" really "delivers" when you're talking about a small harp amp that'll cover just about any situation.
One huge benefit for me is that this little bugger can be carried aboard a commercial airline and will fit in most overhead compartments. No longer do I have to deal with expensive freight costs (for larger amps I've traveled with) or be at the mercy of whatever amp a client provides for me at a gig (when I can't bring my own). For the price, I don't think you can buy a more versatile, quality harmonica amp.

My Spirit Harp Pro was manufactured in 2001. It includes two channels, treble, mid and bass controls, a gain switch, sparkle switch, and separate volume and gain (master) controls. The amp comes with a custom-made Weber AlNiCo 10" speaker that sounds great - breaks up very nicely. The tube complement includes (2) 12AX7 preamps, (1) 6V6GT power and (1) 5AR4/GZ34 rectifier tube. This amp is 7.5 Class A watts of pure tone, with the widest range of tone capabilities I've ever experienced in an amp. Want full, clean tone? It's there. Want to push it into raunchy distortion? Stand back - it'll grind it out big time!

Best of all, the Spirit Harp Pro is the most feedback-resistant amp I have found. I can stand directly in front of the amp at either practice or gigs, and there's not a peep of feedback. Now, like any amp, you have to dial in the tonal characteristics you want to find the "sweet spot" between tone and feedback avoidance, but this amp is definitely "harp-freindly" when it comes to eliminating feedback.

Mine is covered in brown tolex - the same material as was used by Fender in the early-sixties Brown Princetons - and has dark brown grill cloth. It looks great! And at only 23 pounds, this amp is very portable without breaking your back.

One point I've mentioned to Spirit which has nothing to do with product features or performance - I'd like to see Spirit include an amp cover in the purchase price. It's easy and inexpensive to purchase one separately (hint - a Blues Junior cover fits perfectly), but it'd be a nice touch to include one with the original purchase. Not an issue considering the product features, however.

This this is the perfect amp for blues harp, IMHO. My settings are as follows: Treble at 0, Midrange at 4, Bass at 7. I use channel 1, with the gain and sparkle switches "off". I set volume at 9 and master at 7. With these settings, I get exactly the tone I want - crunchy sag and compression, but still clean on attack. The combination of 6V6 and the tube rectifier allow much better sag and compression than amps with SS rectifiers.

This amp is plenty loud for rehearsals; my band includes a drummer, bass player and two guitar players, and the harp can be heard just fine. For gigs, I mic it through the PA. Again, this is not a problem because I mic all the instruments through the PA at gigs - not to blow the doors off, but to get an even distribution of sound throughout the club. This is true for both large and small clubs.
The amp does not have reverb or tremolo, but I don't use those anyway so it's not a drawback for me.

I've only had my Harp Pro for a couple of months, so I can't comment on its' reliability. What I CAN comment on is the obvious care and attention to detail visible in the construction of the amp. This little monster is beautifully made, and the many conversations I've had with Nick Capogreco at Spirit over the past few months as we discussed the amp's setup have shown me that he's committed to building a high quality product. So far, I'm very satisfied!

In addition to the performance of the Harp Pro itself, Customer Support is where Spirit really shines . . .

I originally purchased Spirit's Studio Pro - their guitar amp. I bought it because I recognized that its characteristics represented a perfect harp amp - Class A, tube rectifier, and lower power. When I got the Studio Pro and sat in with a freind's blues band, the guys couldn't believe the incredible tone and volume I was getting from such a small amp.

I called Nick and suggested to him that he should market the amp to Harp Players because of its suitability for this application. Nick and I discussed a couple of changes I had made to the Studio Pro (I swapped out the 12AX7's and replaced them with 12AY7's; this is a very common preamp tube swap many Harpers do to reduce feedback). Much to my delight, Nick called me a couple of weeks later to tell me that he was incorporating my input into a new amp Spirit was starting to produce called the Harp Pro!

Nick described the subtle changes he was making in the Studio-to-Harp Pro conversion, and offered to convert my Studio Pro to a Harp Pro at no charge! I shipped it back, Nick completed the conversion promptly, and I had my new Harp Pro back in a couple of weeks (I'm in California and Spirit is in New York, so transit time was the reason it took even this long). This is great Customer Service!

