Rackit! Harmonica Microphones by BlowsMeAway Productions

Introducing

Rackit!® 2.0

Hands-free Harmonica Microphone

Juzzie Smith performs with a Rackit!

First things first. You gotta hear this thing!

Here is Ukrainian harmonica performer and teacher Igor Goorsky performing a medley of tunes...
There are many more pro videos below.

Most players know that cupping a harmonica microphone fattens your acoustic and especially your amplified tone. Unfortunately this is impossible for people whose hands are busy doing something else — like playing guitar, or for people with disabilities that prevent them from cupping a traditional mic.

Rackit! cups the mic for you! And the built-in Bulletini® mic has already earned high praise from beginners to pros. You get world class tone, hands-free!

Click and drag to rotate.

What's New with Rackit! 2.0?

Rackit! 2.0 incorporates several improvements over the original Rackit!:

Rackit! 2.0 Features:

*See list below

Don't believe it? Listen to these pros! You've never heard harp in a rack like this!

These videos demonstrate a range of available Rackit! tones - from clean jazz to dirty blues. Take a listen!

Or... Jump to the Product Info, Specs and Ordering Information Section (below the videos)

Zack Pomerleau is the drummer and harp player for Doug Deming and the Jeweltones band. Zack lays down a hell of a shuffle, while using the Rackit! to blow a mean harp!

Zack says:

The Rackit! Microphone is the only way to get that classic Chicago sound while using a rack. When I was tasked with playing harp and drums at the same time with the Jewel Tones, my mission was to find a way to get THAT sound Little Walter and other greats got but while drumming. After trying many setups, it was only the Rackit! that got me the tone, response, and breakup that I desired not to mention feedback resistance. The Rackit! enables me to sound like I'm playing through a bullet even when my hands are busy shuffling! And Rackit! 2.0 makes a great product even better!

Zack demonstrates the Rackit!


Grammy award winner Charlie Musselwhite is perhaps the best known blues harmonica player in the world. Charlie is living proof that great music only gets better with age. He cut his (musical) teeth alongside Muddy Waters, Howling Wolf and everyone on the South side of Chicago in the early 1960s. More than 20 albums later he is at the top of his game, a revered elder statesman of the blues nowhere near ready to hang up his harps, his depth of expression as a singer and an instrumentalist unexcelled and only growing deeper.

Charlie has been collaborating with the world's finest artists for many years, including Ben Harper, Cyndi Lauper, Eddie Vedder, Tom Waits, Bonnie Raitt, The Blind Boys of Alabama, Gov't Mule, INXS, Mickey Hart and Japan's Kodo Drummers, George Thorogood, Eliades Ochoa, Cat Stevens and personal friend and best man at his wedding John Lee Hooker.

Charlie says:

I've been using BlowsMeAway Productions' custom wood mics and Bulletini for years and I love them. So when Greg developed the original Rackit! I began to use it so I could get great blues tone when I play guitar. Rackit! 2.0 is even better in every way - I love it! I ain't lyin!

Grammy award winner Peter "Madcat" Ruth has been charming audiences with his unique style since 1963. He took lessons from Big Walter Horton, performed with Dave Brubeck, and played in concert halls and at music festivals in the U.S. and in Mexico, Canada, Germany, Austria, Holland, Australia, and New Zealand -- all before going out on his own in 1977. You can read much more about his illustrious career on his website.

Peter says:

The Rackit! 2.0 arrived today (on my birthday!), and I'm loving it !!! It's my birthday present to myself! I've been using home made mic stand mounted harmonica racks for decades, but the Rackit! 2.0 is by far the best. The design is exquisite, and the sound is excellent. As of now you can consider me to be a genuine endorser.

When Jimi Lee was a teenager he opened shows for giants: Muddy Waters, John Lee Hooker and Bobby Blue Bland. In his twenties, Jimi played harmonica for legends: Willie Nelson, Stephen Stills, Clarence Clemens, Pinetop Perkins and others. He spent 12 years in Hawaii captivating audiences from around the world and was voted “Best in the state” by the Hawaiian Blues Society. Jimi grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area, honed his craft in Austin and now entertains audiences almost every night on the island of Maui in Hawaii. Jimi is also a favorite at SPAH, where I got to know him. He has used Rackit 1.0 for the last several years, but only when he was playing blues. Jimi Lee is one of the artists I had foremost in my mind when developing Rackit! 2.0 as I knew he would appreciate the cleaner tones available to him for his jazz work.

