Lately I've been using a teeny tiny Countryman B6 that I special ordered via Sweetwater. The special order was to have a longer mic cord and, most importantly, reduced sensitivity (-20db). Even with the reduced sensitivity, it is a little to hot (distorts on double-stops before it ever makes it to the preamp if the mic is inside your tightly cupped hands). Unfotunately, they don't make a less sensitive version. I originally tried it at the winter NAMM show and fell in love with the sound.
http://www.countryman.com/store/?catid=4
Since I play guitar and need to pick up the harmonica quickly, I attach the mic directly to the back of the harmonica using a pair of velcro strips (one strip has adhesive on the side that attaches to the harmonica). The mic cord is tiny and is sandwiched between the velcro strips.
I keep the mic pointed away from the harmonica on the bass side so I can either include it in my cup or not. When playing single lines I enclose the mic in the cup and the sound is very close-up, warm, and clear -- and there is no feedback problem since it is so hot. When I'm doing double stops (or more) I move my left hand slightly so the mic is outside the cup -- otherwise it will distort (in this configuration you have to be more careful about feedback).
The mic needs phantom power, and since I play with a volume pedal I plug it into a mic preamp before the volume pedal. This is the best sounding mic I've come across for chromatic (so far).
I know this has been addressed before, but I'm too lazy to check the archives :-) What amp/mic combos do you jazz chromatic players use? I love the blues chromatic guy's sounds but that's not what I'm looking for, and I've got all that stuff anyway. What does Toots use? I have an SM-57 that I like...is there a better [similarly priced] mic for this sound? WVa Bob
_______________________________________________ Harp-L is sponsored by SPAH, http://www.spah.org Harp-L@xxxxxxxxxx http://harp-l.org/mailman/listinfo/harp-l