Garage Band settings for recording harmonica

Hi Mike. I have four harp mics, in order of playing time:

!. A Greg Heumann (BlowsMeAway Productions) custom wood mic, with The Heumann Element. With the buit-in volume control where the wood grain lines up when the volume is full on. Greg found a really nice block of walnut for it, which I'd asked for, as my family's farm had a walnut orchard when I was growing up. This is the mic that's usually hooked up for my practice time, so obveiously gets the most playig time.

2. An ancient Shure 9846B ("brown bullet" or "small bullet") with almost as ancient Black Label CR element. This is the mic I use most for public performance, as it has great volume and really honking tone. I recently sent it off to Greg because it was cutting out, and he sent it on to Mark Wilson in Oregon (see my recent post in this Gear thread) for complete repair of the element.

3. An "Ultimitized" Shure SM57, a mic I'd used for years for acoustic instruments (e.g., ukulele and plectrum banjo), that I sent off to Greg to have converted to one of his "Ultimate" mics, with volume control, collar, etc. Due to its higher-fidelity characteristics, it's the mic I use most for chromatic harmonica, as well as for diatonic when I'm working cabaret shows where the performers I'm backing up are doing more pop and jazz, and that bluesy Chicago-style crunch isn't what the music director is looking for. Have also used it performing in church, into a DI box to go directly into the PA system.

4. Finally, a Shaker Dynamic that I bought years ago because it was inexpensive, and Madcat Peter Ruth is a Shaker fan. Very small, very light weight. David gave it an unenthusiastic review in his mic series, but the most common use I get out of it is taking it to harmonica camps and loaning it to attendees who don't have mics. One thing a lot of players who don't like the mic don't understand is that unlike the above three mics, it's a low impedence mic, and won't really work plugged into an amp unless you use an impedence converter. So I carry a separate cable with a converter, which gives it enough "ooomph" when plugged in. It's gotten use by other players over the years, and when I get home I drop it into my TurboHarp BugBlaster to clean it, and then put it back into a bag until the next time I go to a camp or workshop.

I'm trying very hard to avoid becomeing a mic collector, but I do have a wish list. That includes things like an Ultimate SM58 (as used by Toots Thielmans); one of those super-cool-looking Turner Challengers with the Buck Rogers-looking fins on the top; and maybe an expensive condenser mic that I can use for chromatic and vocals. Or maybe not, and I can spend the money on more harps!

Cheers!