Pick-ups

[Alicia Petrone]

Hello harp community!

I am looking into buying my first amp for my acoustic Dusty Strings lever harp, and I was wondering if there were any good recommendations for a good pick-up system. If the pickup is really fantastic (or expensive) I would also like it to work for my Concert Grand pedal harp.

I have looked into a Schertler DYN-H but before committing I was hoping to get some feedback (if this is good and worth the expense/if you have a better suggestion, etc)

Thank you in advance!!!

[tony-morosco]

Personally I don’t think any pickup sounds as good for amplifying an acoustic harp as using microphones.

Of course they are a lot more work and effort.

Of the pickups I have tried the one I like best is the Fishman SBT-HP harp and piano pickup. The trick to pickups is that you need to also use a preamp. Fishman also makes a decent preamp with built in equalizer.

[stephen-vardy]

Get the Dusty Strings pickup.

We sell them in Canada, they are very very good for sound and relatively easy to install with very detailed instructions.

The problem with most pickups is they come loose and buzz/rattle. The Dusty pickup is designed so that will not happen.

If you want something cheap Alfredo Ortiz has a good Barcus Berry pickup for sale. The sound is not as balanced as the Dusty though.

Stephen

http://www.westcoastharps.com

[barbara-brundage]

I’m with Stephen. I haven’t heard anything that sounds better than the dusty. If you don’t want to spend that much, though, I’d look into the K&K pickup, which is like getting part of the dusty system (same pickups, not as many).

[Sarah Mullen]

I use the K&K Big Twin on my harps and it works nicely.

[Alicia Petrone]

Thank you so much!! This is LOADS more than I would have ever know! 🙂

[Harper Cait]

I looked at a tone of options for myself, and got lots of great advice from Stephen too 🙂 Thanks Stephen! In the end I went with a Crate Taxi amp, and an Audio Technica pro-35 clip on instrument mic. The combo works incredibly well, and the sound is amazing!!!! I highly recommend the products.

[Harper Cait]

BTW it was not extremely expensive….

[stephen-vardy]

-36 strings the Taxi is adequate to good

+36 strings get the Crate Limo

We have booked 1000’s of hours using these and they are great value

S

[Kate Miller]

Hi there, Do you have a lever or pedal harp? And also which mixer do you use?

Thanks

Kate

[ines-vale]

Hi!

I’ve also been looking into amplifying my harp. Actually, I have two: a Dusty Strings Crescendo 34 and a small Camac Bardic 27, so I would like something that I can use in both of them.

I still haven’t been able to decide whether I should buy a mic or a pick-up. I have talked with lots of people and the opinions vary. I’m thinking maybe about the Fishman SBT-HAP pick-up or the Audio Technica pro-35 clip on mic.

Can you give me some advice? Have you tried these?

Thank you very much!
Ines

[joann-buice]

Ines, this is not about pick-ups but how do you like the Bardic 27?

[ines-vale]

Hi JoAnn,

As far as I know they are very similar, but I never really tried the Juno, so I can´t compare. I like the Bardic very much. I think it has a good sound considering it’s size. The best thing, if you can, would be to try both and decide for yourself. 🙂
But I have to say I’m pleased with the Bardic.

Good luck!

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