The Dusty Harp Pickup™

Dusty Harp Pickup (TM)
“I was amazed hearing the new internal pickups when amplified. After I play, the sound guys are always first to rush up and find out what I’m using to get such great sound. These guys are the ones that know and give the system the highest of marks. Thank you again for making quality your priority. It shows in every aspect of my beautiful harp.”
—Jeannie Page, Albuquerque harpist

Most harp players who perform decide at some point that they need to amplify their instruments, so they go shopping for a pickup that will do the job. They soon discover a confusing array of options that can make it daunting to determine what will work best. We’ve gone through that process ourselves, spending a lot of time testing various pickups on the market. Eventually we took on the project of developing a pickup system specifically for Dusty Strings harps that would give the kind of sound we knew was possible. We call it the Dusty Harp Pickup.

Using four carefully placed piezo pickup elements the Dusty Harp Pickup achieves a clean, focused, natural, and lush sound. The rich, full bass notes balance and blend with the clear, musical mids and high notes. It’s simply the sound of the harp, only bigger. This pickup works at any volume level, without feedback, which can be a concern with microphones when playing at high volumes.

The pickup is discreetly mounted inside the soundbox of the harp, invisible to the audience. A single jack mounted on the back of the harp makes for true “plug and play” ease of use. A single guitar cable allows you to plug your harp straight into any amplifier and many PA systems, with no need for a preamp box or complicated connections.

If you are playing in situations requiring very high volumes, you may want to add a preamplifier to the system. In addition to boosting your signal, it will give you direct control over your volume and tone if you aren’t near your amplifier. With some amplifiers it will also sweeten and smooth out your sound.

We can install the Dusty Harp Pickup for you in any new or existing Dusty Strings 32-, 34- or 36-string harp for $395.00, and in our 26-string harps for $375.00. They are also available for installation by owners or instrument repair technicians. Installation involves attaching mounting clips to the internal braces of the harp, snapping the cable harness into the clips, gluing the elements in place with super glue, then drilling a hole and mounting the jack in the back of the harp. The cost for these retrofit versions is $295.00 for Dusty Strings 32-, 34- and 36-string harps and $275.00 for our 26-string harps.