Fat Tone Amps Microphones

Until now, Sonnyboy's has stayed safely acoustic, but now, at the risk of being called out as  'Judas', we have entered the world of electrics!

For many years, Fat Tone Amps have been synonymous with quality, English made, harmonica amplification. Now concentrating solely on microphones to give your sounds soul, it is a great pleasure for Sonnyboy's to team up with David Walker at FTA, and be able to provide these superb little mics.

There are two models available - the 'standard' Fat Ball and the limited addition Fire Ball, which has an extra 'boost' button.

To quote from David himself: The Fat Ball is a custom designed microphone with volume control, designed for harmonica players to get a deep controlled crunch with a sweet, full and fat tone. Meanwhile, the Fire Ball  is a Fat Ball with an added 'boost' button,
designed to slightly boost your volume while giving extra upper-midrange tone.

In practical terms, the mics weigh in at 143g for the Fat Ball and 169g for the Fire Ball. They have a length of 80mm and diameter of approx. 55mm. Which means they fit nicely in most hands, somewhere between the Green Bullet and the Bulletini. The shell, or casing, of the mic is a solid, ergonomically designed plastic, which feels comfortable and unlikely to slip in the hands, while also feeling solid enough to handle a few bumps. At the rear of the shell is the volume dial, perfectly positioned to allow accurate volume control on the fly.

Please note that these microphones are all handmade by David in his workshop here in the UK. As such, they will have the odd 'tooling mark' here and there, unlike machine made items. These marks are not 'defects', just a sign of the individual care put into producing each individual model.

The key to both the Fat Ball and Fire Ball is the Atom Element - the diaphragm - which has been designed specifically for this microphone, and gives that crunch and sweet tone much sought after by blues harmonica players.

The price quoted is purely for the microphone - you will need to link the microphone to your amplifier with a shielded 1/4 inch jack lead (or wireless system).  

I have had a wonderful time (probably less fun for the neighbours...) experimenting with these little devils, but I am still very much in the early stages of my harmonica journey, and frankly have yet to develop a decent tone, so I'm very grateful to Liam Ward and Adam Pritchard for allowing me to use their reviews below. 

As usual, the prices listed include First Class Royal Mail delivery.

PLEASE NOTE: Not only will you be getting a great, expressive harmonica microphone when you buy a Fat Ball or Fire Ball, but you will be helping out others as well! Fat Tone Amps are using all their profits from these mics to support Harp to Help. You can find out more here: Fat Tone Amps - H2H (Harp to Help)