i would personally get a shure ksm44 and sm81. you can use them both on guitar, and the ksm44 on vocals and harmonica as well. ive used this combo with great success, but as always, theres a thousand options. just my 2 cents.

The SM81 for guitar is a great choice. Of course, there are other small diaphragm condensers out there at various price points - if at all possible try a bunch out.

I think staying with the dynamic mics is probably the best choice for your voice/harmonica. Whatever you end up with, you should have an SM58 in your mic collection. (You may already have one.) It's cheap, works well with harmonica and sounds great on a lot of voices. You can really take advantage of the proximity effect live and in recorded situations. With that said, I'd look at the Shure SM7 and the EV RE-20. I've seen both work well on harmonica. Of course, you have to shop for the mic that is right for your voice.

I like tools that are versatile and flexible. I did a live recording a while back - an acoustic/unplugged performance with guitar, harmonica, and a strong female vocalist. My Rode NT2000 worked great on vocals/harp. I also had an NT2000 on guitar, but that was not a great match. The other guitar mic setup I used was my AKG blue lines - MS in this recording, but again, flexible with different capsules available.

I like the blue-lines on guitar because they aren't too bright.

A multi/adjustable pattern mic like the NT2000 gives you many options when recording - figure-8 often works great for limiting guitar bleed, or tweak it toward omni and open up the sound and use the bleed to your advantage.

New the AKG blue-line mics are a bit pricey, but I've picked up two pair on eBay for just about $350 for the pair.

I remember the recordings Zemlin did a while back. I thought they came out very well. As I indicated above, I lean toward dynamics for harmonica since I think that condensers can come off sort of harsh with that instrument. But Zemlins recordings and your experience with the U87 show there are no hard and fast rules here. And of course in this situation there is a compromise between best mic for vocal and best mic for harmonica. Good luck.

BobRogers wrote: I lean toward dynamics for harmonica since I think that condensers can come off sort of harsh with that instrument. But Zemlins recordings and your experience with the U87 show there are no hard and fast rules here.

That was certainly a concern for me when I was doing that recording, but it worked out well.

[edit] dug through the archives and turned this up.
http://www.cheap-tracks.com/mp3/song_about_a_tree_c.mp3
Trina Hamlin - this isn't the final mix, but close. Mics were about 2' away from her. This track (and the rest of the concert) ended up as Trina's "One Nightstand" album.
Doing a live show (not recording) with Trina tonight. :) 8-) :) 8-) 8)
[/edit]

Sennheiser 441 for harp/vocal?

Have any of you guys ever tried the Sennheiser 441 for harp/vocal? I was nearly sold on the SM7 or EV RE20 until I read that they are really not for "singing" but better for spoken word (rap, hip hop); I don't sing opra or anything, but my vocals are definately "sung". Also I read that they both require lots of gain for a good signal which probably means lots of noise for me since the pre amps on my Roland are not great. Its a huge jump in price, but...I really do want something that is going to give me the best of both worlds (something that will sound great on vocals and harmonica).

try a Samson C01 for vocals and harp, Samson C02 for guitar

The 441 is a hyper(super?)-cardioid mic yes? I think so IIRC. I'm a fan of Sennheisers dynamics. Particularly the 421 but the 441 is also a great mic. Whether it would be right for this application is a matter of trial and error though I think.

With the suggestion of the SM7 and RE20, I can't help but think you have a rather deep voice, in which case I think the 441 would be a poor choice for your vocals.

sm81 or even an akg 414 would sound cool