Jimi says:

Now that I can play everything from dirty blues to clean jazz standards, I'm completely sold on Rackit! BlowsMeAway knocked it out of the park with this new design.

Juzzie Smith is a incredibly talented one-man band, based in Byron Bay Australia. Juzzie's unique style is bluesy/folk mixed into a groove of its own. With millions of views on YouTube, he can play up to six instruments at once including guitar, harmonica and juggling percussion, and entertains audiences all over the world.

Juzzie says:

I love how the Rackit! gives me such a range of tones, and that I can mix it with my singing when I perform.

You can see more of Juzzie's great videos, some highlighting his use of the original Rackit!, and now Rackit! 2.0 on his YouTube channel.

At last! Big-time blues harp amplification for rack players! This is going to be a game changer.
Jon Gindick is an American best-selling musical instruction author. His books, CDs, and videos on playing the blues harmonica have sold over 2,000,000 copies (and one of them was my very 1st introduction to harmonica!)

Grammy Nominee, Blues Award Winner, Author, Harp Man Mark Hummel is one of the top blues harmonica performing artists in the world today.

Mark says:

The newest version of The Rackit! is sleeker and easier to maneuver with. I love that you can change the tone up with the caps on or off on the sides too! The tone with the high end cap off works beautifully for what I'm doing. Bravo to you, BlowsMeAway Productions!!!

RJ Mischo demonstrates the new Rackit! in all 3 tone modes. RJ has been playing harp since the age of 9, with a career that has spanned decades and with many records under his belt. Originally from Minnesota, RJ now lives in California where he performs regularly.

RJ says:

I love the new Rackit! Better in every way!

Ordering Information:

Rackit! comes in 2 models:

Rackit!-BVC $299

Complete mic, ready to play. Just add cable or adapter to connect to your amplifier, PA or wireless system.

Rackit!-BVC includes a Bulletini grill and grill foam so you can remove the Bulletini and use it by itself*, and 1.5mm allen wrench.

* The Bulletini is mounted to the Rackit! with 2 very small, easy-to-lose screws. This is not a change you would want to make during performance. It is best to do over a white towel on a brightly lit table.

Rackit! $139

If you already own a Bulletini or Bulletini-VC, you can convert it to a Rackit!-BVC*.

Rackit! includes Bulletini mounting screws and a 1.5mm allen wrench.

Additional Options:

Option: Factory-installed Gecko Adapter +$19

...when ordered with Rackit! or Rackit!-BVC. You can also order a complete Gecko-ready replacement later (see below) for $39.

Option: Factory Installed Stand Mount +$39

...when ordered with Rackit! or Rackit!-BVC. Mounts Rackit! to vertical or boom-style mic stands. Standard 5/8"-027 Mic Stand thread. (If you have the less common 3/8"-16 thread, let me know and I will include an adapter.) You can also order the stand mount kit later (see below.)

Accessories:

Gecko Adapter Kit $39

Replacement Jaw for Seydel Gecko and Farmer ArchTop and SideNote Harp Holders. Just remove your original jaw and install this one to use Rackit! with one of these fine racks!

Note that you can order a new Rackit! with the Gecko Jaw factory installed for only $19 plus the price of the Rackit! model you choose. See above.

Learn more about these racks at Farmer Footdrums' web site.

The Gecko Rack is also available at Rockin' Ron's.

In Europe, you can order directly from Seydel.

Gecko Jaw
Stand Mount Upgrade Kit $39

Mounts Rackit! to vertical or boom-style mic stands. Standard 5/8"-027 Mic Stand thread. (If you have the less common 3/8"-16 thread, let me know and I will include an adapter.) Includes mount and mounting screws.

Important: Some early Rackit!s did not have stand mount mounting holes pre-drilled in the Rackit! body. If yours is one of those, email BlowsMeAway for a solution!

