Local musician Peter Gresham had a desire to recreate the warm overdriven sounds from the recordings of the harmonica (blues harp) from the American south on early blues records.

The ‘Sure 520 Green Bullet’ microphone first appeared in 1939 and was used as a vocal microphone by the military due to it’s rugged construction which passed every destructive test for use in battle conditions. It was also immune to the effects of high temperatures, humidity and condensation.

This was the perfect solution for harmonica players who could comfortably cup the microphone in their hand behind the harp with the cable passing between their fingers.

The combination of the harmonica being so close to the mic element, and the mic output level being great enough to overload the typical valve (tube) amplifiers of the time, led to a warm, distorted timbre which became the signature sound of the blues harp.

Gresham was able to secure a number of original elements from the USA, but they didn’t include cases or grilles (just the internals).

With the addition of high quality volume pots, Switchcraft jack sockets and cases and grilles designed and 3D printed by BRANDesign, the dream became a reality.