James Reeser & The Back Seat Drivers

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James Reeser uses Victoria Amplifiers™ Exclusively!



We are a jumpin' swingin' fun Blues band. We come out of the box swingin'. No build up just cranking from the start. But that does not mean we are loud and in your face. We play the rooms at volumes as necessary, we just have a high energy level.



We mainly play in the Great Lakes region mostly around West Michigan but I (James Reeser) play all over the country from time to time and with many other Blues bands as well.



As far as the harp gear I use goes, these days it's all Victoria amps for me. I have 5 of them, two 45410's, a 35210 a Champ with a 12" speaker and a custom made tweed amp head with my special harp circuits. I have owned and or used many amps and for me Victoria is my Holy Grail of harp amps. I do have a HarpKing (Number 12 off the production line) and it's OK. It has plenty of power 100-watts, enough so as to keep up with any loud wanker dude on guitar. As for now the HarpKing has been shelved but I will hang on to it, don't ask it aint for sale. It just doesn't quite do it for me. I sold off all my old Fender amps (and I had a pile of em) save for the tweed 57 Champ.



I use mainly Astatic JT30 mics, some new some old. They have no special electronics inside em, just plain stock as in my opinion it's a waste to add anything to the mic, the tone mostly comes from using a good amp. I do install a hidden push button on off switch where the stand threads are. I hate volume knobs on harp mics, on or off is all you need. I sill use some mics that are all stock with no switches. I used to have a pile of Shure Green Bullet style mics. I still have one I occasionally use, it has a brushed chrome finish. I sold most of the Shures off as I'm not a collector of gear. I buy and keep what I will use.



I do use some stomp boxes. Mostly an old Boss digital delay that I have had since like 1985 or so. I also occasionally use a Danelectro Rocky Road spinning speaker for a simulated Leslie effect. It a really kewl pedal but it needs a mod right out of the box as it has a gain boost when you tap it on and gain boost is a big no no for harp. The mod is simple to do.



For info on what harps I use click on my blog and feel free to add your 2 cents worth.