Re: [Harp-L] Your favorite harp mic?

[Richard Hunter <turtlehill@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

I suppose this is obvious, but it should be said anyway: every mic has its own sound, and no mic is ideally suited for every type of music.  So when one says "this is my favorite harp mic," it's a good idea to specify what type of music one likes to play on it.

For the record, my favorite harp mic is the Audix Fireball V.  I like it because I play a lot of different styles, and I use a lot of different sounds and FX, and the Fireball is very adaptable to a wide range of musical contexts.  But if I was playing straight blues all the time, the Fireball would probably not be the preferred mic for the job; in that case I'd probably use my Shure 545SD, a Shaker Madcat or Mad Dog, or a Bottle o' Blues (if I wanted something really hard-edged and bottom-heavy).  If I was playing an acoustic style like bluegrass, I'd probably drop most of the FX and stick with the Fireball, but I might also go to a condenser mic like the Sennheiser 441, or even a large diaphragm condenser like the Audio Technica AT4050.

So what're you playing?  That's the biggest question when you're looking for a mic.

Thanks, Richard Hunter  


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