Hi, everyone! and starting small

[gecko zzed]

So I am starting to figure out what I need for the first little goal - recording the harp.

Fortunately, the silver bullet mic is a condensor. I'm too new to be able to post links, but here is the site: kksound.com/silverbullet DOT html
I also have the preamp with balanced xlr out. It works well for festivals.

Looks like the first thing I need is an audio interface, based on the very helpful post that Arcadeko made a few days ago, and I'll definitely download Reaper and compare with Audacity.

I'm wondering if I should get a second mic or go ahead and have a pickup installed in the harp. Lots of working harpists have pickups, which makes gigging TONS easier, but many others say that micing gives a more natural sound. But getting the interface and playing around with Audacity and Reaper are my definite first steps.

The silver bullet is a good mike for live, and if you're happy with the sound, stick with it for recording.

For a harp, I'd recommend a small diaphragm condensor. These can be expensive, but there are cheaper ones around that will get you started. For example, The Behringer C2 mikes are amazingly cheap and amazingly good.

You need an audio interface to get stuff from mike into computer (unless you go for a stand-alone unit). Interfaces come with a range of channels. You need to figure out quite early what your recording intentions are. If you do stuff by yourself, you could make do with an inexpensive two-channel USB interface. If you are looking at recording the band, and you want to get all tracks recorded at once, then you need to look at grander interfaces (eight channel or more), or maybe even mixer-interface combinations (like the Allen & Heath ZR16, or the Presonus StudioLive), but that is heading towards to big money country.

You can get a pick up for your harp, and sound guys will love you for that. But I would prefer to record the harp using mikes.