...So we are booked for this festival in July. We are playing outdoors using our L1 model 1/B1(x2). We ordering the second B1 next week! I play in an acoustic duo. Vocals and guitars basicly. We use a mixer going into the Bose.

We play 2 hours, and then, we agreed, set up the next performer... a celtic harpest , using our Bose. I believe there is just harp music with no other instruments.

Of course a mic for vocal for the performer.

Question... how to mic a harp ? I have a Shure BG4.1 condenser which sounds good, and 2 SM57 mics. Will the condenser be a problem outside? Feedback? Being outside, will feedback be less of a problem? Mic sort of in the center of the harp? 2 instrument mics better?

As you can see, any help/suggestions will be appreciated.

Thanks, Dave

Hi Dave,

On a whim I did a search and found a lot of references to mic'ing a Celtic Harp.
search results: mic celtic harp.

I thought this one looked good. Solo Celtic Harp Recording.

Hi Dave!

I used my L1/B1 as a PA and recorded my friend's Celtic band in March. They had a female teenager harp player who was EXCELLENT. They performed in a public library reading room and provided a wonderful evening of Celtic music for everyone in attendance.

I had never mic'd a harp before and didn't know where to start. So, I can't claim this is the best way to do it, but it sure worked for me. I used a single SM57 pointed downward toward the soundboard of the harp, toward the floor. It was approx. 12" from the floor and about 2-3" from the soundboard of the harp. The harp player was very conscious of keeping her harp in that position all night and I never had one problem with it. It was easy to control via the mixer I ran through for recording everything and provided plenty of gain for the harp. It was also very "low profile" and didn't distract from the visual appearance of the harpest on stage.

I would be leary of using a condenser mic for this. Especially, if the performance is outdoors. (i.e., wind noise, stage rumble, etc.) Condensor mics are generally more sensitive than the 'ole dynamic SM57. And, since you already have a couple of the 57s, I would lean toward them as a solution. Two may have worked even better; one high, one low. I didn't get the chance to try that, but would have liked to.

I also didn't get the chance to run it into Ch.1 or Ch.2 of the L1, because I had vocal mics in them. But with your situation, you may be able to take advantage of the SM57 preset of your L1/PS1. I would have done that, if one of the channels had been available.

It looks like you have plenty of time to research the best solution. I just thought I'd give you some input on what had worked for me with the SM57.

Good luck,

John