The main points from Richard Hunter’s (and others) Blog Review of the Silver Bullet:
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Richard Hunter
I’ve had the pleasure of testing two mics this week: the Blowsmeaway Bulletini and the Silverfish Silver Bullet. I recorded some audio of both mics last night, and I’ll post that to my site soon. In the meantime, a few impressions.
The Bulletini costs about twice as much as I’m used to paying for a harp mic. I’m a pretty cheap guy when it comes to gear, and it took me a long time to get off my cash and buy a Bulletini. I shoulda done it sooner. It’s a very solid piece of gear, apparently carved from a block of aluminum–I might be able to break it with a hammer and chisel, but it would take a while. It seems heavier in the hand than it looks, like a dwarf star that packs a lot of matter into a (cosmically) small space. The signal it produces is high (meaning lots of headroom) and wide (meaning a broad frequency response, with plenty of bottom end), and there’s great breakup on note attacks when you crank the gain. Ergonomically and sonically, it’s about the best mic I’ve ever used for amped blues and rock where you want the character of the mic in the sound. (The Audix Fireball remains tops for situations where you want the mic to be transparent, for example when you’re stacking multiple harp parts, as I so often do.)
The Silverfish Silver Bullet sells for less than half the price of the Bulletini, so you’d expect something lesser. What’s surprising about the Silver Bullet is how good it sounds at that price point. The tone of the mic is less broad than the Bulletini, in particular in terms of bass response. But the Silver Bullet produces lots of headroom and a very satisfying blues tone with plenty of screech and growl. Ergonomically, it’s small, lightweight, and built to take plenty of abuse. In short, the mic offers high value for money.
If you’ve got the money, the Bulletini is in my opinion the best mass-produced modern harp mic on the market. (Let me note that I’ve used dozens of mics in my time, everything from tape recorder mics to a range of vocal mics, and I am basing that statement on that experience.) If you’re short on cash, the Silver Bullet will do yeoman work until you can save up the money for a Bulletini.
Great choices at two different price points. It’s a good world for harp players.
Shaun Freke
I’ve had both and gig a Silverfish, I just prefer the tone I get from it through my rig..I guess its kinda subjective and personal.
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Greg Heumann
Great review, Richard – thank you for doing it. I should point out that the Bulletini’s bass boost makes a really big difference when playing through small amps, which typically have plenty of crunch and tone, but are very weak in the bass range.
Richard Hunter
I should note: I paid for both mics. My opinion is mine. This is a good time also to thank Rick Park at Silverfish and Greg Heumann at Blowsmeaway for their helpful advice and support.
Rick Park
I appreciate the honesty of the review – the Silver Bullet is not aimed at competing with Greg’s mics [which produce a darker tone at a different price bracket] -The Silver Bullet offering a range of features over a number of models. I receive some great review for these mics as well as constructive criticism on occasion – I aim for a qulairy mic that is also affordable. However they can kick out some great fat tone – with lots of crunch when properly set-up – for both practice and gigging – Rick
Richard Hunter
The silver Bullet is a very good mic and high value for money.