Carlos del Junco

Carlos del Junco is considered one of the top diatonic harmonica players and has toured many parts of the world. His many awards over the years speak for themselves.

• 2017 & 2018 SPAH (U.S.A. Society for the Preservation & Advancement of the Harmonica) Bernie Bray Harmonica Player of The Year Award nomination
• Canadian Maple Blues Awards – Harmonica Player of the Year – winner EIGHT times & an additional eight times nominated
• 2016 Maple Leaf Blues Nomination for Best Acoustic Duo (with Jimmy Bowskill for Blues, etc.)
• 2010 JUNO NOMINATION for STEADY MOVIN’ cd (JUNO is Canada’s equivalent of a Grammy)
• 2005 Best Blues Award – NOW Magazine, Toronto, ON
• 1998 JUNO NOMINATION for BIG BOY cd
• 1996 Blues Musician of the Year Award – Jazz Report Magazine
• 1993 Hohner World Harmonica Championship, Trossingen, Germany – Two Gold Medals in both diatonic blues and diatonic jazz

BECOS pedals used

CompIQ STELLA Pro Compressor Pedal for Bass and Guitar

If you love the sound of your tube amplifier you’re plugged into as a harmonica player but looking to add a little more punch to your sound, either the Becos VCA style Mini or Stella compact form compressor pedals will serve you very well. Most harp players that do use compressors pedals seem to prefer optical compressors however I find they change or dull and round out the sound of an amp too much. This compressor is super transparent and will not change the sound of your amp – unless of course you use some extreme compression settings. The Mini side by side by the Stella will sound identical – except the Stella gives you manual control over Attack and Release, an extra side chain filter for higher frequencies, and added extra tone control features. And The Mini truly is “Mini” and super powerful. As a harp player, by setting the Stella: Attack and Release to Auto Slow, a Soft Knee setting, and “Feed Back” (as opposed to “Feed Forward”) setting, engaging the 90Hz Side Chain Filter fully clockwise you will get a similar musical response to the way an optical compressor performs but without changing the sound of your amp. The Mini can do these settings.