Rackit! Mute $19

Don't want to play amplified but want to practice more quietly at home? This Mute closes the opening where the mic is normally installed.

Bulletini is a high impedance microphone with a Switchcraft screw-on connector. You might need one or more of these accessories to get connected:

20' Switchcraft screw-on female to 1/4" male cable $65

This is by far the most common, shortest and simplest way to connect the Rackit! to anything.

20' Switchcraft screw-on female to 1/4in male cable
Switchcraft 332 adapter $16.95

(allows use of a 1/4" to 1/4" guitar cable or wireless transmitter with 1/4" plug like Samson Airline 88x, XVive U2 and Boss WL)

Important: With the mic's connector pointing down — a screw-on to 1/4" adapter and guitar cable may be too long and poke you in the chest. However you can easily rotate the mic with the connector pointing up, down, left or right.

Switchcraft 332A Adapter
Screw-on to XLR Adapter $39

(allows use of an XLR-based wirelesss transmitter like the XVive U3 or Sennheiser XSW, or an XLR to 1/4" cable)

Important: This is not an impedance matching adapter so is not a good way to connect the mic to a PA or other low impedance input. The best way to do that is to use a high impedance cable connected to a "DI Box" on the floor. This adapter is normally wired in unbalanced mode, "Pin 2 Hot" and has been tested with the above mentioned wireless transmitters. It is not guaranteed to work with others.

screw-on to XLR adapter

The following "shorty" cables allow you to "remote" a secondary connection by running the cable up and around your neck or over your shoulder. This eliminates the possibility that some combinations of adapters, plugs and wireless transmitters become long enough to become cumbersome while performing with the Rackit! in a rack.

Screw-on to 1/4" jumper cable $39

24" cable, allows connection of a guitar cable or Samson AG8 wireless transmitter)

Shorty Cable
Screw-on to XLR jumper cable $39

24" cable, unbalanced, Pin 2 Hot - allows connection of an XLR to 1/4" cable, or XVive U3, Sennhieser XSW or Samson AX1 wireless transmitters. Same function as the Screw-on to XLR Adapter above.

Shorty Cable
Screw-on to XLR jumper cable $39

24" cable, unbalanced, Pin 3 Hot - allows connection of an XLR to 1/4" cable

Shorty Cable
Screw-on to XLR, impedance matching, balanced output jumper cable $79

24" cable, (for connecting to a PA or other low impedance input.)

This cable is here in case you have an old XLR-type wireless transmitter that must have an impedance matching adapter. The simpler and less expensive, "standard" solution to connect to a low impedance input like a PA is to use the screw-on to 1/4" cable above, into a "Direct Box" (aka "DI" or "Direct Input" box) on the floor. An XLR to XLR cable runs from there to the PA. Sound guys always have DI boxes - that's how they connect basses and keyboards to the PA.

Shorty XLR Cable

When you order I'll need to know:

My 1st choice is always the screw-on cable as it keeps the flexible portion of the cable as close to the mic as possible, which minimizes any restrictions on freedom of movement.

Let me know your preferences and I will send you a PayPal invoice.

Want to go wireless? You'll want to check out the Wireless Systems page and order the Rackit! Wireless bundle, or, if you already own a Bulletini, a wireless system and a Switchcraft 332 adapter. Once you know what you want, let me know and I will send you a PayPal invoice. Please tell me where you live so I can provide an accurate shipping quote.

Specifications

Weight: Rackit! — 2.6oz.
Rackit!-BVC — 8.5 oz.
Length: Rackit! — 5” W x 3.5" L
Rackit-BVC — 5" W x 5.25" L
Body Material: 3D MJF Printed PA12 Nylon.
End Cap and Jaw Material: 3D MJF Printed Thermoplastic Polyamide (TPA).
Mic Material: Cast Zinc
Mic Element: “The Heumann Element” - High impedance, dynamic, neodymium magnet, harp-tuned (See the Bulletini page for more information)
Mic Connector: Switchcraft 5/8" Screw-on Male

Harmonicas tested:

Racks tested:

The days of "roll your own" are over!

Get a Rackit!

Make a racket! :)