The warranty period is only six months; I'd like to see Spirit extend the warranty period to at least a year, but the quality of construction is such that I'm not concerned about the amp failing to perform.

I've been blowing harp and singing lead/fronting blues bands for over 30 years, and I've never been so impressed with the performance of any amp. I play Special 20's and use both a Green Bullet and JT30; both mics have their own tonal characteristics, and both sound great with the Harp Pro.

It's also cool to know that my input prompted Spirit to begin manufacturing the Harp Pro. It's obvious that the contributions Tom Townsley made to its final design are well thought-out, because this is absolutely the best harp amp I've ever owned (and I've owned LOTS of amps over the years - 59 RI Bassman, Pro Junior, Blues Junior, Delta Blues, VibroChamp, several Princetons, a Hot Rod Deluxe, and probably more that I've forgotten).

If this little tone monster was stolen or lost, I'd buy another one in a heartbeat!

This amp, modified from the Spirit Studio Pro, is designed specifically for harmonica players. I worked with Chuck Dean to get this amp sounding just right for blues harmonica. Basically, Chuck redesigned the tone circuit to meet the harp player's need for a deep, warm sound. He added a gain control which, operated in tandem with the volume, adds crunch and grit to the signal in whatever amount is desired. Tone controls for treble, mid-range and bass allow you to tweak to the desired levels--I like lots of bass and just a sprinkling of treble and mid. Still, there's room to turn the bass up even further, but I get the sound I want without coming close to pegging it. The amp has two channels, a "sparkle" switch and a switch that keeps negative feedback from circulating in the system--something I don't fully understand, since I'm not a technophile, but it seems to boost the sound in a way that I like. No reverb or tremolo, but I use a reverb unit with the amp for gigs. Harp players generally don't need lots of accessories, only good tone--and this amp has tone in abundance.

I've played harp professionally for nearly two decades, and in that time I've collected LOTS of small amps that sound really cool. The Spirit Harp Pro sounds as good as the best of them AND is capable of greater tonal variety than any of them. I've directly compared this amp to: a blackface Princeton Reverb, a brown Princeton, a blackface Champ, several Silvertones, a tweed National, a Premier Twin 8 and a Harmony 410A. The Spirit is louder and has a more varied tonal pallette than any of them. Part of the secret is the gain control and volume control ratio--I can turn this amp up much higher without feedback. The Princetons wouldn't go much above 3 or 4 without squealing. Other amps went higher, but none as high as the Spirit. The Spirit has plenty of bottom end, a nice edge to the mids and sparkle on the treble. The gain gives me crunch in abundance, or I can back off on it, crank the volume, and get a round "Walter Horton" sound. It's like several vintage amps in one. And the ten inch Weber speaker sounds great! This is the perfect amp for practice and studio sessions, where the usual big rigs are too cumbersome. However, I've used this amp at gigs (miking it, of course), and it cut through beautifully. I didn't even need to run it through the monitor. If your band plays at a reasonable volume, this amp should work well for small and medium sized rooms.

I have yet to find a better small amp for the money.

The Spirit Harp Pro is solidly made, as far as I can tell. Of course, it's new, so I can't guarantee it'll last one hundred years, but it seems sturdier than a lot of the fifty year old amps I do have.

Chuck and Nick are friendly and reliable and willing to do whatever's necessary to provide total tonal satisfaction. The warranty's for six months. I might have liked to see it for a year at least, but I trust the amp and their workmanship.

So, after all the comparisons have been made, I find that the Spirit Harp Pro ranks as one of my all-time favorite amps. I may still use my 59 Bassman for the larger venues, but I plan to use the Spirit Harp Pro whenever I can--including my upcoming studio projects. I might mention that I've tested this amp with Shure Green Bullets (old ones!), Astatic crystal mics and an old EV. All sounded good, with the Shure perhaps topping the rest. I also used the amp with my Premier reverb unit, and it sounded great. I'd recommend this to any harp player looking for a kickass small amp. You may find some that are cheaper (and they'll probably sound that way)--and you can certainly find some that are more expensive, but you'll be hard pressed to find one that offers more great tone and tonal variety than this one at any price.